The Bible teaches that the family is to provide physical, emotional and spiritual care for its members as it prepares them to serve God, other persons, and creation. It is a microcosm of society. Parents have the privilege and unique responsibility of leading their children to know God and his ways.

A family is a kinship group related by blood, marriage or adoption. According to scripture, the family is founded in the marital relationship. It is within the covenantal bond of husband and wife that children are born and raised, cared for, and spiritually nurtured.

1. Source of Care

Family is characterized by a unique commitment among members and unique responsibility to care for and nurture is members. While some children are born outside of a marital relationship, the responsibility for care and nurturing still extends to the biological parents.

As a kinship group, families can extend for generations and expand, as members marry into other families. Families are related by blood or familial ties. Families can also be extended through adoption. Families can also be extended through adoption.

2. Covenantal Bond

The Bible focuses on the relation between parents and children and on the covental bond of family. The task of families includes: the provision of basic life necessities for its members (1 Tim. 5:4,8); the education of its members (Ex. 12:16,13,14; Deut. 6:20, 31:7, Josh. 4:6), the provision of love and encouragement to its members (1. Cor. 7:15-16, Matt. 15:3-6; 1 Tim. 5:4-8, 16; Eph. 5:21-33, 6:1-9, Col. 3:18-4, Titus 2:3-10), and the preparation for service in the kingdom of God.

3. Modelling Faith

Specifically, the parental task involves being models of faith, teachers of norms and principles, disciplinarians, informed caregivers, encouragers and examples of God’s love. In parenting, both fathering and mothering are important. Families without fathers or mothers need special care giving (Job 29:13, Acts 6:1-7).

4. Microcosm of Society

The family is a microcosm of the covenant community, the Body of Christ, which is the major support system for families (Matt. 10, Luke 12). A task of the Church is to affirm and support marriages and families by affording to them spiritual direction and spiritual nurturing, as well as support in times of difficulty and hardship. As indicated above, special care giving is required when marriages or families break down.

(From the Evangelical Fellowship of Canda statement on Marriage and Family – used with permission.)