Have you noticed that babies do not come into this world with a set of instructions tied around their wrists or attached to their ankles? Hospitals and the medical community do attempt to educate parents about nutrition and physical health related issues. Friends in the community are always eager to help parents get the "scoop" on the best preschools and schools for social, physical, mental and emotional skill building. But, who helps equip the parent(s) to learn about the spiritual growth and development off their child?
The answers: The church should! The children’s ministry in your church should! Many kids ministers might agree that we do not do enough as a church family to equip moms, dads, grandparents and significant care-givers to be all that God’s want them to be. So, if we, kids leaders in our churches, want to help parents, what should be the things that we encourage our churches to do in the area of parent education?
Glad you asked! Review this list and see if you may want to help your church get more serious about educating parents on these issues:
- Parents are the primary teachers of their children when it comes to spiritual matters! (An excellent training session for parents could be based on Deuteronomy 6:4-7.)
- One of the greatest joys as a parents is to lead their own children to make the decision to trust in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. (LifeWay’s resources that can help: "Leading a Child to Christ," "I’m a Christian Now" and "The Gospel/God’s Plan for Me" booklet" (Coming December 1!)
- Guiding kids behavior is biblical. How so and what are the "do’s" and "don’ts?" (LifeWay’s "Kids Discipline 101" is a great tool to utilize.)
- Parenting can be very challenging in the midst of crisis. (Consider presentations and discussions on divorce, death, illness, job loss, etc.)
- What’s the best way to teach our kids about spiritual disciplines (prayer, Bible-reading/study, sharing one’s faith). (A great resource is Lifeway’s "I’m a Christian, Now What?" a 90 day journal and devotional for new Christians.)
- Giving parents support in communicating with their kids about sex, purity, hot issues like bullying. (Two possible resources would be Lifeway’s "FLYTEremix: The Importance of Purity" and "FLYTEremix: Bully or Bullied?")
Parents choose churches according to the way the needs of their kids are met. In addition, parents need time, love and compassion as they navigate the challenging journey of guiding kids. Rise to the challenge to walk arm-in-arm with today’s parents!
