First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati invites

First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati hosts "Summer Clean Out" for young people. (Photo taken from the official website of First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati)

The Family Faith Development of First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati encouraged teenagers from grades 6-12 to volunteer and earn money by joining the Summer Clean Out on two consecutive Wednesdays, Aug. 3 and Aug. 10.

The church's website announced teens could learn organizational skills while having weekly fun with friends. They also noted that the church would provide a complimentary lunch for those participating.

First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati would allow the participants to earn a $50 gift card to a store of their choice.

According to the announcement, the church follows the safe congregation guidelines. So they only asked for two young people to join every Wednesday. They also emphasized that they would not allow young people to volunteer alone.

As further explained, parents could also discuss their teens’ schedules with other families.

Moreover, as posted in the announcement, the youth program started last June and would last until Aug. 10, Wednesday.

Family Faith Development

The church's Family Faith Development program advocates a church with a multi-generational congregation, as posted on the program's overview page.

The same website stated that the program supports and nurtures the development of children and youth. They also foster families.

The program hosts events that acknowledge the importance of each milestone, as the website mentioned.

Centered in Congregational Life

According to the same website, Family Faith Development centers its mission on creating events that build connections among all generations in the church. They said that this program is called a Theme-based ministry.

In this approach, the church finds a way to unite and focus on its members' lives. With their theme-based program, the church members have deeper relationships. This connection is more than their Sunday gatherings. They also added that this approach helps them enrich their faith.

Church as Family Center

The Ministry Magazine website revealed that a positive approach to family ministry is influential. It could influence people’s spiritual and emotional lives. They added that the church's efforts to transform the family structure would need to be rooted in the principles of the gospel.

As further emphasized on the website, the church could be a family-life center to help each family. They said there is a need for a deeper understanding of the ministries to help with the number of divorces and the increase in family struggles.

The same website said many young people are running away as never before. So they noted that churches should better understand how they could assist families. They added that families are the primary foundation of the church and society.

More importantly, the website stressed that the church must take measures to lessen the pain and broken families.

In addition, the website said that the “key factor” in fostering a family-life center is organization. They mentioned that the church must be led by God’s Spirit and should have a well-organized ministry.

“God is not the author of confusion,” as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:33.

The website highlighted the need for the church’s family programs to have a long-range plan.