for awhile now some of the best thinkers in youth ministry have been saying youth ministry is in crisis. what we in youth ministry have been doing is not working as is evidenced by the number of kids who graduate from high school and youth group, leaving their faith behind as they move on to college and careers.
i’ve been pondering all of this for a while wondering what i can do as a volunteer and a small group leader. how can i make a difference for the girls i see every week? i’ve come up with 5 things that i’ll share in this space over the next few days. it’ll be a 4 part series as two of the items link together. and i’m going to write from my perspective as a volunteer small group leader. i do think that each of these items translate up to a youth group as a whole.
to lead off, we must as youth workers do better at supporting, encouraging, and engaging parents. we need to make an effort to meet & get to know the parents of the kids in our small groups.
as a volunteer, it is easy to skip engaging parents and leave that up to the paid staff person. but over the years i’ve learned that getting to know the parents and family situations of the girls in my group makes a difference in understanding the girls and their needs. i also realize that ideally parents are meant to be the primary disciplers of their kids. and if we get to know the parents, we can encourage and support them in that role. i’m fortunate to serve at church that believes part of youth ministry involves engaging and equipping parents. each year our youth ministry hosts a training seminar for parents, something i think all youth ministries should be doing.
here are a few ideas to connect with and serve parents:
- greet parents when they drop off and/or pick up their child for small group.
- email or send home a letter introducing yourself (and your co-leaders) to the parents of kids in your group.
- gather parent emails and email them the schedule for your group.
- create a blog or newsletter with info for parents (great resource is the center for parent/youth understanding)
- host a small group family night (yes your students will roll their eyes, but they’ll get over it)
- host a parent seminar (homeword ministries and center for parent/youth understanding both offer package deals to make it easy to host a parenting event)
reaching out to parents is key to helping students build a lifelong faith. as youth workers, we only have students for a few hours a week. anything we can do to help parents can only benefit the kids we serve.
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