FamilyFoundationBlog.com

All of us at The Family Foundation of Virginia hope that you will spend time with your loved ones and friends this Thanksgiving. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on the abundance of grace and mercy that is poured out on each of us each year by our loving God.

In the many battles we face, and in a culture where our values seem to be slipping away, it is often difficult to find joy and thankfulness. Yet, we are incredibly blessed in so many ways. Simply being alive, having the opportunity to serve our God, to live in a land that is free — still — and having family and friends to love are just some of the things we too often take for granted.

This year, we at The Family Foundation have much for which to be thankful. While many will first think of the recent elections where pro-family candidates were victorious, our gratitude goes far beyond those results. For one, we can never express enough how thankful we are for our supporters. This year, despite the difficult economy, donors to The Family Foundation helped make Winning Matters an unquestioned success. Add to that the nearly 1,300 people who attended our Annual Gala with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and we can truly say that God supplied for our needs in remarkable ways in 2009.

We also are extremely thankful for our army of volunteers, both those who guide or work through our local grassroots networks, and those who help us here in the office or at various events. Incredibly, volunteers sacrificially gave more than 1,000 hours of their time in our headquarters this year! From stuffing envelopes for mailings, helping distribute nearly 900,000 Voter Guides, to making thousands of phone calls, the help given by these volunteers can simply not be measured. We could not have had a successful Winning Matters campaign, nor Gala, without these selfless individuals. The Family Foundation — Board and staff — offer our collective heartfelt thanks.

We also are thankful for the challenges God places in our path. It is only through those hard times that we truly place our trust in Him and mature in our faith. Together, we face many challenges — culturally and politically. But it is for just this time that God has placed us in this Commonwealth. He chose us to be here to fight for our liberties when they are in peril. That is an honor for which we can truly be thankful.

Again, we thank you for your support of The Family Foundation. May God bless you abundantly this Thanksgiving!

On April 21, Pastors For Family Values, the pastoral component of The Family Foundation, will hold a Pastors Fellowship Lunch at 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 111, in Springfield. It will last from 12:00-2:00 p.m. There is no charge for the event, which includes lunch, but a reservation is required. All pastors are invited.

To RSVP, call Kathi Haley at 703-752-1624 or e-mail her at khaley@bible.edu.

The event is hosted by Capital Bible Seminary and among those who will speak are Family Foundation President Victoria Cobb and the Rev. John Smith, interim director of pastoral ministry for PFFV.

Speaking as one voice on the issues of the day, Pastors for Family Values assists pastors in performing their Biblical duty of being salt and light in our culture through civic activism.

The Christian life is a calling to make a difference. This is true during placid times. It is especially true during challenging days. We live during an age when our culture needs revitalization.

As we have traveled the commonwealth in recent weeks, speaking to groups of pastors all across Virginia, there has been one point on which everyone has agreed — people in our churches do not have a strong Biblical worldview. In other words, not enough of those attending church are grounded in God’s Word enough that it makes a difference in their lives. God principles are not being applied in every area, including political decisions. 

For real change to take place in our culture, real change has to take place in the church — one transformed life at a time. Unfortunately, because most members of evangelical churches are not well versed in God’s truth principles, many are easily misled by charismatic leaders — whether religious or political. The impact on our culture is devastating, and the church is complicit. In a postmodern culture where moral absolutes are scoffed at and dismissed, defending God’s truth is a full-time battle. The issues we work on at The Family Foundation — sacredness of human life, marriage, religious liberty and the rest — cannot be understood without a comprehensive Biblical worldview.      

Into that void has come “The Truth Project“ from Focus on the Family. This incredible 12 week DVD small-group study is sweeping the nation and providing foundational truth principles in an interactive, enjoyable, educational format. People who have experienced this series testify to its life changing power. Now, Focus on the Family is trying to make it easier for people to become trained so they can teach this great program in their community. It has scheduled a live Truth Project simulcast training event for Saturday, September 27. Normally, training seminars require travel and an entire weekend. Through the simulcast, however, you can find a local church that is carrying the feed and participate close to home in only one day. Or, perhaps, ask your church if it would be willing to host a simulcast.

We urge attendence at this training; the more who do, the more who can teach The Truth Project in homes and churches. This truly is a program that can transform lives — and thereby change our culture for the better.

Here is a list of the numerous churches in Virginia that are hosting the simulcast. You can click on the links in each box for more information about those specific workshops as well as click here for more general information: