Do you have a consistent opportunity to talk to kids AND parents together?
Focusing only on children and neglecting parents is not only bad strategy, it is an irresponsible use of a church’s time, energy, and resources. We are not JUST responsible for children. We are ALSO responsible to the parents. Instead of designing programs that exclusively focus on children, we need to build programs for families.
For us, that’s KidStuf!
KidStuf’s Vision Statement: Shaping a child’s relationship with God, by strengthening the relationship with their parents.
At KidStuf, we believe that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church. This means we’ve created a consistent environment specifically set aside for parents and kids. Being intentional about our programming opens the door for meaningful dialogue in families.
No Drop-Offs!
This means that parents can’t just “drop-off” their kids at KidStuf and go grab a latte. KidStuf is an environment for kids AND parents.
Here’s what happens when you put kids and parents in the same environment:
· You communicate the importance that the church places on the influence of a parent.
· You put parents in the driver’s seat when it comes to their spiritual development.
· You make it easy for kids and parents to talk about faith.
· You give parents a plan and support them by giving them what they need to lead their family TODAY.
· You set parents up for a life-long, meaningful relationships.
As I talk with other churches I am reminded of how difficult it can be to gain the support of leadership and the buy-in of parents. Don’t give up! Find a way to create a shared family experience. It doesn’t have to be KidStuf. Create an experience that fits your community and makes sense in your context.
KidStuf without parents, is just another program. What makes KidStuf great is not what happens on the stage. What makes KidStuf great is what happens all week long at home when those families walk out the door.
When you really start believing that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church, you will have the courage you need to make the changes you need to make.
What step can you take this week towards creating a shared family experience?
February 25th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Do you do anything similar to this with parents and preschool age kids?
February 28th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Hi Jennifer,
We have babyD and a new parent orientation as part of that process. We connect with parents and cast vision for Waumba Land and our partnership at that stage. We also connect in an event called Kindergarten Konfidential as they are moving up from Preschool. We are going to try something new and different for our parents in the 2-3 year old stage. I’ll post on that idea soon!
You can find out more about babyD and the Kind Konf on the blog.
Kendra
May 19th, 2010 at 7:25 am
Have you experiemented with this concept at the teen level as well?
May 19th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Hi Alden,
We don’t have a consistent environment for parents and students. But we do other things that seem to work better with that age group.
We have a Freshman Openhouse - this is an event where parents sit around a table with their students small group leader and participate in programming together that helps get parents involved.
We send CD’s home with parents that highlight what their student will be learning while they are away at an event.
There are a few other things that we do with parents of students and you can read about them here. http://insidenorthpoint.org/kids/2010/05/03/our-plan-to-partner-with-parents/
Hope that helps!
K