Articles
Give Me Your Heart
Solomon writes to his son in Proverbs 23 saying, “My son, give me your heart.” For many teenagers this sounds strange. What does it mean to “give our heart” to our parents?
Loving Your Neighbor Starts With Loving Your Siblings
When I was younger, my mom would always say to me, “Your siblings are your best friends. Everyone else will come in and out of your life but your siblings will always be there.” This is the second in a series of posts by Lissy Rienow that will address how, as teenagers, we can learn to be Christians with our families.
Help us reach families around the world
It’s hard to turn on the news today and not be overwhelmed at the incredible needs of families around the globe. Refugees, financial chaos, wars and famines dominate the headlines, and our hearts...
Humbled
This post is not going to be polished or carefully edited...just from my heart to the screen... There is a list of things I said I would never do. One of the the things on that list was, "I will...
Awareness by JD Rienow
OK, proud dad moment here. My 12 year old son, JD, wrote this poem a couple of weeks ago about a little talked about Christian virtue — Awareness. I will be happy to pass any comments you have on to...
A Brief Reflection on Youth Ministry
Here is something I have observed in many churches. Perhaps you have seen it too. Children grow up through our children’s ministries and they love it! They move into the cool junior high group and...
A Great Gift for Your Kids
Thoughts for husbands... How a man relates to his wife dramatically affects the entire family, and directly affects the souls of his children. When a man loves, serves, and leads his wife, he...
The Kingdom and the King
God is building His Kingdom, and establishing His King over that Kingdom - His Son Jesus Christ. This message from Dr. Rob Rienow was the concluding sermon from Gospel Fellowship Church's two year...
For Father’s Day Amazon.com is donating to VFM!
Do you have your Father's Day present for dad yet? In honor of Dad, shop at Amazon.com through 6/15/14 and Amazon will donate $5 to Visionary Family Ministries! So when you buy a present for your...
Why Should I Read the Genealogies?
Genealogies are not very exciting to read. So-and-so lived this long, and he was the father of so-and-so, and he lived this long, etc. When you do your personal Bible reading, you probably do not...
I Can’t Let My Team Down!
I enjoy sports. I enjoy playing and coaching sports with my kids. But life is super busy. With seven children our schedule can easily go bongos. Sometimes it is hard for our kids to make it to their...
The Power of Mom
The Power of Mom - from KidzMatter Magazine May June 2014 Fathers are often emphasized in the family ministry movement, and rightly so. But sometimes, the continual call to Christian men to be the...
How Your Children Can Spiritually Impact Their Sports Teams
Christian parents frequently talk about how they want their son or daughter to be a good witness for Christ on their sports teams and about how playing sports in the community is a great way to...
Time for a Challenge
In our home, turning 13 is a big deal. We view it, in some ways, as the transition from childhood to adulthood. In centuries past this was more true than it is today, as we have sadly extended...
Abortion: A Political Litmus Test for Christians?
Should the abortion issue be a "litmus" test for Christian voters? As you will hear in this six minute mp3, I believe the answer is absolutely yes. If you are interested in listening to the...
When Life is Out of Control
What do we cling to when life is out of control? In this message from Acts 22, Dr. Rienow shares three things believers need to BELIEVE when life is filled with suffering, doubt, and...
A Blog for Teens: How to Honor Your Parents
Few commandments in the Bible strike more fear into teenagers than, “honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). To make matters worse, God gives us this command new fewer than eight times...
A Savior Is Born!
Merry Christmas! I imagine you are familiar with the story of Santa Claus. As the story goes, Santa has a list. He checks it twice. On his list there are two kinds of people, those who have been...
The Secret to a Thankful Heart
Thanksgiving was just about one week ago. For most of us, "thankfulness" comes a little easier on that day. After all, that is what the holiday is all about! Perhaps you even sat around your dinner...
Is Church Membership Biblical?
The idea of "church membership," or "joining a church," has become increasingly unpopular in recent decades. It sounds and feels so old-fashioned! Perhaps some associate "membership" with things...
My Friend Needs Your Help
Dear friends, I am writing to ask you to help one of my friends. His name is Christian Carlson (married to Rebekah), and he serves as Family Pastor at Fellowship Church just down the road from me in...
The Big Problem in Family Ministry
If you have a passion for youth or children's ministry you have no doubt heard the call to return to the early church’s model of “family ministry.” Keep families together! Equip parents to disciple...
A Unique Parenting Seminar Coming to Chicagoland
I want to invite you to join me Saturday morning, November 16th, from 830-1000am at Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, IL for a unique parenting seminar. This seminar is for parents of teens and our...
Do We Really Need Para-Church Organizations?
Have you ever wondered where hospitals came from? Christian men and women put their money together and built them. Why are there organizations like the Red Cross and YMCA? Christian men and women...
Changing Your Family Legacy
Changing Your Family Legacy The mission of parenting is overwhelming. As a father of six, with a baby on the way, sometimes I feel like my wife and I have all we can do to simply “get through” each...