Family ministry in the Bible. What does the Bible say about family ministry? “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” Exodus 20:12. The above verse from the Ten Commandments may be one of the best-known verses concerning families. Yet noticeably, it doesn’t mention the word “family.” […]
Questions without answers. Cultivating family faith … I remember when I heard about the Hemorrhaging Faith report and discovered that only one in three Canadian young adults who attended church weekly as a child still do so today. Half of the young adults who no longer attend church have also stopped identifying themselves with the […]
Ground-breaking new multi-national research by an international team of academic researchers and ministry practitioners from Brazil, Canada, the UK, and the USA asks, “Do church structures enable children’s and family ministry to grow?” This is a critical question if you’re a teacher, parent, volunteer or pastor involved with children’s or family ministry. Why? Because if […]
Families, not churches, must take the lead in the faith formation of children. Our theology is disjointed and needs to be reoriented. The primary responsibility for children’s spiritual health and growth rests with parents – not teachers, pastors, counsellors, kids min volunteers, or spiritual directors. Theological confusion concerning who is responsible for children’s faith development […]
The Canadian Children’s Ministry Report 2021 identified that like it or not, the pandemic exposed a tragic reality; “even good Christian homes struggled to build spiritual formation into the daily rhythms of life.” The apathy or unwillingness of parents to disciple their children shouldn’t be ignored. Parents need to be the driving force in the […]
What’s the purpose of the family? Sociologists generally view the purpose of the family as procreation and socialization. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Robin S. Smith, says the socializing purpose of the family in today’s society “is to provide a safe and nurturing space in which its members can know that feeling of ‘home’… the […]
What is your church doing to help parents? Are you doing enough? Do you occasionally offer a marriage enrichment course? Could you do more? Pastors know how to prepare sermons but usually have little or no training in family ministry. Rhetoric alone doesn’t build healthy families. Parents need pastors to spend time with them. Families […]
What pastors should know about parents. The 2022 Orange Report produced with Parent Cue reveals that more than fifty percent of Christian parents feel that their church could be more supportive of their parenting. About fifty percent of parents also say that pastors/clergy don’t understand the realities of their lives or value them as parents. […]
There’s a disturbing dysfunction in the body of Christ – a pastor/parent disconnect. Research identifies that “congregations and families are not collaborating adequately in children’s faith formation,” that “many churches are not explicit in their support of parents as children’s faith formers,” and that “many churches are uncertain about how to support family faith … […]
What does the Bible say about children? “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him” Psalm 127:3 (NLT). This well-known verse encapsulates the fact that children are a precious blessing from God. It should, therefore, come as no surprise to discover that children are both present and prominent throughout the […]
