Family Equipping Model for Family Ministry
Ministry with Families / CO 713 – Spring 2016
Raheel Rizvi
Nothing is more important for Christian parents than the spiritual well-being of our children. When they thrive, we rejoice; when they don't, we weep. And nothing is more spiritually potent in the lives of our children than churches and parents intentionally working in tandem to mature these young people.
The Family Equipping Model – keeps preschool, children and youth ministry segments in the church but encourages parents to lead the vast majority of these areas. The paid staff and adult, non-parenting volunteers are there to minister to the “spiritual orphans” and to equip, coach, encourage, and guide the parents as they disciple their children.
I like the Family Equipping Model for two primary reasons:
There has been a lot of discussion as of late regarding the importance of parents as the primary disciple-makers of their children/teens. I've come to think that this discussion has often missed the mark. The rhetoric I've observed has largely gone something like this, "parents are the primary disciple-makers of children, and we want to make sure we convince them of this." However, parents are already convinced of this truth and we do little to help them by bringing further emphasis to this truth.
Where the real discussion should be happening is this: how do we EQUIP parents to succeed in their discipling of their children? A lack of clarity over who is the primary discipler is not the issue, the issue is simply pragmatic: how can we help parents in discipling their kids?
I'd recommend it for anyone within church leadership. Don't just tell parents they are primary disciple-makers; equip them to maximize this role for God's glory.
The family-equipping model is the one that I would prefer. It carries the positives of the others views without the negatives. Rather than being a program addition or a cataclysmic programmatic and structural change, the family-equipping model is a philosophical/theological change that gradually is realized in the structure and programming. They retain some age-segregated ministries but keep the family as a priority with every program.
The family-equipping model reminds parents that they are the primary disciple-makers of their children; and it charges the church to come alongside the parents and assist in that endeavor.
The Family Equipping Model – keeps preschool, children and youth ministry segments in the church but encourages parents to lead the vast majority of these areas. The paid staff and adult, non-parenting volunteers are there to minister to the “spiritual orphans” and to equip, coach, encourage, and guide the parents as they disciple their children.
I like the Family Equipping Model for two primary reasons:
- It puts parents in their proper place as the primary spiritual leaders of their children.
- It allows the church and its ministries to build stronger families among Christian households and embrace spiritual orphans.
There has been a lot of discussion as of late regarding the importance of parents as the primary disciple-makers of their children/teens. I've come to think that this discussion has often missed the mark. The rhetoric I've observed has largely gone something like this, "parents are the primary disciple-makers of children, and we want to make sure we convince them of this." However, parents are already convinced of this truth and we do little to help them by bringing further emphasis to this truth.
Where the real discussion should be happening is this: how do we EQUIP parents to succeed in their discipling of their children? A lack of clarity over who is the primary discipler is not the issue, the issue is simply pragmatic: how can we help parents in discipling their kids?
I'd recommend it for anyone within church leadership. Don't just tell parents they are primary disciple-makers; equip them to maximize this role for God's glory.
The family-equipping model is the one that I would prefer. It carries the positives of the others views without the negatives. Rather than being a program addition or a cataclysmic programmatic and structural change, the family-equipping model is a philosophical/theological change that gradually is realized in the structure and programming. They retain some age-segregated ministries but keep the family as a priority with every program.
The family-equipping model reminds parents that they are the primary disciple-makers of their children; and it charges the church to come alongside the parents and assist in that endeavor.
Sheneka Land
Ministry With Families
Dr. Jackie Johns
Family Equipping Model for Family Ministry
The Family-Equipping model for family ministry is one in which the church works to promote the parents as the primary disciple-makers in the lives of their children while the church family is an active participant in the process.
A mingling of the generations within the church family is necessary to eliminate relationship isolation. This interweaving of associations will produce healthy families and healthy churches that each empower the other. The goal of family ministry is to impact the family for spiritual purposes. Once the family is transformed and changed, the church experiences the positive outcomes of that process.
While the church equips the family for Christian service in our present culture, caution must be taken to avoid losing Biblical distinctiveness while engaging the culture in teaching and training. I like the phrase shared in the book Perspectives that says: “Family ministry needs a Biblical prescription rather than a cultural prescription.” This is a powerful observation that must be carefully considered with much wisdom, because the church must find ways to effectively minister to the world’s present state.
In order for the church to produce effective Christian parenting, intentional training is key and fundamental. While methods may not be specifically outlined in Scripture, they are to be developed according to the principles of Scripture in orderly and detailed ways. When programs are designed and implemented with this in mind, family growth and discipleship will become a natural emergence. Strong foundations of faith and grace will be formed by parents with their families in conjunction with the support and partnership of the church. All involved must remember that the goal for all is to fall in love with a Biblical spiritual vision rather than a specific method.
The family-equipping method of ministry will produce strong spiritual families when parents, children and the entire church body work together serving God and each other side by side.
Ministry With Families
Dr. Jackie Johns
Family Equipping Model for Family Ministry
The Family-Equipping model for family ministry is one in which the church works to promote the parents as the primary disciple-makers in the lives of their children while the church family is an active participant in the process.
A mingling of the generations within the church family is necessary to eliminate relationship isolation. This interweaving of associations will produce healthy families and healthy churches that each empower the other. The goal of family ministry is to impact the family for spiritual purposes. Once the family is transformed and changed, the church experiences the positive outcomes of that process.
While the church equips the family for Christian service in our present culture, caution must be taken to avoid losing Biblical distinctiveness while engaging the culture in teaching and training. I like the phrase shared in the book Perspectives that says: “Family ministry needs a Biblical prescription rather than a cultural prescription.” This is a powerful observation that must be carefully considered with much wisdom, because the church must find ways to effectively minister to the world’s present state.
In order for the church to produce effective Christian parenting, intentional training is key and fundamental. While methods may not be specifically outlined in Scripture, they are to be developed according to the principles of Scripture in orderly and detailed ways. When programs are designed and implemented with this in mind, family growth and discipleship will become a natural emergence. Strong foundations of faith and grace will be formed by parents with their families in conjunction with the support and partnership of the church. All involved must remember that the goal for all is to fall in love with a Biblical spiritual vision rather than a specific method.
The family-equipping method of ministry will produce strong spiritual families when parents, children and the entire church body work together serving God and each other side by side.