Grace Establishes New Relationships

Family Matters equips people from all walks of life to engage more relationally in the world around them.

  Family Matters first met Terry and Glenda Mason through an inquiry on the Family Matters website.  The message from Terry read:  

I have been reading your book on Extreme Grandparenting and am getting very excited about it.  My wife and I work with what I like to call “The Grand Generation.” Our Church Leadership would like more information on how this teaching has been embraced by other churches.

  In the months that followed, Family Matters and the Masons established a relationship that God is now using to extend God’s grace into the senior adult community around Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. As leaders of the senior adult ministry at The Bridge Church, Terry and Glenda wanted more formal training on delivering Family Matters’ Grandparenting message to their seniors group.  As the Family Matters team explored Terry’s vision for ministering to the senior community, Terry shared that, “Older citizens have often been overlooked at church.  More than just events, we want to go in and connect.”   From the moment Terry engaged with Extreme Grandparenting, he knew it was a message that would give the 120 mature adults to which they minister a sense of purpose, hope and encouragement.  It was a message that clearly articulated so much of what Terry already knew in his heart.  Given Glenda and his desire for the community of seniors to be a place where people feel connected – the grace message was a perfect fit.  Terry went on to share that by using this message to engage their seniors, these resources, “Will help the elderly community feel they are an extension of the church, not an afterthought.”   The Mason’s heart for the senior adult community is not surprising, because they are people with oversized hearts.  As it turns out, their commitment to lifelong ministry stems from their love of Christ as well as their unique family situation.  More specifically, Terry and Glenda are a blended family.  They were both previously married and brought 5 children into their marriage 16 years ago.  Not only did they have 5 children, but they were foster parents to 4 children who suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and cerebral palsy. One of their adult sons battles schizophrenia and they are also now grandparents to 8 grandkids, one of which lives with them. Consequently, the Masons have a heart for blended and special needs families – as well as grandparents. In February of 2014, the Mason’s drove 8 hours to participate in a Family Matters Ambassador Training session in San Angelo, Texas.  At this training, they heard Tim Kimmel and the Family Matters team share how to train others on the restorative power of treating others with grace. Through their time in San Angelo, their eyes were opened to the bigger message of God’s grace and how they could impact other’s lives with this message of hope. The Masons now feel better equipped to bring this message back to their community and specifically their senior fellowship group.   We are grateful for God raising up people like the Masons who have their own story to tell that will minister to a variety of families.  And we are honored to call Terry and Glenda partners in the Ambassador Program as well as fellow stewards of the grace message.  If you’d like to make a financial gift to Family Matters to help us continuing investing in Ambassadors like the Masons, please click here.     If you’re interested in learning more about the Family Matters Ambassador Program, please send an email to Michelle Broek at michelle@familymatters.net.