While many people acknowledge that God is the Creator of the family and has given it a specific mission, we often fail to specifically define what that mission is. How about your family? What is your mission? Have you taken time to define it? Does each family member know what it is?

The secret to success in any human organization, whether government, business, church, or family, is defining and knowing your mission. Defining your family mission Biblically is the key to your family’s success. However, in a humanistic world that has alienated itself from the truth, there is so much confusion over the family that we find ourselves not knowing where to even begin in the process of defining its mission. Often this results in a misguided mission that fails to take into account the full scope of what God has planned for the family.

Consider the following definitions of the family mission:

1. The conservative definition: A social structure that provides a greater degree of stability to society. Yes , strong families certainly will have a stabilizing effect to society, but this is not their ultimate mission.

2. The traditional definition: Family is a means to achieving greater productivity and economic success. While properly functioning families do bring a great measure of prosperity and abundance, this is not their true reason for existence.

3. The homeschool definition: A means of ensuring that the next generation is provided with the best training and education. Again, this is a wonderful thing that should happen in all our homes, but it conveys only a part of the God-ordained family mission.

When we look at God’s plan for the family throughout the Bible, it is apparent that the scope of the family mission can only be found when we understand its significance in bringing the Gospel message to the world and discipling the nations.

God’s mission has always been the family mission. From the very beginning, we see that Adam, the first man, father, and leader of a family, was given the mission of being fruitful, multiplying, filling the earth, and subduing it. Faithfulness to his God-given mission was directly linked to his faithfulness to the family. Through the family, Adam would work to bring all things into submission to God for His glory.

Again, in Abraham, we see the model of a Godly patriarch and the founder of a new nation. God promised him that through his descendants, all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abraham’s faith in God to fulfill this promise would result in bringing strength and prosperity to multiple generations and families throughout the world.

Finally, in the life and ministry of Jesus, we see the perfect illustration of a son working to complete the mission of his father. When asked about that mission, He responded, “I have come to do the will of the Father.” Through faithful obedience to the Father, He brought us into the family of God. The saving, redeeming work of the Gospel was inextricably linked to the concept of family ministry.

Thus, throughout Scripture, we see that the Biblical definition of the family mission is: to communicate to the world the beauty of the Gospel working itself out within the context of family relationships . It is His ordained means of equipping the next generation for effective service and His primary tool for bringing the Gospel to the world.

The family mission thus defined is practically carried out in two ways: first, by whole families growing and learning together, and second, by families ministering to other families and individuals. It is a mission involving each member of the family in shared ministry.

Yet sadly, much of our modern church ministry has ignored this and become increasingly program- and activity-focused rather than family-focused. Sunday school, youth groups, children’s church, youth rallies, Bible clubs, youth camps, youth mission trips, etc., predominate our ministry activities and segregate family members into age groups. Where is the ministry focused on building up the family together? Have we forgotten the importance of strengthening the family and equipping it to carry out its important mission?

Now an unfinished task of gigantic proportion lies before us, as we consider God’s call to make disciples of the nations. Such a task can only be effective as we once again rightly define the family mission and then commit ourselves to a Biblical model for such ministry. Let us once again see the incredible power of ministry that builds up the whole family. The result will be a missions movement that is focused on preaching the Gospel through the real-life interaction provided through family relationships. This model portrays whole families ministering together to other families—ministry by the family and to the family.

Certainly a prerequisite of such ministry is that we are growing families. Children must model “obedience in the Lord ” to their parents. Parents must be “training their children in the way they should go.” Husbands must be “loving their wives. ” And wives must be demonstrating “Godly submission in the fear of the Lord. ” If the family is growing, then it is healthy and able to reach out to help other families do the same. The focus of this ministry is to equip men to lead their families, to equip women to love their husbands and children, to equip parents to teach their children, and to equip families to carry out dynamic ministry to other families for the purpose of spreading the gospel to the nations.

Now imagine with me the potential of your family and a host of other families taking up the challenge to rear their children according to the standard of Biblical truth by not placing them under the teaching of secular humanistic institutions, but instead, lovingly instructing them in all areas of life with the Bible as foundation for teaching.

Such families will not only demonstrate spiritual growth and harmonious relationships within the family but will also experience the opportunity to engage naturally and freely in ministry together. Imagine reaching out as a family in your local community —father, mother, and children all united around a common mission. Imagine the impact of sending these families to North Korea , China, and all throughout Asia—a movement that will bring the Gospel message to the world. What an amazing impact this will be!

Let me ask you again, how have you defined your family mission? If you are simply

providing a stable home, building prosperity, or educating your children, you are only realizing a small part of the full potential God has planned for your family. Now is the time to experience His storehouse of blessings. Let us fully embrace God’s mission—the family mission!

Randy, because the title of the article above is “Defining the Family Mission”, we need to keep in his sentence about: “Let us…the family mission!”

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