How to Connect the Dots...Part 2

At our last Equip meeting we talked about how to connect the space from Sunday to Sunday by connecting with the kids and families throughout the week.  There was some great insight and discussion brought up that I thought I would share with the rest of the world.  Here are the starting points:

• On average, we have 1 hour each week with the kids to make an eternal impact.
• If that is all the kids receive each week, God becomes ONE thing they DO rather than THE central part of their life.
• A child's faith is AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE developed in the home.

With that understanding, our first question becomes:

"If our desire as children's ministers is to see kids become fully, committed disciples of Christ, and that will ONLY happen if parents are doing things in the home, how can we make in roads into the families?"

Here are a few insights our volunteers had:

1. Provide easy ways for parents to know what their child/children learned that service (take home papers, craft projects, etc).
2. Mail a postcard to the kids (KIDS LOVE GETTING MAIL)  or parents during the week to remind them of what they learned.
3. Send an MP3 audio file via email to parents about what was covered and how to continue that learning throughout the week.
4. Meet & Greet your parents when they come to drop off or pick up there kids.  There is no substitute for the personal connection!
5. Continue our Family Journey In Faith ministry to inspire, encourage and equip parents to intentionally disciple their kids in the home.   (If your church does not have a ministry like this, I highly recommend starting one.  Email or comment if you have any questions.)

Those were the highlights.  Do you have other ideas to better the partnership between the home and the church?  Leave a comment with your thoughts.

Dean