This month is all about helping you both build a solid ministry for parents at your church as well as helping parents lead their kids to connect with God through your church. As we head into the fall, we want to encourage parents to have a plan as they build their fall rhythms. We want to help you, as a ministry leader, focus on a few things that will better position you to influence parents and families in this next season. We want to provide a practical tool for parents that will give them something to do each day as we approach the new school year.
Don’t ever forget, what you are doing in your ministry to parents matters, and we want to encourage you along that journey. Oh, and did we mention that there is a new season of the M2P Podcast? You should definitely check that out!
Blessings,Â
The M2P Team
WHAT IS IT?
This calendar is designed to help parents intentionally pray for their kids in several different areas. The prompts focus on their child’s involvement at church, their relationships and experience at school, their relationships with their peers, and their personal faith.
HOW TO USE IT
Download the calendar and place it somewhere parents have easy access (online).
Email parents introducing the calendar and either attach the calendar or share a link where they can download it.
Print copies of the calendar for parents to grab at church.
As a ministry leader and M2P subscriber, you obviously believe in the importance of building a ministry to the whole family and having a real impact on parents. In this month’s coaching video, we give you some practical tips on things you can do to continue to strengthen your ministry to parents.
In this month’s video for parents, we encourage them to take the end of the summer to reset their faith and consider how they can help their kids and teens be even more invested in the life of your church as the fall approaches.
This month we want to help you strengthen your resolve to build a practical and helpful ministry to parents. You know how important this is, and we want to encourage you to do a few specific things to build and/or maintain your influence with parents.
This calendar is designed to help parents intentionally pray for their kids in several different areas. The prompts focus on their child’s involvement at church, their relationships and experience at school, their relationships with their peers, and their personal faith.
HOW TO USE IT
Download the calendar and place it somewhere parents have easy access (online).
Email parents introducing the calendar and either attach the calendar or share a link where they can download it.
Print copies of the calendar for parents to grab at church.
Copy/ Paste this email into a browser and send it to parents.
Subject Line: Where are you investing?
Dear Parents,
As we begin to see the end of summer and head into a new fall, have you thought much about the importance of being invested in the life of your church? You’ll soon be headed into a new season and how you engage yourself and how you lead your kids to be invested is really important. Check out this short video that we hope will give you some encouragement as you consider some next steps.
To watch the brief video, click the link below.
Thank you for giving us the privilege of partnering with you as you lead your family. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
[INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE]
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EMAIL 2
Copy/ Paste this email into a browser and send it to parents.
Subject Line: Help them connect!
Dear Parents,
One of the best things you can do for your kids is to help them make healthy relational connections, and where better to do that than at church? Check out this month’s parent video that will encourage you to encourage your kids to be involved and make the connections they need to grow.
Don’t forget that we’re here to support you and your family. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
[INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE]
Video Script
So it’s hot, it’s summer, but hopefully you are having a great season with your kids and your family. Now, I know, most of us still have to work and our responsibilities don’t necessarily go away just because it’s summer. For some of you, the pressure actually goes up because your kids aren’t in school every day and you have to figure out where are they going and how to pay for childcare or summer camp. So, even though summer can be a different schedule and somewhat of a break, it’s still busy for all of us.
For some of you, summer means a decrease in your church involvement – there’s more travel, and there’s rest, and there’s relaxation – you’re just not at church as much as you maybe are during the school year. Maybe your kids are still involved with summer camp and the mission trips, and VBS, but not you so much.
For all of us, fall will be soon approaching, and we have to begin thinking about our rhythm and our level of involvement in church and honestly … our faith in this next season.
Well, as a parent, let me encourage you in a few directions …
I would encourage you to take time this summer to not just rest and recharge, but to maybe reset in YOUR faith. Again, your kids might have a few opportunities through camp or VBS or the mission trip to grow in their faith, so make sure you are doing some things to grow in your faith as well.
Think about the importance of being invested in the ministries that are happening at your church, both for your kids and your teenagers, and for you.
There are so many potential benefits to your kids being involved, and you know many of them hopefully your kids can make connections and build relationships with a few adults who really care about them and will encourage them in their faith. Maybe they are going to build some solid relationships with friends who will be walking in their same direction in their faith. Hopefully your kids and teens are learning more about God and how to walk with him every day, gaining the tools and building the skills that will help them for a lifetime.
So, as you think about being more invested in both your personal faith and in the faith of your kids, remember that you have people at your church who want to partner with you. There are staff and volunteers who have given their life to helping you and your kids. Support them and encourage them as they seek to support and encourage your family.
Be involved – make participating in the life of your church a top priority in YOUR life and your kids’ lives as you head to the fall. Be thinking about how you can build your family schedule and your rhythm around making your faith development and the faith development of your kids a top priority – not just something you give time to on the occasional Sunday.
Begin to talk to your kids about their involvement in the church as the school year approaches, almost making it kind of a given that they are going to be there. And, if that might be a hard sell for your kids, encourage them to give it a try for at least a season
There are so many ways for you to be invested in this life of faith that your family gets to live, and I would encourage you, as you finish out summer and as you head towards the fall, to begin to develop a plan for how you are going to continue to grow in your own faith and how you’re going to lead your kids to where you want them to be.
This month we’ve got a lot of goodies for you to help with your parent ministry. The first resource we’ve created for you is a discussion starter activity that will help you get parents talking at your next parent meeting. The parent videos for the month are centered on helping teenagers plan their future and young boys develop relationally by finding their group of friends. We hope these resources will help you in your family ministry!
Blessings,Â
The M2P Team
TOOLBOX
WHAT IS IT?
The Parent Meeting Discussion Starters is an activity that can be used to break the ice of any parent meeting. The questions are designed to get parents talking to each other and create a warm environment to get your meeting started..
HOW TO USE IT
Take the slides and add them to any presentation software to show the “this or that” questions on the screen.Â
Have parents get into groups and share their answers with each other.
Ask for volunteers to share their answers with the whole group.
End the icebreaker time by thanking them for coming to the meeting, asking them to share with their group one prayer request for their kids, and then pray for each other’s families.
To download, click TOOLBOX.
COACHING VIDEO
One of the most useful and exciting benefits of being a member of M2P is getting to use the Instant Parent Page. The Instant Parent Page is updated for you each month and delivers that month’s M2P content to parents just by sharing one link!  In this coaching video we’ll give you a tutorial on how to use this resource with the families in your church.
To download, click COACHING.
PARENT VIDEO
Raising Sons: Helping Your Son Find His Pack
Young boys typically find a group of five to ten friends that share the same interests like sports or video games. When they have the affinity group in common, the boys are able to build friendships that they enjoy for years. That’s what we’re discussing in this month’s parent video!
One of the most useful and exciting benefits of being a member of M2P is getting to use the Instant Parent Page. The Instant Parent Page is updated for you each month and delivers that month’s M2P content to parents just by sharing one link!  In this coaching video we’ll give you a tutorial on how to use this resource with the families in your church.
The Parent Meeting Discussion Starters is an activity that can be used to break the ice of any parent meeting. The questions are designed to get parents talking to each other and create a warm environment to get your meeting started..
HOW TO USE IT
Print the resource and hand it out to parents to answer the questions and then share answers to the group.
Copy/ Paste this email into a browser and send it to parents.
Subject Line: Boys Travel in Packs
Dear Parents,
Did you know that developmentally young boys are more likely to be in a group of friends rather than just focus on one or two friends?
Young boys typically find a group of five to ten friends that share the same interests like sports or video games. When they have the affinity group in common, the boys are able to build friendships that they enjoy for years.
That’s what we’re discussing in this month’s parent video!
Thank you for the privilege of partnering with your family. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
[INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE]
EMAIL 2
Copy/ Paste this email into a browser and send it to parents.
Subject Line: You Son Needs His Pack
Dear Parents,
There are generally two paths that boys follow in regards to building friendships. They either find a pack of friends based on a shared affinity or they are more of a loner that doesn’t build significant friendships.
That’s why one of the most important things you can do as a parent is help your son find their pack of friends!Â
We give some thoughts on how to do that in this month’s parent video.
As always, I enjoy partnering with your family. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
[INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE]
VIDEO
SOCIAL MEDIA SWAG
New Parent Video!
Teenage boys typically find their friends through a shared affinity group. This is an important developmental process for the way they build friendships. We discuss this more in this month’s video.
We’re talking in this month’s parent video about how teenage boys find their friends and why it might be important for them to find their pack.
In this month’s video we’re talking about the way boy develop friendships during the teenage years. We think it will help you understand how to support them. Â
Video Script
Shout out to all the boy parents out there. I hope you’re doing well. Parenting boys is no joke. There’s a lot of unique things about parenting a boy. In this video, we’re going to talk about how to help boys boys develop healthy relationships as they’re heading towards middle
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Middle school can sneak up on you if you let it. You can get into all of the cool things that your child is doing for the first time. And as they have that sweet time of parties at school and play Little League sports, you may not really realize that the middle school years are coming. It’s easy to get yourself so stuck in the elementary years you don’t prepare well for the middle school years.
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In this video, I want to tell you about those relationships that are going to be coming in the middle school and high school years. Why am I picking on the boys?
Because boys developmentally build friendships and relationships differently than girls. Now I am speaking in general. Your boy may be different. A girl may have these issues as well, but in general, we’re talking about boys developing relationships.
The key point here is we want your son to find a pack of friends. Boys move in packs in middle school. And it’s actually been proven that if we don’t get them in a group or a pack, then what happens is they tend to stay out by themselves. Girls, in contrast, they will get in groups of two or three and are comfortable as they develop relationships. But boys in general will either have a pack or be by themselves. So one of the most strategic things you can do is help your son find a pack before middle school.
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Because if they can’t find that pack in middle school, many times, their relational pattern continues through high school. So how do you help your son find a pack? Well, statistics tell us that the best way to help your son find a pack is through shared affinity groups. That means do they like chess? We’ll get them in with a group of boys that like chess.
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Do they like video games? Help them find a group of friends and host parties where they can play those video games. Are they an athlete? Get them on a sports team and make sure they’re connected. Whatever it is their affinity, whatever their hobby, whatever they enjoy doing outside of school, help them find connections with other boys in a group before middle school.
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It’s so strategic, and obviously it’s not something you can fully control, but it might you something you can influence. And it is a great way to help them find a healthy group of friends as they head into those middle and high school years.
Father’s Day is an incredible opportunity for a church to connect with families. We’ve got a great video course called “9 Week Dad” that you can share with the fathers in your church to encourage them for Father’s Day. Our parent videos for the month will also help give encouragement to parents whose kids are facing anger and stress. Lots of good stuff for you to share with families.
Blessings,Â
The M2P Team
TOOLBOX
WHAT IS IT?
This course is designed to inspire dads in your ministry to take on the “Dadhood journey” with passion and purpose. Â Send the videos to the dads in your ministry over a 9-week period, use it for dad-focused small group, a digital gift for Father’s Day, or whatever purpose you see fit.
No matter how you choose to use the course, it will help the dads in your church get in the right headspace to take on the challenges of being a father!
HOW TO USE IT
Show the videos as a discussion starter for a Dad’s small group in your church.
Email the video links to Dads in your church as an encouragement for Father’s Day
Embed the videos to your church’s website, and hand out cards that have a link to the web page as a gift to Dad’s
To download, click TOOLBOX.
COACHING VIDEO
It can feel so lonely as a church leader that has to make decisions, respond to crises, and lead well. That’s why one of the best investments you can make in your own health and the health of your ministry is to start a parent advisory board. A parent advisory board is a group of trusted parents who give you insights, help make decisions, and all around support the ministry. In this coaching video we’ll talk all about how to start one.
To download, click COACHING.
PARENT VIDEO
Stress: Helping Your Kids Deal With Adult Subjects
Most of us have had the experience of our child asking to see something or do something that they weren’t ready to do. One of our main jobs as parents is to help our kids understand when it’s the right time to experience certain things. A lot of the time, though, your child will want to see or do something before they are ready.
So how do you communicate to them that they’re not ready in a way they can understand?
That’s what we’re discussing in this month’s parent video!
It can feel so lonely as a church leader that has to make decisions, respond to crises, and lead well. That’s why one of the best investments you can make in your own health and the health of your ministry is to start a parent advisory board. A parent advisory board is a group of trusted parents who give you insights, help make decisions, and all around support the ministry. In this coaching video we’ll talk all about how to start one.
