Linked Post: Keeping Parents In The Loop

At ym360, everything we do falls into one of four categories: Bible Study Resources, Training, Community, or Networking. For us, networking means highlighting great content, great people, and great ministries. When we find something valuable, we share it. This happens most frequently on our Flashback Friday posts. But it happens in other ways, as well.

One of the ways we focus on Networking is by linking to solid content we encounter on blogs or websites.

Bill Nance is an awesome youth minister and a ym360 Contributor. He writes a great which you can access here.

We loved this post Bill wrote. It's a super practical look at how you can make sure your students' parents know what's going on in your youth ministry. There are some great takeaways! We've copied an excerpt of the article below. Check it out, and then head over to Bill's blog to finish the rest. And be sure to tell him ym360 sent you! :)

Keeping Parents In The Loop, by Bill Nance

Do parents know whats going on in your ministry? 

I’m talking beyond a calendar of events. Do the parents of the students in your ministry know what your talking about in youth group? Do they understand the vision of your ministry and how it impacts their children? Do they know of any spiritual victories, or defeats, that their kids have had recently? 

Parents are the most important influencers in the lives of their children. That is undeniable. Yet we as youth workers too often ignore these influencers and instead operate independently of them. That is insanity. 

Believe me, I know the hesitation. I’ve been in ministry for a long time, and have seen my share of parents who couldn’t find a verse in the bible if you spotted them the page numbers. I’ve sent out plenty of calendars, announcements, emails, and texts only to hear from a parent the day after a big event, “I never saw anything about that!” So, it can sometimes feel like a waste of time when we communicate with parents. 

DON’T LET YOURSELF FEEL THAT WAY!

Even if it doesn’t impact 9 out of 10 parents, we are helping that one parent better impact their students. Truth is, the more we communicate the more likely we are helping parents. Here are some simple things we can do to help keep parents in the loop…

1. Communicate vision – Find times to regularly communicate the vision of the ministry, and put it into personal terms for the parents. For example, one of my goals of the ministry is to equip students to have a deeper relationship with Christ. That sounds great, but it would be more meaningful to a parent for me to say something like, “This month, we’ve taught your students how to be better communicate with God through prayer.” 

Click here to read the rest of Bill's article.