Our goal as children's ministry leaders, should be seeing entire families come to Christ.
And I believe the best way to see parents come to Christ is through their children.
Think about how many times in Scripture you see parents connect with Jesus for one reason...their children were in need.
The same still happens today. God works through children to reach their entire family. I have seen this happen hundreds of times.
No matter how far away a father is from God, when you do something nice for his children, you have his attention.
And no matter how far away a mother is from God, when you impact the lives of her children, you will impact her as well.
Here are a few ways you can reach unchurched parents through their children.
Intentional Milestones. Milestones are key moments in a child's spiritual journey when you have their parents' attention. These include...
- Parent & Children Dedication
- Bible presentation
- Faith commitment
- Baptism
- Graduation to middle school
I have seen hundreds of parents come to Christ through these milestones and you can as well. You can get more information and purchase the milestones at this link.
Kids praying for their parents. Be intentional about having kids pray for their unchurched parents. I believe God will answer these prayers. I could share personal story after story of how God has used children to reach their parents.
Kids performing for their parents (and other family members). Unchurched parents will come to see their children perform. Here's an example. If you are doing VBS, make the last evening a family event. Have fun things for families to do together. Games. Crafts. Food. Have the kids come up front and sing one or more of the songs they have learned at VBS. Have the kids quote a Bible verse they have learned that week.
Then share the Gospel in a very creative way. Invite kids and parents who raise their hands for salvation to a class where you clearly share the Gospel. Here's more information about this class. If you will get them into this environment, you will see kids and parents come to Christ.
Kids sharing what they learned at church. Encourage kids to go home and share with their parents what they learned that day. This can be done online or through a typical take home paper. There is power in the Gospel, even when a child is sharing it.
Remember to always be thinking about kids' parents. How can you connect with them? How can you share the Gospel with them? How can you see them come to Christ?
Get to know parents. It's more effective when you build relationships with unchurched parents. People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
Also meditate on this...
When you reach a child you change a life. When you reach parents, you change the entire family.
I love the story of the jailer coming to Christ. Remember what happened? There was an earthquake that broke the chains of Paul and Silas and set them free. And it didn't stop there. Look what happened next. The story is found in Acts 16.
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
Did you see that? The entire family came to Christ.
My prayer for you and your ministry is that God will give you favor with the unchurched kids and parents in your community. That He will open doors to see them come to Christ. That entire families will be reached, their journeys redirected to the straight and narrow.
It is to this end that we pray, share and invest in families.
