Average User Rating: 
The heart of the matter in student ministry is the role of a parent. Family is a creation of God and he expects the parents to set the example. Deuteronomy 6:20-21a, 24 says, "In the future your children will ask you, 'What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?' Then you must tell them...And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.'" (NLT) These verses clearly show that God intended for the parents to teach their children about his laws and ways. It's a system. For many student ministries, parents are doing what God intended; yet, in most, the system is broken, and what God intended is being replaced with a worldly system. They have no parents teaching or setting the example of being a disciple of Christ. This is the state of affairs for our students: growing and living in homes where they must raise themselves and seek out spiritual matters for themselves. For student ministers this creates a problem, because most students will follow the example of their parents. And when parents are apathetic on spiritual matters, so will the teenager. So, how can we minister to students properly when the parents negate everything done and said by the student minister or leaders? How can we minister to parents and get them to understand God's system when they have no interest? This is the heart of the matter. And as student ministers and leaders, we have been given the responsibility of dealing with the problem. Yes, our goal is to minister to students, but we must never forget what God intended and we must understand that in order to minister to students, ministering to parents is part of the equation. But how do we overcome the overwhelming obstacle? How do we get parents involved? (Even the parents who leave their children to raise themselves.) This is our challenge and I propose a few ways we can standup to this challenge.
We must recognize the problem. There is a problem!! These are the words that need repeating over and over again. It can no longer be the elephant in the room that is ignored. It must be put in the spotlight.
We must understand the Biblical principles. The Word of God is our foundation. It is God's message for revealing his system. Passages like Deuteronomy 6:20-24 must be memorized, meditated upon, and used in developing practices for dealing with the problem. Without a proper understanding of God's Word we have lost our foundation.
We must spend time in prayer. We cannot expect results if we fail to spend time praying for students and their parents. Pray for the parents individually and strategically. Having parents leading and teaching their children must be a burden for every student minister, and passionate prayer for every family shows this burden.
We must commit to reaching lost parents The heart of the matter in student ministry is the role of a parent. Family is a creation of God and he expects the parents to set the example.
This is not just the responsibility of the senior pastor or adult ministry. Ministry cannot be categorized into compartments. In your ministry plan of reaching students, reaching parents must be included.
We must create opportunities for parents to lead their students. This can be done in a variety of ways.
Help the overall strategy of the church for discipling parents- When parents are being discipled they will understand God's system.
Have leadership meetings with parents- Let parents know what is being done in the student ministry. If they don't show up to the meeting, make a point in contacting and setting up a meeting at the home. Be intentional!
Provide Bible studies parents can do with their teenagers at home- There are many resources that are just waiting to be utilized.And maybe you can be creative by writing your own material.
Help the church create opportunities to lead- When teenagers see their parents leading in church, they will lead.
Set the example within your own family- Make sure that your number one ministry is your family and that you are setting the example.
Getting parents involved needs to be a priority. God created his purpose for the family and anything outside his intention will fail. The world system has failed and it is up to the church, and more importantly student ministries, in helping parents become the example.
GROUP MAGAZINE OFFER
Free Trial Issue! Subscribe Today. Click here to sign up.
* = required field