Tomorrow I’m meeting with a few youth pastors, just to talk shop but one thing we wanted to connect on was family ministry. It’s occurred to me over the last couple of years how difficult it is to communicate with parents that the student ministry at Church of the Nativity wants to partner with them. I believe in our mission statement (Creating authentic relationships through consistent opportunities in irresistible environments that point teens to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ); however, I’m not sure exactly how that’s going to help parents when it comes to raising up Christian men and women. I know God will guide us in that direction; however, in the meantime it’s great when parents share with me the frustrations and difficulties they have with raising their kids. I don’t have kids and it won’t be for a number of years until I have teenagers.
One idea that is festering in my mind is the idea of doing a night where we invite not just parents but adults to experience the youth programs. The purpose would be to give people a better picture of what it is we do and also allow us to meet parents and adults building a better partnership. We’ll see how that pans out.