Parents make the best youth ministry volunteers. They usually have the most experience with eye rolls, crazy music, funny trends, viral videos and last minutes schedule changes. Seriously though, youth ministry cannot be successful unless you have parent involvement and buy in. Parents are the backbone of if a youth ministry will be successful or not. They are the ones who will get their kids to Bible classes, youth events, and fun hangout times. It is without a doubt we have some of the best parents here at North Heights. Our NHYG is growing and glowing because of the support of our parents and for that I am so thankful. I am also very excited about the future of how we will shape and grow our teenagers. The future looks bright and to that end we glorify God.
With that in mind consider the following passage for a moment and notice the precedence of how parents are to be involved in the ministry of their youth.
These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9
In the context, Moses is explaining how God’s Word should be central to everyone’s daily life. Notice he says, these commandments… “shall be on your hearts”. He teaches that we are to impress them on our children. This means we are to talk about God’s Word when we sit, walk, lie down, and rise up. That perfectly describes in just a few words the daily life of being a parents. Everywhere we go and everything we do needs to center around teaching our kids what it means to follow God. Parents are to model what a spiritual life looks like and are not to outsource this responsibility to anyone. I do believe that it takes a village (or a church family) to raise kids but it is up to the parents to provide the opportunity for the village to reenforce, support, and supplement what they are already doing in the home.
Children learn through observation and imitation. They catch on to our consistencies and inconsistencies. They hear and listen our words and will emulate what we say and what we do. Therefore, let me encourage you to integrate Scripture into your everyday conversations. Look for opportunities to share examples of how to connect biblical truths with real life situations.
I’m here to help you. Let’s raise our kids together. Help me raise my kids and I’ll help you raise your’s. It is truly a blessing to be your youth and family minister and I hope you see the efforts we are pushing to help raise our kids to be faithful followers of Jesus.
In Christ, alone.
Alex Mills