for Church Leaders
Regarding Ministry to Parents
➢ What does the spiritual life of a cross-section of typical lay households in our church look like in terms of daily Bible reading, prayer life, observing church-year festivals at home, conversations about faith?
➢ Do the lay parents of our churches have sufficient confidence in their understanding of God’s Word to lead in the spiritual nurture and development of other family members? If not, what are some of the causes for their lack of confidence?
➢ Do the ministry plans of our congregations include serious consideration for an active program aimed at providing biblical training and encouragement for Christian parents?
➢ Do our pastor-teacher-staff minister training facilities provide sufficient coursework and instruction to prepare future called workers to address the unique biblical role of Christian parents in their ministry?
➢ Does our church body produce quality materials aimed at preparing, guiding, and encouraging Christian parents for their difficult work of serving as the spiritual leaders of their own families?
➢ How does the ministry of God’s church train and equip Christian children as the next generation of godly parents? If this aspect of training and instruction of children is currently part of the church’s overall ministry plan, how effective is it?
➢ To what degree has our culture impacted the biblical role of parents? How are we addressing the culture issue?
➢ Does God’s church on earth have an obligation to inform parents about the educational models and moral foundations of educational options that are available to their children?
➢ Do we need to consider teaching Bible narratives (stories) to parents, adult converts and other adult members from an adult perspective?
➢ Should the current ministry model for youth and family include effective strategies to train and equip godly parents for their role as the spiritual leaders in their homes? (A serious discussion of this topic would seem to imply a deeper level of commitment in terms of budgetary impact, program identity in a ministry plan, and a much deeper level of called-worker commitment.)
➢ In what ways should we be rethinking the ministry relationship between the Christian church on earth and the Christian home?
➢ Is the church effectively teaching and encouraging young parents to live the celebration of the church year at home as a way to remember (and not forget) the many spiritual blessings that God continues to give to his people.
➢ Considering the godless nature of our American contemporary culture, do Christian parents need spiritual guidance and support to carry out their difficult role.
➢ Is the current age for confirming our young people too late for engaging and training parents to become the primary leaders of faith-life development in their own home?