Your November Resources Are Here!
When it comes to the way you lead in ministry, where are you placing your focus? Do you believe that the curriculum you choose has the most significant impact? Does your programming plan or ministry calendar win the day? What about your metrics or church growth models? Maybe it’s the books you’re reading, podcasts you’re following, or what the bigger ministry down the street is doing that you’re trying to imitate. Have you ever taken the time to pause long enough to ask/answer the question—what do I believe matters most or has the most lasting impact when it comes to effectively discipling this generation of kids and teens? If you haven’t asked/answered that question yet, then you probably haven’t asked/answered the one that follows—what do the parents of the kids and teens who are in my ministry need the most as they seek to lead and foster spiritual growth at home? However you answer those questions for this season or for your particular ministry context, an important truth you might discover along the way is that one of the best gifts that you can give a parent is the influence of other significant, caring, godly adults in the life of their child or teenager.
As kids and teenagers are growing up, learning to navigate the world around them, and wrestling with their many doubts and questions, they need lots of support, encouragement, and even some accountability along the way. Obviously, their parents need to be leading in this area, but many parents also understand the need to surround their kids and teens with other adult mentors who can speak into their lives and spiritual development. For most, they are going to have some adults around them (teachers, administrators, maybe coaches, neighbors, extended family) influencing them in some direction, but not all of these adult influencers speak the same language that parents are speaking or when it comes to life and faith. But what if we, as children’s ministry or youth ministry leaders, could help parents understand the untapped potential of surrounding their kids and teens with godly adult voices who are hearing and saying the same things that they are hearing and saying as parents? What if we could equip parents with the tools they need to access the areas in which their kids and teens need additional influence? What if our children’s ministries and youth ministries became places where every adult leader understood relational ministry and viewed their primary role as a caring adult who invests themselves in life-on-life discipleship with kids and teens, not just a teacher of Bible information?
This month’s M2P resources were created to equip, encourage, and even challenge you, the leaders who serve alongside you, and the parents in your ministry context to consider the power of a relational ministry mindset. The Online Parenting Class Videos paint a picture for parents of what having key adults in the lives of their kids and teens can do for them. The Coaching Video will provide you and those who serve alongside you with some thoughts and ideas as you seek to invite leaders into the children’s or youth ministry and train them to lead well. The Toolbox Resource, entitled Mentoring Assessment, will equip parents with a way to evaluate whether their kids and teens have the adult influences they need to grow deeper in their faith. Our Blog Articles and the latest episode of the M2P Podcast will help you drive this mindset home and offer great insights into this idea. Relational mentoring matters when it comes to the discipleship and faith development of kids and teens.
Your children’s or youth ministry can be a trusted place for providing parents with faithful, influential, godly adults to invest in and walk alongside their kids and teens. If you focus on this area of ministry and do it well, you will multiply the impact your children’s or youth ministry has, kids and teens will grow in their faith, and parents will be thankful.
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. – 3 John 1:4 ESV
The M2P Team
WHAT IS IT?
In this month’s Toolbox Resource, entitled Mentoring Assessment, we hope to help parents better assess and discern whether their child or teenager has Christian mentors who are supporting and encouraging them in their faith journey. There are specific and intentional decisions that parents can make in order to surround their children with the voices they need to help them process the doubts, questions, and issues they are facing. This month’s Toolbox Resource provides parents with a practical assessment they can use to determine the steps they can take to help their children and teenagers have the godly mentors they need.
HOW TO USE IT
- Download the Mentoring Assessment. and post it on your website.
- Email parents a copy of the resource and encourage parents to set aside some time to go through it.
- Print copies of the resources for parents to grab at church and let them know where they can pick them up.
Relational ministry happens when adults who have genuine faith in Jesus spend time with kids and teenagers, building relationships with them and sharing the good news of the Gospel through natural relationships. It goes beyond just being teachers and wanting to share content; it’s adults choosing to become spiritual mentors and life-on-life disciplers. It’s what Jesus did with His disciples, and it’s the model of ministry we see all through Scripture. So, as children’s and youth ministry leaders, a big part of our role is to build a ministry where discipleship happens, not primarily through what takes place in a classroom or on a stage, but what takes place as adults pour into kids and teens and they live life together in biblical community and accountability. And you have the opportunity to make this happen in your church because the kids and teenagers in your care need significant adults who will love and encourage them as they grow in their lives and faith.
In this month’s coaching videos, we will spend some time together unpacking that idea and providing you with some ideas you and your adult leaders can use to help parents lead at home.
To view, click HERE for youth and HERE for kids.
As they seek to raise their kids and teens in the faith, parents need lots of help. They may not recognize it, but one of the best things that the church can do for them is build a team of goldy adult teachers and leaders who can model what it means to have an authentic faith and be adults worth imitating. Spiritual mentors can serve as living testimonies, embodying the values and teachings of the faith, and play a pivotal role in shaping the spiritual journey of the next generation. This month’s Online Parenting Class helps parents see the value of having these mentors in the lives of their children and teens. It will also provide them with practical ideas on how to make this happen. When the church and the home are working together to influence kids and teens, deeper discipleship happens, and the kingdom of God grows.
To view, click HERE for youth and HERE for kids.
New blog posts coming this month:
- For Youth Ministry Leaders: “Volunteers as Mentors” by Amy Diller
- For Kids’ Ministry Parents: “Finding Mentors for Your Child” by Amy Diller
- For Youth Ministry Leaders: “Teaching Your Teens That Mentors Matter” by Chris Sasser
- For Youth Ministry Parents: “Encouraging Mentoring Relationships” by Chris Sasser
To view, click HERE