Family Ministry

A Call to Youth Ministers and the Church About Parent Ministry By various authors
A Different View of Family Ministry By James Hampton and Mark Hayse

Family ministry, as it's commonly understood and practiced, may not be the best way to do youth ministry.
A Parent's Wish: From Parent to Youth Worker By Ellen Cavanaugh

Letter of thanks and hopefulness from a parent, teacher, and volunteer youth worker.
And You Thought You Just Worked with Kids: Youth Ministry in a Multigenerational World By John Losey

No wonder so much frustration and miscommunication occurs when dealing with students, staff, parents, and board members. We speak different languages and wonder why no one understands.
Being Prophetic with Parents By Kent Clayton

Parents are our greatest asset but can also be our biggest challenge. Every minister will occasionally be called to act prophetically-it's part of the job description (or should be).
Between Two Worlds: Ministering to Modern Parents and Postmodern Students By Wes Dillon and Jim Liebelt

"Have you come to the stark realization that most parents interpret their worlds and faiths through the lens of modernity while their children (your students) see the same landscape through postmodern lenses?"
Boy, Was I Wrong! By Marv Penner

This veteran author, teacher, and speaker recalls some faulty assumptions he made about the role of parents in youth ministry—and how he straightened up and started flying right.
Elephants, Testosterone, and Family-Based Youth Ministry By Mark DeVries

If you take a quick summary of the youth ministry books from the last decade, what you'll find is an almost across-the-board agreement that the primary challenge facing young people in this generation is their extensive isolation from the world of adults. Our youth are growing up in a world in which this extensive (if unintentional) abandonment has become normal. In this context, we need an approach to youth ministry that addresses head-on the dramatic isolation faced by today's teenagers.
Family Ministry: What Are the Issues...and Is Anybody Really Doing It? By Chap Clark

A veteran of youth ministry wonders whether it's time for youth ministry to behave more like part of the church family.
How I Cured My Parent-Noia By Paul Borthwick

Do you fear parents? Criticize them? Feel defensive around them? So did the author, until he began to see things in a new light.
La Familia 101: Partnering with Parents to Minister to Hispanic Youth By Jose Nieves

Believe me; you owe it to the Juans and Marias to take a crash course in La Familia 101.
Managing Mom and Dad By Mike Woodruff

Much of what's involved in helping kids survive adolescence, come to faith in Christ, and press on toward adulthood is helping their parents do the same.
Parent Ministry Outside the Lines: Single Parents and Blended Families By Marv Penner

As the "traditional" family system becomes increasingly more unusual, we need to refocus our attention to the needs of different family structures.
Part of the Village: The Kinship Model for Youth Ministry By Annie Lockhart

A peek into a style of ministry stemming from the African American church that's quite different from today's corporate church culture.
Synchro-Mesh Ministry: The Parent-Youth Worker Connection By Mike Yaconelli

Trying to understand and work with parents can seem like shifting gears without a clutch. But it doesn't have to be that way.
The Art of Parental Communication: The Lighter Side By Steve Case

A lighthearted look at what youth workers really mean when they're talking to parents.
The Problem of Parents By Mike Yaconelli
What is Family-Based Youth Ministry? By Jim Burns

If someone knows a simple definition of family-based youth ministry, please send it right away," writes Jim Burns. In the meantime, here's his best guess...
When Your Child Is in Your Youth Group By Jenny Baker

What are the pros and cons of being the youth leader for your own kids?
Worshipping at the Altar of Me: The Role of Parents in Kids' Spiritual Formation By Mike DeVries

DeVries calls on us to come beside parents rather than thinking of ourselves as the "chosen ones" for their kids.
Youth Ministry for the Whole Family By Tom Lytle

Your kids don't live only in the youth room—the rest of the week they share a house with moms, dads, and probably a sibling or two. Here's how a little attention to the whole family can do wonders for your ministry effectiveness.