1 The Biblical Model for Family Integrated Worship and Biblical Mandate for Daily Home Discipleship Pastor Ryan Walcott

Throughout the Bible the model for corporate worship is one that includes all generations of life. Parents, children, youth, singles, and seniors all unite in corporate worship of the Lord. Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 5-6 give a biblical mandate concerning the need for heads of households, specifically fathers, to disciple their families on a daily basis. Ephesians 4:11-12 indicates that it is the purpose of church leadership to equip the saints for the work of the ministry which includes this critical task. This paper asserts that a church that unites families through family integrated worship and equips them for and holds them accountable to home discipleship is biblical and will make disciples that are strong in their faith and doctrine in this generation and in generations to come. You do not have to look far today to find statistics that indicate the church in America is in decline. While the U.S. population continues to grow, church attendance continues to decline even in the most evangelical denominations. A recent report from the Lifeway organization of the Southern Baptist Convention indicates that greater than 75 % of high school students that attend youth ministries leave the church within two years of graduation.1 Recently the Raleigh Baptist Association published its annual report concerning church growth statistics. The repor