I’m An Orange Dad
I’m an Orange Dad.
I know what you are thinking…I’m brown.
But I’m not.
I’m Orange.
Why you ask?
Because I believe in the Orange Essentials.
Here’s the deal.
I have 3 kids.
Sohaila.
Seanna.
Losiah.
All three of them are unique in the way that God has crafted them.
All three of them take a unique style of parenting.
All three of them can be set loose to follow God with the curriculum and ideals behind Orange.
These kids are the world to me.
I want to see them spring to Jesus however that looks.
Falling, stumbling, jumping, laughing, crying, puking, singing, screaming.
However they get there.
I want to help them.
And Reggie Joyner and his team have what I believe is the best way to do that.
They study the child.
They study wonder and put it in a way that I could never.
If parents would only realize how they bore their children. -George Bernard Shaw
I need all the help I can get, and I choose to follow the Orange model to pull that off.
So here is the plea.
If you are a church worker or volunteer…you need to know that I understand that you feel left out of the big show a lot.
You do the grunt work and get hardly a pat on the back when the parents pick you up.
You deal with kids that are on drugs and everyone is talking about how cool the Sunday morning cover song was.
I get it.
And I have just the opportunity for you to let it all out.
The Orange Conference.
Because you deserve all the training, friends, and fun that takes place there.
April 27th-28th you need to fly or drive your butt down to my city and hang with me and a bunch of crazy people dressed in Orange that want to inspire and fill you with the wonder Christ has placed inside you.
Trust me.
Are you ready?
Now tell me one thing…
How important are those who teach our children about Jesus?
Los
RAIN IT DOWN
No hope of affording the flight! I don’t really have a spare $1400 in my account.
But… the people who teach your kids about Jesus are there to support you in everything you do. It’s our job to help you bring your kids up. I think that’s an awesome privledge that we have to work alongside you.
We’re not as important as you are.
In the case of non-Christian families, it breaks my heart though.
A great word from a proud papa! Love those kids!
It’s great to see a parent who has really bought in to the whole Orange thinking. So many times we, as parents, feel like we’re supposed to do it all ourselves and never ask for help. The church exists primarily to glorify God and secondarily to equip it’s members to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. What greater place to start with that equipping than in the home and equip parents to disciple their kids. Thanks for the great article!
Empowering parents to see the potential God has for them and their children and their family and their families family and God’s family….What else is there really? There is little parents wouldn’t do to help their children be good at something so we have to create opportunities for parents to be alongside their children as they do something good for their eternity, and if you’re Orange…That’s where the FUN comes in!
wow, I’ve never heard of this curriculum before. at my church we use one called “the kitchen” by kidszmatter. but I will take a look at this too.
I am the director of the kids church class for ages 5-7, and I love working with the kids at our church. I and the others in this ministry do what we can, but at the end of the day, its mom and dad who matter the most. I think anything that helps parents to take the helm of their kids’ spiritual growth and lead them to Jesus is a good thing.
My church is already doing this curriculum and it’s great! I work with the jr highers and high schoolers and they really like it, it seems. We just got done with a month of talking about the difference between grace and karma. Good stuff!
By far one of my favorite posts of yours EVER and absolutely had to comment.
I am an orange mom and proud! I also have the honor to serve on staff in our Early Childhood ministry and love our Orange curriculum “My First Look” . I love that they even have things for infants and toddlers(the department I oversee) so they are hearing basic truths in fun ways that God made them, God loves them, and Jesus is their friend forever. As a mom I have seen my 3yo son grow so much through this curriculum. It can be a tough ministry because your not necessarily not going to see the fruit of pouring into them and seeing them to make the decision to accept Christ. But I tell my volunteers and parents that we are Helping to lay principles they will build on as they grow older. We are showing them Gods love in a very physical way (feeding, diaper changes, etc) and can see the fruit of that when kids are comfortable with us and get excited to come to class. We also provide opportunities for parents to get to go to service and be ministered to by other ministries. I had a lady come to the door to pick up her daughter one night after service (it was their first time) and she was telling me about how she enjoyed service and how worship was so awesome, unlike anything she had ever heard. The conversation then moved into me telling her things about the Childrens ministry and next thing I knew she was crying. I got to pray with her right there in the nursery doorway. God used two seemingly unconnected ministries , worship and Sunday school, and really spoke to this mommas heart. It is a moment that I don’t think I will ever forget. Thank you for this post. I am so passionate about all aspects of this ministry – my kiddos, their parents, and my amazing volunteers. This really made my morning. 
I’m SO with you. My wife is a children’s director (lest we call her a pastor) and has used the Orange curriculum for several years. She’s told me how great the conference is and has brought volunteers in the past. I love it because my son is three and he gets it! It’s on his level. There’s take home sheets so I know what he’s learning, what the bottom line is, and a memory verse that he can easily memorize. It’s so awesome when your 3 year old can tell you exactly what he learned at church – the whole story & what the bottom line is.
AMEN Bro! I couldn’t agree more. I’m a huge Orange dad myself. The concepts any tools that Reggie and his crew have put together through Rethink are amazing! My wife and I LOVE it! It’s so amazingly powerful to see what happens in a kids life when the church and the home can come together and make a HUGE impact on how they experience a real relationship with their Maker. It’s awesome!
I’m exploring the implications of the Orange Philosophy on fatherhood so much that I decided to make a blog about it. http://www.orangedad.com. I love this image at the top so much that I was wondering if I could use it as part of the logo for the blog. When I googled “orange dad,”, and this came up, I was so stoked. Please just let me know. Either way, shout out to the Orange Dads of the world!
Oh, and I’ll be at the Conference, all the way from Fresno, CA.