Lesson 37: Encouraging and Equipping Parents
Creating a strong connection between the church and the home is essential. The church must continually work to encourage and equip parents to be the spiritual leaders in their home. Why?
- In Deuteronomy 6, God commands His people to teach their children His Word.
- In Isaiah 38:19b, we see that a generation learns about God’s faithfulness from the previous generation.
- The New Testament gives instruction for parent and child relationships, indicating that it matters to God.
The Bible provides examples of children who were trained by their parents and grandparents:
- Timothy was trained by his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5)
- Fathers of the Ephesus church were told to train up their children in the Lord (Ephesians 6:4)
Children’s ministry leaders have approximately 52 hours per year with a child IF they attend every week. Parents have much more than that, and they have opportunities to teach their children how to apply God’s Word to everyday life.
Parents can be encouraged to:
- Attend church regularly (Hebrews 10:25)
- Continually teach God’s Word to their children and then review and reinforce it in everyday life (Colossians 3:16)
- Involve their children in serving God in their home, church, and community (1 Peter 4:10)
The Discovery Land program provides a few intentional resources to help local churches support and engage parents in the spiritual development of their children:
- The Weekly Family Resource (Tracker’s Treasures and Tracker Jr.) – this weekly handout includes a letter to parents and activities and discussion questions for families to do together. This resource is explained in detail in the next lesson.
- The On Track Map – this resource helps define spiritual goals for children and can be a helpful tool in the church and at home. It helps parents and leaders understand what kids are capable of learning and helps break it down into clear goals organized by age groups.
- We are continually creating training and video resources to equip both church leaders and parents in child discipleship. All resources are always available on the members’ area of the website. If you are ever looking for a specific resource, please reach out to our team!