Watch the video to learn how to join the movement!

This ministry is a faith-based effort – supported by people like you who are passionate about seeing Christ honored in and through their  families for generations to come!

You can become a partner with me by investing in this work, and in the lives of many people who need to know how to make Christ the center of their homes!

Even the smallest gifts matter – whatever the LORD would have you give is greatly appreciated!

Watch this 31 minute video to find out more!

I’m set up to receive your donations through this website – check out the button below which provides options for one-time gifts, and recurring donations on a monthly basis. Also, you can send your donations via postal mail to the address below!

If you’d like to contribute through the mail, you can make your checks payable as follows, and include the number 0103 in the memo field:

Carey Green
c/o High Country Bank
P.O. Box 1882
Buena Vista, CO 81211.

When writing, please indicate whether your gift is a one-time or monthly gift. And remember, though your gifts will not be tax-deductable, they are essential in helping me impact families for generations to come.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me. I’m happy to share the LORD’s vision for this ministry with you in more detail.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS:

Hi, thanks for your interest in what God is doing through the work of Christian Home and Family. This video has two purposes:

1.  To help you understand the calling God has given for the ministry of Christian Home and Family.
2. To invite you to become a financial partner with me in this ministry. Yes, this is a fund-raising video – but it’s more than that. It’s an opportunity for you to participate with God in what HE is doing to transform generations of people, through His work in their families.

 So… let’s get started…

 The idea for the Christian Home and Family website came to me in February/March of 2012… by April of that year I was writing blog articles, and by July I had the website up and running on a very basic level. That initial vision has grown and matured, resulting in a variety of resources to help families make Christ the center of their homes… which you’ll hear all about in this video.

I’ve chosen a construction theme for this video because I believe that God has called me to build something significant for His Kingdom, something that will impact families for generations to come.

Jesus used building imagery to speak of the church… He said,

…and Paul understood that the work of Christian ministry was a part of how Jesus does His work of building…

There are 6 sections I want to cover to help you understand what I feel called to build…

1. What the LORD has called me to build
2. Why it is vitally important to build it
3. Why I am the one to build it
4. How the LORD is leading me to build it
5. The obstacles I face in building it
6. Would the LORD have you help me build it?

That’s the overview…. let’s dive in…

 1. What the LORD has called me to build

I’ve prayerfully developed a mission statement that summarizes my calling:

• In my experience as a Pastor, I have seen many, many Christian homes… but sadly, very few of those are truly Christ-centered. believe the LORD is calling me to help families change that…
• But there’s a long-term goal to having a Christ-centered home… it’s “so that” … something of permanence can be established….
• a legacy of faith… radical, Jesus-loving, God-honoring faith that is inherited by every member of the household, so that it can make a God-glorifying difference
• for generations to come.

Can you imagine your faith being vibrantly passed down, not just to your children, but to your grandkids, great grandkids, and on throughout the rest of history? The LORD is calling me to help families build that kind of legacy.

2. Why it is vitally important to build it

The generational legacy of faith that I’m talking about is vitally important because it is deeply engrained in God’s plans for humanity…

Throughout the history of the world, God has been at work… and He’s been at work specifically through the family…

• At the very beginning of God’s work, He created two people, Adam and Eve… and He made them what? A family… and through the entrance of sin, their family was corrupted…
• To the point that the next major event in history is the flood, where God judges the sin of mankind. But with judgment also comes deliverance… and He brings that deliverance through what? … a faithful family (Noah’s family)
• The next major figure in God’s building project is a man named Abraham, who God promises what? A family, a lineage, a line of descendants through whom the entire world will be blessed.
• Abraham did receive his promised son Isaac… who had a family of his own. One of his sons is Jacob, who God later renames Israel. Israel has a family, 1 daughter and 12 sons, who are the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. Do you see that the history of the nation of Israel, is the history of a family… with all it’s good and bad points? God was still doing His own building project through the family…
• As God begins to establish the family of Israel, one of the very first commands given is to the individual families within the larger family of Israel… He says…”You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” The point? – The individual families were to be the primary place where devotion to God was the be passed along. It had to begin with the parents, who were to love God with all they were… and they were to pass their vibrant faith to their children, both by example and instruction. It was to be a generational legacy, developed in the home.
• Kings were appointed to lead Israel, and their 2^nd and greatest king was David. Though Israel’s greatest king, David failed in his own household, and the results were disastrous for the nation’s history… all because one of the first and most influential families whom God had appointed to lead the nation, lost their way…
• In Psalm 78, God reminded Israel of the vital role the family was to play…. “He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.” Faithfulness is to be passed down through the generations. That’s how God builds His people. A generational legacy of faith, passed down through families has been God’s plan all along.
• After hundreds of years of family failures, God speaks at the end of the Old Testament, telling what His next prophet’s role will be… “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”God was going to send a prophet (John the Baptist) to preach in the power of the Holy Spirit, in such a way that the family unit was restored…. so that the intended pattern of generational faithfulness and legacy could be revived.
• Then came Jesus… born into what? A family. As His mother, Mary was realizing the greatness of what God was doing, she said, “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.” Mary recognized that the miracle of her Son’s birth was connected to God’s promise to be merciful to the family of Abraham… Jesus is the offspring through whom all the world is blessed… and He came to us through the family line God built in Abraham…
• The New Testament instructs to keep the family at the center of passing along the legacy of true faith. “Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the LORD.”
• And we find ourselves here, today… when families are in trouble all over the globe. God is calling me to help families build their own legacy of faith to be passed on through the generations of their families. Because a generational legacy of faith, passed on through the family is THE biblical pattern for spiritual growth and vitality.

 3. Why am I the one to build it?

It has taken me a very long time to come to the place where I can talk about this sort of issue freely, and with confidence. Seeking to follow the teaching of the New Testament, I’ve not wanted to think more highly of myself than I ought. But for a long time I missed the implication of what Paul was saying… that there is a RIGHT way for me to think of myself, that is in line with what God has been building in my life, and therefore is NOT based in pride, but on truth.

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:10 have been of great help to me… “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.” The gifts, talents, experiences, wisdom, knowledge, everything we are comes from God as gifts of grace… that grace has an effect informing the kind of building we are to do within His kingdom.

As I look back on my life I see an amazing work the LORD has done…

• I came to faith in Christ in 1972, at age 5. I am the youngest of 5 kids, raised by blue-collar, hard-working parents. Besides my mother, who came to Christ when my oldest brother was a baby, there is no traceable legacy of faith in my ancestry. But in spite of that, the LORD has sovereignly done more than I knew to ask for…
• He has given me a family that boggles my mind. He’s building a legacy of generational faith in our family, despite me being ill-equipped to do so. He’s shown me that his grace toward me was not in vain… and I’m to use it to help others…

The LORD’s grace has also provide me gifts, experiences, and talents that seem to perfectly fit this calling….

• Spiritual gifts

• Technical skills

• Radio broadcast experience

• Counseling & discipleship

• Writing

• Pastoral experience

• My own role, growth, and experience as a Christian dad and husband.

But more importantly is God’s calling. I am confident, at peace, and walking daily in the joy of knowing the LORD has very clearly called me into this ministry.

 4. How the LORD is leading me to build it.

In just over 20 years of Pastoral ministry I’ve learned that the majority of Christians I have counseled, discipled, or taught have had the same 3 areas of weakness… all which stem from a missing generational legacy in their own lives. Those three areas are where I believe the LORD has shown me I am to focus… because they flow out the pattern He established for the family in Deuteronomy 6.

The first of those is the areas of personal spiritual health as a Christian. Most people struggle to consistently walk with the LORD, to live obediently, in trust and confidence. As Deuteronomy 6 showed us, that is a prerequisite for parents before they are able to lead their families well. I expect to do teaching on Christian growth, the reality of a Spirit-controlled life, and the vital importance of understanding and applying the truth of Christ living in and through each believer to help parents get their own spiritual walk on track.

The second area of focus will be the home… which for married couples, hinges on healthy marriages. Again, most couples I’ve counseled don’t know key scriptural truths about what God intends for a healthy marriage. As a result they need lots of help learning how to communicate in effective, godly ways, how to deal with unforgiveness, and how to deal with hurts that plague them.

The third area of focus will be the family… which naturally means biblical teaching and guidance in parenting. Again, few Christian parents know what it looks like to be truly “Christian” in the way they parent. I’ll be working hard to develop resources and opportunites for parents to learn and begin applying these vital things.

There’s a “God story” to point out here. I named the website Christian Home and Family based on research. All three, Christian, Home, and Family were high on the list of terms people search for when seeking help… so I named the site accordingly, expecting it to be easier to find as a result.

 Then, as I began prayerfully considering the vision for the ministry and the focus for my teaching, these three areas became obvious… and then it hit me. I’d chosen the name of the site without realizing that I’d also highlighted the top 3 areas of need for many, if not most, Christian homes. The LORD was in it…

 I’d like to briefly let you know some of the ways the LORD is showing me to focus on those 3 areas…

The website serves as my “home base” where all my services and resources can be found. In our digital age, it is my “outpost” that people are able to easily find. But the ministry is much more than a website…

The podcast – a podcast is like an internet radio show, only you are able to subscribe to it and have it automatically come to your computer, smart phone, or tablet device whenever there is a new episode. And the beauty of a podcast episode is that once it’s on the internet, it’s there for good, so people years from now will be able to find my episodes and be helped. As of December 2012, people in 27 countries are downloading episodes of the Christian Home and Family podcast on a regular basis, and over 2700 downloads have occurred. Those stats grow by almost 100 each week!

I’ve already developed “The Marriage Improvement Project” a devotional study for Christian couples. But I believe the LORD would have me create many more resources… videos, DVDs, books, etc.

Video chat – I’ve already done premarital counseling with one couple, have another lined up, and third couple who has signed up to do marital counseling with me… all via video chat. It’s a great way to allow people to remain in the comfort of their own home while still getting the help they need. Video chat can also be used for group studies, weekly accountability groups, and online seminars centered around topics.

Speaking – in time, I’ll have more and more opportunities to go out and speak at events where this emphasis on family legacies of faith can be taught and passed along.

Writing – I mentioned the books, but there are also the blog posts on the website, as well as some Christian-fiction I’ve been working on. Writing is one of the most effective ways to teach, shape thoughts, and impact people’s world-view. I love to write and desire to include writing as part of my “attack plan.”

Mentoring (see the “Men” tab)– Christian men need other men to come alongside them to counsel, guide, and train… and the LORD is growing my desire to help men rise up to the challenge of leadership in their own homes.

Intensives (see the “Marriage” tab) – Mindi, my wife, and I have done one weekend intensive, where a couple comes for a weekend of intense counseling and discipleship, to receive help in getting past the roadblocks they’ve hit in their marriage. I’ve seen these types of weekends be truly life-changing for many couples, and I’d love to offer that service as needed.

Weekends – I have in mind “Men’s weekends” where I’d take a small group of men, and in a discussion format walk through the biblical teaching about being a man, a husband, a father, and a leader in the church and the world. These weekends could spawn ongoing accountability groups via the internet to help men to stay connected to each other, focused, and on track.

Retreats – couple’s retreats, men’s retreats, parenting retreats, family retreats, the options are many and the need is great.

Full scale conferences – where many more people can be helped at one time.

Some of these are already happening on a small scale, others are still on the horizon. The LORD has not only called me, but has also given me the vision for how to implement much of what He’s calling me to do.

5. Obstacles I face

The most obvious and pressing obstacle is in the form of a financial puzzle… let me explain…

• In order to get started with many of the things I’ve mentioned, I need some equipment. Computers, video equipment, sound equipment – technological stuff to enable me to produce the quality and type of resources needed to take these things out of the realm of vision and make them reality. That’s purely a financial issue…
• The second part of that relates to a time-crunch… Curriculum, resources, videos, DVD sets, speaking… all of it requires time. But, I need to support my family as well… so if I have to get a full time job, my time is going to be limited, and I won’t be able to move ahead with many of the things I believe the LORD would have me do.
• Third, is the issue of non-profit status… most people who do what I’m trying to do, do so through becoming a non-profit, and therefore can offer donors a tax-deduction for their contributions. But with all of the family-related political issues on the scene in our day, and with many more to come, I have prayerfully chosen NOT to become a non-profit, so that I am free to say and write whatever I need to without the fear of the government hassling me. That may impact whether or not some people are willing to support this ministry, but it’s a risk and obstacle that I think is worth facing.

Again, Paul’s words have been of great encouragement… 2 Corinthians 9:10 – “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” God gives seed to farmers… God gives finances to ministries like this. I’m convinced that He has called me to do something that He will provide for me to do.

6. Would the LORD have you help me build it?

I ask you to prayerfully consider everything you’ve heard, and consider whether the LORD would have you become a financial partner with me. I’d love for you to be blessed by what the LORD does through this ministry, and to share in the eternal rewards.

Specifically, I ask you to consider becoming a financial partner in one of these 3 ways:

• by becoming a major donor. The LORD has blessed some financially in such ways that they may be able to contribute to this ministry in a major way. If that is you, I ask you to consider whether the LORD would have in invest in this ministry as a way that you can build for His kingdom.
• by becoming a monthly partner. I will need the encouragement and stability that the regular, monthly support of many smaller donations will provide. Anything from $15 a month to $100 or more a month will go a very long way toward helping this ministry become stable and secure so that the vision can be built into the future.
• by giving a one-time gift. Some may feel led to support, but only once. Gifts of this kind will be very helpful for one-time expenses I have, such as equipment, software purchases, etc.

I’m needing all support to be on-line and ready by February 2013. That’s when I’ll be moving into this ministry, and I’m hoping it will be able to be full-time. The amount of support that comes in will be largely what determines that.

I’d also like to offer donors some “perks” if you will…

• beta testing – donors will be invited to help me “test out” new products and services. That means they’ll receive the product at a discount, be able to give feedback to tweek and improve the products before general release to the public, and benefit from the products themselves while doing so.

• discounts – donors will receive discounts on regular products.

• email updates – donors will receive email updates on the status and progress of the ministry.

 As well, I want you to know my expected annual budget is $95,000 – which includes all ministry expenses, equipment, and personal support for my family so that I can do this ministry full time.

One benefit to going about this as a “for-profit” ministry instead of a “non-profit” ministry is that I’ll be able to generate income from some of the products and services I offer. It is my prayer that within 2 years I’ll be able to be fully self-funded, no longer needing support at all. So your financial support could be a short term support.

You can join me as a financial partner on the website at www.ChristianHomeandFamily.com/partner or by sending your donation to the address below.

Carey Green
c/o High Country Bank
P.O. Box 1882
Buena Vista, CO 81211.

Thanks for taking the time to learn about what the LORD is doing through the ministry of Christian Home and Family. I pray that Christ may ever more be the center of your home!

by