Moving to a Family-Based Philosophy of Ministry: Building Programs that Support the Youth and the Family

If you have been thinking through how youth ministry ought to relate to the family as I have been for the past few years, you may be looking ahead to this summer or next school year’s calendar and wondering, “How should we form our ministry calendar to minister to youth and their families?” Of course, establishing a commitment to family-based youth ministry is an issue pertaining to one’s philosophy of ministry, and the change cannot be made simply by changing up the young ministry calendar a bit. That being said, making the youth ministry calendar a little more family-friendly is a good way for a youth minister to get her feet wet who is considering moving to a more family-based style of ministry but has not yet worked through all the issues.

As with all ministry, youth ministers should plan their ministry (teaching, events, retreats, service projects, etc.) in a way that fit well with the context in which they find themselves. Because of this, ministries that have very similar theological assumptions and ministry philosophies will sometimes “look” very different because they exist in very different contexts. There are, however, here few principles or ideas that can guide us as we plan teaching, programs, and events that ministers both to teenagers and their families:

-Plan events that do not overly disrupt family schedules. If there’s a youth ministry event during a particular week that’s time-consuming, consider canceling youth group (or whatever the weekly evening even is called) for that week. Students are over-scheduled enough as it is.

-Consider inviting students’ families to events that are typically only for students. I believe that students need plenty of times of fellowship and discipleship without parents around, but there are some events that can also be great opportunities for families to fellowship. Try picking one or two events that could be family friendly and open it up to students’ families.

-Schedule a few weeks a year in which no formal youth ministry activities (except perhaps Sunday morning Christian education) with the express purpose of giving families time to be together. You might give ideas for family game nights or even encourage families to host one another for dinner.

-Have at least a couple of evenings each year for which parents are invited to participate in youth group, and provide childcare for younger siblings. You could also host a parent forum in which you have an authority on a parenting topic lead a discussion or seminar during youth group (again, provide childcare).

Does anyone else have some ideas about ways to plan a ministry calendar in a family-family way?

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