Since the beginning of time and all things ministry there has been this struggle of connecting parents to the greater picture of youth ministry. From Jesus staying behind (or getting left behind by his parents), to Paul watching a kid fall out of a window during a sermon (Acts 20:9 if you wanna read it yourself), there is a great need as youth workers to come along side and help parents, finding ways of connecting them to the beauty of what God is doing in their kids’ lives through the church and providing help where parents need it.
In my current setting I’m the family life pastor at my church, married but no kids, 12 years of ministry experience, and degrees in things that make me sound really smart. But I’m still reminded at this point that I’m coming from a non-parent perspective in ministry.
Yesterday’s article on starting a parent ministry resonated with many readers so we’re back today with a few more tips for partnering with parents.
A healthy youth ministry has great parent interaction, involvement and information—here are a few ideas to help you connect with the parents of the students in your ministry.
Host a youth ministry orientation meeting.
Steal a page from the public schools and welcome the incoming class of students in your ministry with a orientation meeting. Consider hosting a simple dessert night with testimonies of other students, parents, and volunteers. Focus on life change, discipleship, and fun. Maybe even have a night where parents “tour” your student ministry by visiting several rooms for presentations.
It looked like we were prepared for last years parent meeting. Some quality table decorations. Some delicious snacks. The only thing missing? PARENTS.
Not kidding: We went all out for a parent meeting…and had 2 parents show up. Want to know what we learned? Well, the big one was to make sure that the email actually went out and the announcement was actually mentioned in big church. Here are the others!
Effective ministry is the art of clearing hurdles. The difficulty is that you need to tell an exponential number of volunteers, teenagers, leaders, and parents that you are going to jump and coordinate it well enough so your ministry clears the hurdle in one piece. Check out Josh’s posts to see how he suggests you communicate to people of different age groups.
Clear Communication = Classy Communication
The key to clear communication is that it’s concise and offers the details that people need in order to act. Generally this includes date, time, place, location, what’s needed, how/if you need to RSVP, and the purpose of the event.
Since the beginning of time and all things ministry there has been this struggle of connecting parents to the greater picture of youth ministry. From Jesus staying behind (or getting left behind by his parents), to Paul watching a kid fall out of a window during a sermon (Acts 20:9 if you wanna read it yourself), there is a great need as youth workers to come along side and help parents, finding ways of connecting them to the beauty of what God is doing in their kids’ lives through the church and providing help where parents need it.
Yesterday’s article on starting a parent ministry resonated with many readers so we’re back today with a few more tips for partnering with parents.
It looked like we were prepared for last years parent meeting. Some quality table decorations. Some delicious snacks. The only thing missing? PARENTS.
Effective ministry is the art of clearing hurdles. The difficulty is that you need to tell an exponential number of volunteers, teenagers, leaders, and parents that you are going to jump and coordinate it well enough so your ministry clears the hurdle in one piece. Check out Josh’s posts to see how he suggests you communicate to people of different age groups.
Spiritual Maturity: A Note to Youth Workers [Part 2]
Spiritual Maturity: A Note to Youth Workers [Part 2]
How to Communicate with Students