For Your Kids’ Sake, Go Orange and Play for Keeps!

by Reba Collins

Last week I wrote about the characteristics of a good family church choice, and cited Orange as being one of the most effective approaches to family ministry. This week I’m going to give you a taste of Orange through six powerful ideas Orange leaders believe influence our kids’ faith throughout their lives: Time, Love, Words, Tribes, Fun, and Stories.

The newest parenting/ministry resource from Orange, Playing for Keeps,* dives into these concepts and is the basis for this year’s nation-wide Orange Tour. Here’s a look inside Orange through my most useful insights from this year’s Orange Tour conference (all quotes are from either Orange founder Reggie Joiner, or from presenter Doug Fields):

Time Over Time Makes a History Worth Repeating 
“When you see how much time you have left, you tend to:

• Get serious about the time you have now.
• Make what matters, matter more.
• Value what happens over time.”

We have approximately 1,000 weeks from birth to high school graduation with our children. Only 1,000 weeks, folks! Not much time. “When we show up over and over in a kid’s life, we have a different kind of influence over the kid’s life.”

Words Over Time Impact Direction
“It’s more than the right words we use; it’s the right heart. The right words from the right life over time impacts direction.”
“If you want kids to know they matter, then what you say to them matters.”

Three powerful phrases over time that impact direction:

1. I’m praying for you. Said with appropriate eye contact and touch.
2. There is something special about you and God is not done with you. “Kids need positive encouragement. Some don’t have that all week long. Some kids become the modifiers that their parents place on them.”
3. God is changing you into a better you. “Have you painted the picture for kids of who they can become in Christ?”

Love Over Time Matters Most

Who do we want our kids to become? Someone who:

• Loves God.
• Knows God’s love.
• Loves Whoever God loves.

“At the end of the day, our job is to love kids.”
“What you say will matter to kids when they know they matter to you.”
“Love over time is what gives us worth. Love over time shows us that we have value to God.”
"The best way for kids to learn how to love God is for them to love people who God loves.”

Tribes Show Us How We Belong

“How do you give love over time? You have to understand the power of tribes over time.”
“There are two tribes strategically positioned to let kids know they belong -- church and family.”

To leverage the influence of tribes over time, a church [and families] needs to know and arrange everything it does to point kids toward the one optimal environment where they grow in their relationship with Christ.

Fun Makes Relationships Deeper
Fun over time:

• “…convinces kids that you actually like them.
• …reconnects what has been disconnected.
• …fosters resilience.
• …authenticates forgiveness.
• …means connection.”

“What you do for kids matters more than you think it does.”
“Relationships over time create stories.”

Stories Help Us Imagine a World Beyond Ourselves

“What you do every week in a kid’s life or student’s life will last a lot longer than you do because...

• …You will die sooner than you think.
• …You will be forgotten.
• …You will only be remembered by the people who know you know. So what are you going to do now?”

“When you start imagining the potential in a kid’s life at a younger age, the more you will see in them much later.”
“Time over time makes history; time over time leaves a legacy. It’s the ordinary things that make a difference.”

This year’s Orange Tour is based on the new book, Playing for Keeps/Losing Your Marbles, by Reggie Joiner, Kristen Ivy, and Elizabeth Hansen. Written for people who are involved with kids, the one-day conference overviewed the six things we can give children and teens to make a significant impact in their lives over time. You can get Playing for Keeps/Losing Your Marbles through the reThink Group store at a discounted price: http://secure.rethinkgroup.org/store4/product.php?productid=1649&cat=431&page=1

Or through Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Keeps-Losing-Your-Marbles/dp/0985411694.