Godly Home Ministry: A Necessity in Church Planting

When we go to the mission field I find that sexual immorality is prominent in all countries and is intertwined with many family problems. In Africa, Middle East countries, and Central Asia, many men have more than four wives and divorce rates are very high. It seems strange that although evangelism is taking place, family problems remain unresolved. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

Very few couples have a legal wedding. Instead, most men and women meet and live together without a lifelong commitment. Therefore, when difficulties arise they easily break up because they have not made a commitment, a marriage vow before God to live together as husband and wife for life.

Single moms are quite common and there are far more families without a biological father, leaving the mother to take care of the children. Every family has men, but it’s rare to see a father who cares for his children as head of his family. Even rarer are fathers who reflect our Heavenly Father's character “providing everything as our Heavenly Father does, modeling Biblical Fatherhood in treating his children respectfully, educating and nurturing them with the Word of God in wisdom and counsel”.

Many mothers have children from different men, and because of living a sexually promiscuous life, she often doesn’t know who the father is for each of her children. The most heartbreaking consequence is that daughters are being physically and psychologically traumatized since childhood when they are sexually abused by the men living with their mother.

Sexual immorality, extramarital affairs, teenage pregnancies for many girls, single moms, family rape (incest) and sexual abuse of young girls – this pattern of family lifestyles that is so evil and so common has become accepted by the culture as normal. Therefore, a biblical family ministry is urgently needed to restore homes that are immersed in this non-biblical culture to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Most mission ministries focus primarily on “church planting” since this is the common direction of mission outreach. However, it is equally important to restore homes that are based on God’s precepts and teachings. Therefore, both church planting and Godly Home Ministry must go hand-in-hand. Every church on the mission field must focus on this family ministry. It needs to start with church members as role models and spread throughout the local community. This is why M.O.M. started the Godly Home Ministry ten years ago.

In Costa Rica, M.O.M. started the Godly Home Ministry with missionary Yoon Ik-Soo, and the local churches are graciously participating in this project. Currently, the Godly Home Ministry is active in Costa Rica, Peru, Nicaragua and the Caribbean, with our desire to spread into many more countries.

Particularly in the Caribbeanz, people love wearing beautiful clothing for the Quince ceremony (coming of age) or Marriage ceremony. However, only those who have completed the entire program, learning about the Gospel and God’s plan for the family are eligible for the ceremonies. Therefore, these programs provide great opportunity to share the gospel and see people come to salvation in Jesus Christ! In addition, we make a small photo album of the ceremony, for Quince and Marriage, and give these as a gift. The young people or married couples share about this experience with their relatives and friends, bringing more people who want to go through these programs of the Godly Home Ministry.

M.O.M. Godly Home Ministry:

1) Marriage Program: 12-week curriculum of training and educating couples in God’s plan for marriage and family life, all based on God’s word.

2) Quince’ Program:  This is a coming-of-age program, preparing young people for adulthood. The 8-week curriculum includes sharing the Gospel, instruction in premarital purity, biblical marriage and biblical sexuality as God created it to be, and family life based on biblical principles.

Upon the completion of these programs, MOM provides a ceremony for the young people (Quince’) and couples (Marriage School).

Celebrate your Silver or Golden Anniversary by joining a MOM Team focused on the Godly Home Ministry!

In Latin America it’s very rare to find couples who get married and live together long enough to celebrate their 25th or 50th wedding anniversary. Therefore, we highly encourage Christian couples from U.S. who are about to celebrate their 25th or 50th wedding anniversary to join a Godly Home Ministry Team. This could be a unique and special way for Christian couples to celebrate God’s faithfulness, and at the same time serve as role models to the couples in the country where the GHM Team is serving.

When local people witness the Silver or Golden Wedding Anniversary of Christian couples who have joined a Short Term Mission Team, their example becomes engraved into the hearts of the people. This helps them to understand how precious it is to for a husband and wife to live their lifetime committed to each other, and how this commitment is pleasing to God. Also, in celebrating your anniversary together with the local people of Peru, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, and so on, you are effectively promoting the growth of the Godly Home Ministry.

We encourage Christian couples to bring their families with them so they can celebrate their anniversary together on a trip to one of these countries. They will also be able to enjoy the beautiful nature and culture of these countries, creating a meaningful and rewarding vacation for the whole family!

Photographs can be viewed of Elder Chun Chang-Il and his wife who joined a Godly Home Ministry in Costa Rica as they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with Costa Rican couples who had completed the Marriage School Program.

Costa Rica is especially famous for its tourist attractions and golf courses for the whole family. You can enjoy a natural hot spring with waterfalls in which the water temperatures vary as much as 26 degrees as you go down into the hot springs. Also there are beautiful sightseeing spots with volcanoes, jungles, beaches and mountains. It's truly a great place for a beautiful and memorable vacation!

So we strongly urge you to join us by participating in the mission work of the Godly Home Ministry and at the same time enjoy a wonderful vacation, visiting the beautiful countries of Costa Rica, Peru, Nicaragua, and the Caribbean, etc. (If you’re interested in participating in a Mission Trip to the Caribbean, please contact Missionary Jae Duk Chun in advance to discuss details about serving on a Mission Team going there.)

The Quince’ coming-of-age ceremonies and wedding ceremonies are held every year in Peru, Caribbean, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. We would love to see these Godly Home Ministries spread into other Latin American and South American countries in the coming years!