What Parents Need From Your Ministry
It was our first parent teacher conference and I was a little nervous. I wondered, “What is this teacher going to say about my kid?” and “What does...
Parent Ministry: How are we serving parents? Join the conversation
Christopher Wesley
Nov 17, 2010
I want to teach my son how to tie his shoe. I want to teach him how to throw a curve ball. I want to teach him how to make fresh ravioli. I want to teach him that God loves him. I’m guessing teaching the first three things will be a lot easier than the last one, but then again I don’t know. This whole parenthood thing is new to me, as it is to all first time parents and I confess knowing what to teach my son and figuring out how to do it… a little overwhelming. I can’t imagine that I feel alone, that’s why it’s important to recognize that when it comes to serving teenagers we should also be serving parents…why?
Because we can’t replace them and they can’t replace us. As youth ministers there’s this pull to replace parents, but the truth is we need to compliment them. Teens aren’t always going to listen and speak to their parents, but they will listen and speak to other adults. The church needs to be full of those other adults, we just need to make ourselves accessible. We also have to get rid of a us vs. them mentality. Parents aren’t perfect, but they are the number 1 influence in their child’s life, we just need to help them be a healthy one. And it’s not that parents don’t care about faith they do, we just need to be there to back them up and give them answers.
We also need them because they know their kids, they’ve known them since day one, we’ve known them since what…7th grade? We know them on the weekends when they are off their meds, out of their clicks and in a different environment. Parents know them when they are acting their shoe size and not their age. Parents are our inside tract to reaching out and bringing students closer to Christ.
So to partner with parents, to compliment what they are doing and who they are, to give them the resources they need to raise up disciples of Christ we need to answer the question, “How are we serving parents?”
Please share your thoughts below.