Children's ministry is much more than just ministry for kids.
Our goal should be to not only reach kids with the Gospel, but parents as well.
When you reach a child you change a life. When you reach a parent, you change an entire family.
Studies show that when a father comes to Christ and takes on the primary spiritual leadership of the home, the rest of the family will follow him.
We know when a person is over the age of 18, the chances of that person coming to Christ is very slim.
So how do we reach parents with the Gospel? How can we reach above the age of 18 factor and see them become followers of Jesus?
Here are some proven methods. Remember...the message never changes, but the method must change if we are going to reach today's parents.
Implement spiritual milestone classes.
There are some key times when parents will invite you into their world. These are spiritual moments when they will seek your help and guidance. Call it what you'd like...I call them spiritual milestones.
Here are the five times you can use milestones to reach parents:
Parent and Child Dedication
Bible presentation
Salvation
Baptism
Elementary graduation
As part of these milestones, offer a class that kids and parents attend together. If you will be intentional about sharing the Gospel in these classes, you will see parents come to Christ. I have seen this happen many, many times over.
You can the milestone kits for each of these important times. Order here.
Pray for parents who don't know Jesus.
I have seen drug addicts come to Christ because their children prayed for them. One father in particular. He was a drug dealer, but is now a Pastor. All because his pre-teen children began to pray for him to become a follower of Jesus. Their prayers swept Him into the kingdom.
Invite parents to special events where you share the Gospel.
Outreach events. Special guest speakers. Parenting seminars. Marriage conferences.
VBS family night.
Make your final day/night of VBS a family night. Invite parents to come hear their children sing or act out something they learned that week. Parents and grandparents love to see their children perform. Again, be intentional about sharing the Gospel.
Give kids the tools they need to share the Gospel.
What can you give children that they can use to share the Gospel with their parents and others? The Wordless book? A card with a simple plan of salvation? A mp3 or mp4 of someone sharing the Gospel? The Romans Road of salvation?
Train them how to use these tools.
In my teaching series, The Blab Lab, I give kids 4 tools they can use to share the Gospel. One of the girls, who is in 3rd grade, took it to her public school and shared it with her whole class. Here is an example below. You can order it at this link.
Care for their children.
Do you want to touch the heart of a parent? Then do something nice for their children or grandchildren. No matter now far a parent is away from God, when you minister to their children, you have their attention.
Think about how many times in Scripture someone came to Christ because of their children. They needed their child to be healed and so they brought their child to Jesus. Their child had died and so they desperately needed Jesus to bring their child back to life. Time and time again, people came to Jesus because they needed something for their child. The same is true to this day. If you want to reach parents, it will happen through their children.
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It can change parents. It can change kids. It can change the world.
