Make your home the safest space for the biggest conversations with your youth and children

I don’t know if you knew this already, but you parents are scary to many younger youth workers. 

When we get it wrong – which we inevitably will (e.g., leave a child at the bowling alley, forget to give a trigger warning about the video we are using, think that vegan will cover gluten free), we understand your wrath, even if mediated through the church leaders. You know your young person better than us, and we do recognise that. 

We also recognise that we are normally far more temporary. You are often (and hopefully) permanent and established whereas we are often fleeting. Our temporary nature is not always our choice but either way, you don’t walk away as easily. 

Studies have also consistently shown that your influence far outweighs that of media or peers (or youth workers!). Whatever headlines you hear and whatever anecdotal evidence you see, research is clear: almost always, you matter way more than we do. 

So, we want to work with you, to support you in your parenting, and in the work of passing on the faith. Your work is deeply biblical; whether rooted in the Jewish tradition to “impress the commands on your children, talking about them in the home and on the streets” (Deuteronomy 6:7), or seeing the pattern in the life of Timothy, whose faith had clearly been shaped by that of his mum and gran (2 Timothy: 1). The good news about Jesus is said to be caught as much as taught, and so your own faith journey and relationship with Jesus is vital and the church partnering with you is essential. 

As a parent you want to see your child thrive, and that is spiritual as much as it is physical, intellectual, emotional or social. This series that we start today will equip you to feel more confident in how to go about nurturing faith and connecting the biblical dots in the middle of providing a taxi service, out of hours A&E, overdraft facility, hotel and restaurant. And that’s just the thin end of the parenting wedge.