New Horizons

May, 1998: Mother/Daughter Churches

Contents Mother/Daughter Churches by Chip Stonehouse Mary, the Mother of Jesus by Julia L. Smail

Mother/Daughter Churches

by Chip Stonehouse

One highlight of the month of May is a special day set aside to honor mothers. Telephone lines are jammed with calls from grown-up children to their mothers. Greeting cards are in great demand. Other festivities become a tradition for honoring the woman who has devoted herself to her children's welfare. Those with a Christian mother have special reasons to "arise and call her blessed" (Prov. 31:28).

As Orthodox Presbyterians, let us seize the occasion also to honor congregations that have produced daughter churches. To be successful, a mother church must have vision, courage, and a strong commitment to the Great Commission. Just as mothers need to conquer fears when they send their children away to college or into the workforce, so also do mother churches need to overcome fears. Will we be able to meet our budget? What will happen to the special loving relationship we enjoy when many of our children begin worshiping at another location? Read more

Mary, the Mother of Jesus

by Julia L. Smail

As Christian mothers nurturing our children and training them up in a godly manner, we search the Holy Scriptures for the best role model of a mother we can find. Mary, the mother of Jesus, definitely receives highest honors in our evaluation of her godly role. There is so much of worth and value to be gleaned from Mary's example.

From Luke's account of Jesus' birth, we learn that Mary was "highly favored" by the Lord (Luke 1:28). She was granted the highest privilege of giving birth to the Holy One (the Son of God), who was to be called Jesus, "because he will save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). Read more