Ways to Connect with Parents in your Ministry or Church

4 Parent Events to Offer This Year

Written by Jeremy Lee

As a staff director, you help care for children or teens, but do you ever find yourself also planning events? Is the thought of coordinating group-wide activities overwhelming? You may not have signed up for the job of an event planner, but the responsibilities come with the job. What do you do?

We, at Ministry to Parents, understand the struggle, so we created the M2P ROADMAP to support you in your job. This month at M2P, we focus on assisting you as you look for ways to connect with parents. One of the steps to put a parent ministry in place is EVENTS. So today, we aid you with 4 ideas.

Why Events?

Think about the impact of your summer camp or fall retreat. The events provide opportunities to build new relationships and create experiences that introduce people to Jesus.

What if you used events as a way to connect with parents in your ministry? Activities for parents are just as effective as the ones for students. The key is to be selective and strategic.

The Problem with Events

Problem: Chauffers

One obstacle to event planning for parents is that many parents serve as chauffeurs for their kids on nights and weekends. For example, parents drive their kids to sports practices, games, music lessons, dance recitals, and a host of other activities.

After you consider the time parents give to their work, their kid’s schedules, their commitments, and relationships, there’s not much time left. As a result, the odds are stacked against you when you invite them to an event at church. Does that mean you should give up? Is busyness a reason to abandon events for parents or families?

NO WAY! The opportunity to make an impact in the lives of parents is real.

Solution: Family Events

The key is to plan quality events that engage the entire family. You provide activities for parents to engage their student rather than drop them off.

Problem: Creativity and Time

Let’s face the facts, though. Events are amazing, but they require a ton of work, time, and creativity! You signed up to be a director to teens or kids, why should you have to plan events? And now I’m suggesting that you add some for parents, too? How can you continue to dream up ideas year after year?

Solution: 4 Themes

To help you out, I am going to share four of my favorite parent events. Hopefully, these ideas connect and encourage parents in the upcoming year.

Why Four?

The most common question I receive from ministers around me is, “How many events should I do for parents each year?”

I think the ideal number is four. Events don’t have to be expensive or elaborate. In fact, a little bit of effort and attention goes a long way towards building and growing your parent ministry.

Event #1: The Upgrade

The purpose of this event is to celebrate the transitions that occur in the age-graded ministries of your church. The transition from children’s ministry to middle school ministry or middle school to high school is significant. Invite the parents and their kids to church and share about the activities they will participate in during the upcoming year. Following the “informercial,” spend some time laughing together to make memories. Don’t be afraid to have some fun with the families and celebrate the students are making a move.

Event #2: Father-Daughter Dance

This activity is a crowd-pleasing event! Fill the social media feeds of the families in your church with cute pictures of fathers and daughters dressed up to enjoy a special evening together. This event creates an opportunity to nurture and encourage the crucial relationship between a dad and his daughter. It’s also the kind of event families anticipate and look forward to each year. When you host an event that becomes part of a family’s traditions, you create a significant moment that becomes a part of their family’s story.

Event #3: Mother-Son Nerf Night

The fathers and daughters can’t have all the fun. Offer an event for mothers and sons to enjoy. The reason this event is so popular and successful is that it leverages a “shoulder to shoulder” activity. It provides an environment for boys to play with their moms. Therefore, it makes it easier to share “face to face” moments because they have spent time together having fun first.

Event #4: Family Splash Day

The final event is a wet and wild splash day at the end of the school year. Take advantage of all the crazy water games available to enjoy some fun in the sun. This event allows you to celebrate the great moments that occurred during the school year and give families some encouragement as they wrap up the summer.

For those of you who thrive on organizing and administration… you know who you are…you shop the school supplies aisle for fun…We hope these ideas spur on your creativity and planning. Please have fun and let us know how it turns out.

But what if you are the one who would rather sleep in the rain than plan an event?

Some of you may feel fear just thinking about it. You envision the work and planning required for the four events.

Creating promo graphics
Building event schedules
Preparing the Bible lesson
Writing follow up emails
Assigning budgets
Knocking out checklists

Events Done For You

I have some great news! Our latest resource in the M2P Store is called the “Annual All-in-One Event Kit!” It includes everything you need to plan the four events outlined in this post.

If you’d like to have the planning done for you, click the Kit below and get started!

Whether you utilize the resource or not, I hope you can use events as a way to connect with parents in your church. They offer an incredible opportunity to build relationships, encourage parents, and make memories by bringing families together.

Jeremy Lee is the founder of Ministry to Parents, co-author of Pass It On, and has more than twenty-four years of ministry experience. He is passionate about helping ministers connect with the parents in their church. Jeremy lives outside Nashville, Tn with his wife Elisabeth and two sons. You can reach him at www.ministrytoparents.com.