ENCOURAGE PARENTS (Step 3 in the M2P Roadmap)

Sometimes, parents seem to have it all together from the perspective of children and student ministry leaders. But parents are often uncertain and in need of support as they raise their kids, which is why ENCOURAGE PARENTS is Step 3 in the M2P Roadmap.

If you missed the first three posts on the M2P Roadmap, go to:

How to Start and Build a Ministry to Parents

Care for your Soul: Step 1

Build a Parent Ministry Plan: Step 2

I Am Not a Parenting Expert

When you decided to step into your job, we imagine you were excited to work with the children or teenagers. But then, you quickly discovered early on those students have parents. And when those parents need encouragement, they come to you because you love working with students.

But…are there times as a minister where you don’t feel like a parenting expert? If so, us too. Parenting is hard, and we’re not sure anyone can claim to be an expert at it. But we have some good news for you!

Parents don’t need us to be experts. They need us to be encouragers.

Now that’s a job any of us can do. Every time you walk through the hallways of your church, you have the opportunity to interact with parents who are:

Disappointed – their kid didn’t live up to their expectations and feel shame
Discouraged – they feel hopeless about their kid’s situation or behavior
Angry – their family just finished an intense fight in the car on the way to church
Hurting – their kid faces a struggle or traumatic event that has the parent reeling
Afraid – they feel fear over their kid daily

How? I Am Already So Busy

Parents are the single, most significant influence in the life of a student. At the same time, we know you have a lot happening with Wednesday night programming, year-round events, staff meetings, volunteer recruitment & training, and so much more. Where can you fit it all in?

This tension point is why we created the “how-to” resources. You can simply plug in the content where needed. We cover topics from prayer, puberty, job loss, and TECHNOLOGY!!!

The opportunity to encourage parents is BIG, so we’ve created four areas to help church leaders encourage parents. They are: