RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

One of the most important aspects of children's ministry is partnering with parents...and communicating with them is a big part of this.

What are the best ways to communicate with parents?  Here's 7 ways you can connect with the people who have the biggest influence in the lives of the kids in your ministry.

Text
Did you know that 98% of text messages get read?  This is a sure-fire way to connect with parents.  More about that here.

Talk
Make a point to talk with parents at church.  Want to know where I spend my time on Sundays?  Talking with parents.  Be in the hallways and engage them in conversation.

Two-Minute Window
You have a two-minute window when parents are dropping off and picking up their children.  Be intentional about connecting with parents during this window of time.  More about that here.

Telephone
Call them.  And not just when you need them to volunteer.  Call just to say "hi" and ask how you can pray for their child.  

Take-Home Paper
Send home a communication piece.  Will it get read?  Not always, but you'd be surprised how many parents actually do read it.

Type 
Email still works.  Send out emails about upcoming events, classes and activities.  Or take it to the next level with a digital newsletter for parents.

Training
Offer training classes at key times in parents' lives with their children such as child dedication, baptism, transition into middle school, etc.

How do you communicate with parents?  
Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Dr. Tim Kimmel's new book entitled "Connecting Church and Home" releases February 19.  Tim is a leading advocate for the family.  He is the Executive Director of Family Matters, whose goal is to build grace based families by equipping and encouraging them for every age and stage of life.

In this book, Tim shows that grace should be the starting point of everything we do at home and church.  He gives us the four dimensions of grace-based parenting that are a workable blueprint for families and churches. 

In clear terms, he reveals that a parent's role is to connect to their child's heart in such a way that the child is prepared to connect to the heart of God.  The role of the church is to connect to the heart of each parent so they are better prepared to be the primary spiritual influence in their child's life.

I am going to take my staff through this book and I would encourage you to dive into it as well.  You will come out of the book with a Biblical vision of what family ministry really is.  You can order a copy of the book at this site.  

I will also be giving away a free copy of the book.  Just email me to enter the drawing.  I will announce the winner here on Thursday, Jan. 10.