Parent Connection–October 2026
What to Encourage for October 2026:
Reading God’s Word
We have been challenging our students lately in many places (MS Sunday morning yesterday, MS Impact retreat, D groups, etc.) to spend a few minutes every day reading God’s Word. I thought it might be helpful to share with you the verses we will be focusing on for the next few Wednesday nights, and you might even consider reading these as a family, listening to these in the car, or encouraging your student to read these each week on their own and then ask them what they learned.
Oct 7 – Overlooked: Acts 15:36–41
Oct 14 – Citizens of Heaven & Earth (1 of 2): Matthew 5:13–14; 28:18; Romans 13:1–7; 2 Chronicles 26:16–21; Acts 5:29; 1 Peter 3:15–16
Oct 21 – Citizens of Heaven & Earth (2 of 2): 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13; Ephesians 4:28
Oct 28 – Micah (1 of 3): Micah 1–2; Matthew 22:37–39
Nov 4 – Grace Grown Worship CD Release & Worship Night
Nov 11 – Micah (2 of 3): Micah 3:1–12; 5:2–6; Jeremiah 26:17–19
Nov 18 – Micah (3 of 3): Micah 6:1–8; Deuteronomy 6:5; 1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6; 12:6
Let me know if you have ideas on how we can encourage students to open the Bible and read it on their own, as we ask God to help this become a habit in our youth's lives.
Serving Opportunity!
Coming up soon, we have our annual world fair! Here’s a sign-up link to help serve on that day, and there are many things students can do. Please don’t skip your AdventureLand shift if you serve on that team, and also, we won’t have Middle School that Sunday.
Sign up here: https://app.unison.io/schedules/1huaYxnvDDMFbBY9CA0ZAO
Monthly Parent Tip: Use a List App
OK, so you might be wondering: why use a list app, and how does that help with parenting? Often I’ll be working or driving, and a question will occur to me that I want to ask one of my kids, or one of them will make a comment that strikes me as strange, but we don’t have time to talk about it right then. So I open my list app (I use Things 3, but many apps work), where I have a list for every person in my family. Whenever there’s a story I want to tell someone, a question I want to ask, or something cool I want to show them, I add it to their list. Then, at a meal or during a slower moment, I can look at it and remember what I wanted to share.
How I’m using AI this Month: Meals
Well, one of the things that annoys Sarah and I is meal planning. So I gave it my top ten favorite dinners and then asked it to help me craft a meal plan for 21 dinners (3 weeks’ worth), along with suggested recipes that kind of go along with the initial 10 as the kind of meals we like. It gave me a couple of clunkers I tossed out, but after about 10 minutes of working with it, I had dinners planned for the next 3 weeks. Score!
What I’m Enjoying This Month!
I got turned on to this podcast and am really enjoying it called Church History for Everyone. Let me know if you try it out!
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Jon’s Game of the Month:
I’m a huge gamer and love playing computer games and board games, especially when they bring people together, as most games should. So here’s my game of the month:
Earth – Alright, if you are not a gamer, then probably ignore this, as Earth is not for the faint of heart. I’m talking a 90-minute commitment to what I think might be the most beautiful game ever made. There is a small learning curve too, but if you are familiar with Wingspan, it is very much like that but with plants instead of birds, and it fixes all the shortcomings of Wingspan in my brain. So fun if you have a rainy day or want to try something deeper than the normal party game scene.
My October question for All Parents is this:
As I begin planning our 2027 Youth Ministry series, I’d love to hear from you! What are some topics you would like your student to think about from a biblical perspective on Wednesday nights as we head into the new year? Your input is valuable as we plan opportunities to help our students grow in their faith and deepen their relationship with Jesus.