The United Pentecostal Church International has ministries dedicated to serving the spiritual needs of children, youth, ladies, and men, but until recently there was no ministry that provided resources to help the family unit face the myriad challenges of life in the twenty-first century. Recognizing this gap, the leaders of UPCI Children’s Ministries, Youth Ministries, Ladies Ministries, Men’s Ministries, and the Office of Education and Endorsement banded together to form the UPCI Family Ministries Council.
The mission of the Family Ministries Council is to coordinate the efforts of the UPCI’s focused ministries to children, youth, ladies, and men to better serve the entire family. The council accomplishes this goal by providing print and digital resources that address some of the most pressing concerns families face.
Those resources include the following books.
- The Apostolic Family: Insight for Living in the Twenty-First Century offers guidance on a wide range of family topics including parenting children and teens and individuals with disabilities. It also features sections on single parenting, caring for aging parents, marriage, family communication, nurturing faith in the home, and more. It was written by Apostolic leaders with both pastoral and clinical experience helping families, including Dr. David K. Bernard, Dr. Brent Coltharp, Dr. Cindy Miller, and others. The Apostolic Family is written for anyone who wants to build, strengthen, and maintain Apostolic families.
- A Light in Darkness: Stories of Grief and Loss features letters from thirteen individuals and couples who have experienced the grief that comes from losing a close loved one, including a spouse, a child, a sibling, or a parent. Each letter offers comfort and hope to readers facing similar circumstances. Contributors include Diana Reed, Kevin Cox, and Daniel and Susan Segraves.
- The Family Devotional: 53 Weekly Devotions for the Apostolic Home is the newest release from the Family Ministries Council. As the title implies, this book includes fifty-three devotions written with the whole family in mind. Each entry covers one of the “mountaintops” of Scripture—the most memorable narratives, the most cherished passages, and key doctrines of the Apostolic faith. These devotions were written by pastors, church planters, evangelists, district and national church officials, and others, most of whom have faced the challenge of instilling God’s Word into the hearts and minds of their own family. The result is a devotional that will help your family draw closer to God.
The Family Ministries Council also has produced two pastoral counseling guides for families in crisis, LifeLine Volume 1 and LifeLine Volume 2. Each LifeLine guide contains case studies, statistics, interview questions, biblical insights, resources, and a sermon or lesson on a specific crisis topic, including “Dealing with Divorce,” “Coping with Substance Abuse,” “Dealing with Domestic Violence,” and many more. Printed copies of LifeLine: Volume 1 and LifeLine: Volume 2 are available for purchase at PentecostalPublishing.com. Each individual guide also is available for download at UPCIFamily.com/LifeLine.
To learn more about the UPCI Family Ministries Council and to access family-focused resources, visit UPCIFamily.com.