D6 Archives - Sam Luce

6 questions to help you rethink your family ministry needs

3 Comments / October 17, 2013

Rethink the needs of your church – What do the families in your particular context need? When are they dialed in? Do they need a resource or a program? Here are a few we have identified. Baby born – resource Baby dedicated – program Talking to your kids about sex – resource Baptism – resource […]

6 questions to help you rethink your family ministry needs Read More »

3 Simple things we ask parents to do.

One of the things we have to do in family ministry is do a better job of defining to parents what we mean by being the spiritual leaders of your home. I have heard many messages and have had many conversations around the concept of parents being the primary spiritual leaders. I totally agree and

12 responses to “3 Simple things we ask parents to do.”

Joey E

October 16, 2013

I like the simplicity of these things, plus the step-wise process (each day, each week, each month). Perhaps there should be a long-term step as well, such as each year, as well as what parents need to do to grow (besides the obvious read bible, pray).

What if you added something like, “Read a parenting book or attend a parenting class/conference once per year.” ??

samluce

October 16, 2013

Joey totally get it. I guess we are trying to keep it simple and accessible. I think reading books and parenting classes is where I would push people if they are interested in more. Take, Pray, Do is our baseline I also have recommendations I give people who push for more.

Make sense?

Reply
1. Joey E
  
  October 17, 2013
  
  Oh, yeah. Totally makes sense.
  
  Reply

Chris Claassen

October 16, 2013

Our church has championed what we call “Family Fundamentals.” While we haven’t put a time requirement on them we believe that a fully functioning family should:
Read Together – spend time in God’s word
Pray Together – spend time talking to God
Serve Together – spend time helping others
Play Together – have fun

samluce

October 16, 2013

Chris these are great! Thanks for sharing.

Reply

Jeff Mc Clung

October 16, 2013

Great idea, Sam. I love the simplicity and accessibility of this. Probably going to implement this in our ministry. How did you go about introducing and promoting the talk, pray, and do so parents know about and don’t forget about it.

Here’s some of the things we do to help partner with parents:
1. Parent Weekly – Short newsletter with details on what they’re kids learned, simple tips to reinforce it at home, and details on upcoming events. Also has our contact info, a short welcome note to new families from me, and our purpose statement.

2. Parenting Conference – Yearly event with workshops and speakers and resources to help equip our parents to be their child’s primary faith trainers.

3. Baptism Class – Parents attend with their kids to learn about salvation and baptism. It’s followed up with a 1 on 1 interview with one of our staffers to make sure kids are ready for baptism.

4. Dedication Class & Ceremony.

5. Website, Blog, Facebook, & Twitter to encourage, equip, and inform parents.

6. 8 week parenting class offered a couple of times a year during weekend services.

samluce

October 16, 2013

Love this Jeff. We promote at our parenting events. We promote on Sundays through handouts and through slides and announcements in adult service.

Reply

Jeremy Hooper

February 11, 2014

Thanks for sharing this! We are thinking about how to give our parents next steps with their kids in the simplest ways possible. This is a great start.

samluce

February 11, 2014

Jeremy thanks!

Reply

Jeremy

September 2, 2014

Hey Sam. Since your family ministry team has started using this with parents, have you seen success or buy in from them? How has the team kept this in front of them and have there been any adjustments made since you started? Thanks!

samluce

September 2, 2014

It’s a process. We have seen more success with parents of younger kids as they are more dialed in at that age. Their kids get busy as they get older and the things change but we have seen more involvement intentionally as a result.

Reply

Jeremy Hooper

November 9, 2015

Is your church still using this resource with families? If so, has it changed at all over time? If not, why did you stop using it? Thanks!