No one likes to feel like they’ve had their head in the sand.
Parents least of all.
Here are four ways to increase parental involvement in your children’s or youth ministry:
1. Give options
The common “ask” parents receive is their constant presence on a weeknight.
That’s not always possible for many parents. You probably have parents who would love to be involved, but they simply can’t commit to a consistent physical presence.
Involvement beyond a physical presence can look like helping to prepare a craft ahead of meeting time, assisting in making copies of material, or even following up with other parents. For parents with limited availability, ask them to consider occasionally serving as helpers or fill-in teachers. Keep commitment open-ended.
Ask parents to pray for your ministry. You might even ask a few groups of parents if they’d be willing to commit to praying together during your meeting time.
2. Customize your program
Adaptability is a huge factor in engaging parental involvement.
Families are busy ‒ don’t try to fight it.
Instead, build programs around the lifestyles of the families in your church. This isn’t about keeping everybody happy as much as it is meeting them where they are. In keeping the needs of families in the forefront of your planning, you serve them and let them know their family importance to you.
3. Serve, serve, serve
Parents are often overwhelmed.
For your program to be seen as an enhancement of their family and not a needless diversion, it’s important you know what parents need. This can range from sending home informational packets about what their children learn to offering a parenting class concurrently with their children’s meeting time. Also, it’s key to be sensitive to needs beyond the sphere of your ministry.
4. Over-communicate
If parents are already involved, they want to stay informed.
If they don’t have the information they need to maintain their involvement, you run the risk of communicating they’re not a priority. You might consider using a web-based interactive calendar to allow key parents to be involved in the planning process. Here’s a list of things you’ll want to make sure are clear:
- Dates, times, and locations of meetings and events
- What their kids are expected to bring
- What their kids will be learning and why
- Contact information including contact name, phone number, email, etc.
How have you involved more parents in your ministry?
