Parents are Innocent

One of my primary goals has been to get parents involved in discipling their children at church. For several years I have tried to get families to do Bible studies during the week with their children but I have had very little success. I have used all different ideas. One summer I provided creative Bible studies that could be used for all ages. I advertised these and provide stacks of them all over the church. However, when I went to pick them up each week, I couldn't even tell a single one had been picked up until I counted them. Another time I gave children prizes for bringing back a take home Bible study of their lesson. Only 2 or 3 children would bring one back the next Sunday.

Getting parents involved in discipling their children has become a bitter subject among many children's leaders. For many it seems that the parents do not really care, but parents do care about their children. The problem is, they do not think it is their responsibility, that is what the church does for them.

After teaching SHAPE for over 7 years to adults I found that some of the philosophy of finding your ministry was pulling parents away from taking on their responsibility to disciple their children. Parents were being given the impression that their primary mission is to serve where they feel they are gifted and where they had interests. Therefore, if their SHAPE did not directly tie to teaching children about the Bible then they shouldn't be make this their ministry. This philosophy (much of which is not solely supported in the Bible) has limited the potential of many Children's ministries. Sadly, so many children's leaders are spending most of their time recruiting and less of them their time improving the program itself.

I believe that the parents are innocent. Parents are not saying they don't care, the parents just don't know what God wants them to do. Parents simply need be educated on what the Bible calls them to do and then they will independantly, without an announcement in the bulletin, join in this effort to raise their children up to be lovers of God's Word.