Our pastor mentioned D6 ministry in a meeting earlier this week. I thought I had heard of it, but when I went to explore the website, I realized I hadn't. The ministry is founded on the biblical premise, found in Deut 6:5-9 and elsewhere, that parents have the primary responsibility for instructing their children in the ways of the Lord, and that ministry to children should be aligned accordingly. That primary responsibility rests on parents from a theological perspective. But the D6 ministry leads mostly with a practical argument: that children will always be with their parents and families more than they will be in Sunday school or anywhere else, so that's where the emphasis will be. It's a productivity argument for focusing on families. They even have a T-shirt that emphasizes the 1:167 ratio of hours in Sunday school to hours elsewhere.
The family-inclusive small group my wife and I are working on is precisely in this model. And I think the D6 Ministry's radical commitment to family-centeredness can challenge and inspire all churches to think outside traditional models of children's programming. Whether or not one dives in with the kits and materials of specific ministry, that is a helpful and biblical challenge for those who desire massively productive ministry to children.
Hi Matt: Thanks. I did see the conference. Looks really cool. I would also like to go to the Children Desiring God conference in the near future (perhaps with some members of our ministry team), so I have to weigh which is a higher priority. I'm in the middle of listening to a series of messages by Sally Michaels from the 2007 Children Desiring God conference, and they are the best messages I have _ever_ heard on the topic (I'll probably blog about them soon), so I'm leaning in that direction. I just checked out your blog, and saw your comments about D6 and the conference. I just added your blog to my feeds, so I'll be watching to see how the conference goes!
Yes, I signed up for Splink. I saw some of the examples offered on the website. I'm never quite sure how to pull off "hands-on illustrations" like the ones suggested there. They somehow feel corny and forced, and, if not done well, could trivialize the Gospel. That's probably more an indictment of my ability to do them than of the exercises themselves, because I've read these kinds of suggestions in lots of trustworthy places.
Thanks for your comment. I'll look forward to hearing from you more via your website. You're always welcome here!
Tony
Posted by: TonyP | January 12, 2009 at 09:01 AM
I love D6! Have you seen the Conference? Check it out at http://www.d6conference.com
D6 also has a Free resource that links the family together called Splink...check it out at http://www.d6family.com (not to mention their devotional magazines for kids!).
Posted by: Matt Markins | January 12, 2009 at 07:17 AM