There’s no doubt that relationships are at the heart of the Christian faith. It all starts with our relationship with God and then moves to our relationships with the people around us. Building and having strong, healthy relationships is an important part of how we live out the Gospel every day. This month, we hope to point you and the families you lead to helpful resources as we all seek to encourage one another in life. Relationships can be hard, both in and out of the home, and we all need tools and resources to help us navigate the difficulties that arise with friends, family, co-workers, and others. When we learn how to foster and have healthy relationships, we are much more likely to live in the peace that God provides, and we are better positioned to fulfill the purposes He has for us.
WHAT IS IT?
This month’s resource is a family experience where parents can lead a conversation about how to strengthen relationships and connections. Real Talk: Building Stronger Relationships at Home has Scripture to read together, questions to discuss, and some closing prayers that can lead a family to stronger bonds and more unity.
HOW TO USE IT
Download Real Talk: Building Stronger Relationships at Home and post it on your website.
Email parents a copy of the resource and encourage them to set aside some time to read it and pray through how they can use some of the principles in their home.
Print copies of the resource for parents to grab at church.
Share a copy of the resource with your ministry team and discuss it together.
We all know that relationships sit at the core of the Christian faith. It begins with our relationship with God and extends to the connections we have with those around us. Cultivating strong, healthy relationships is essential to living out the Gospel in our daily lives. This month, we aim to equip you and the families you lead with valuable resources to support and encourage each other as we seek to grow together. Whether within the home or beyond, relationships can be challenging, and we can all benefit from tools and guidance to navigate the complexities of life with friends, family, coworkers, and others. By learning to build and nurture healthy relationships, we can experience the peace that God offers and position ourselves to live in the purposes He has for our lives.
Do you ever wonder how to help your kids find their “people” and build strong friendships? In this month’s Parenting Class, we dive into what it means to help our children develop healthy, meaningful relationships that will support them throughout life. The video is full of practical ideas, like teaching kindness, creating opportunities for connection, and modeling good friendships yourself. We also encourage you to pray for the friendships your kids are building and trust God to guide them in finding the right people. If you’re looking for ways to nurture your child’s relationships and help them grow into someone who loves others well, take a few minutes and check out the video.
We all know that relationships sit at the core of the Christian faith. It begins with our relationship with God and extends to the connections we have with those around us. Cultivating strong, healthy relationships is essential to living out the Gospel in our daily lives. This month, we aim to equip you and the families you lead with valuable resources to support and encourage each other as we seek to grow together. Whether within the home or beyond, relationships can be challenging, and we can all benefit from tools and guidance to navigate the complexities of life with friends, family, coworkers, and others. By learning to build and nurture healthy relationships, we can experience the peace that God offers and position ourselves to live in the purposes He has for our lives.
Click the image above to watch the video or click HERE!
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Subject Line: It’s About the Relationships
Dear Parents,
As we all think about our lives, there is no doubt that one thing sits at the center of all we do. It’s not always about what we do, but it always revolves around the people we do it with and the relationships we have. How we interact with the people around us at work, school, church, and certainly at home often dictates how things go.
But if we’re honest, relationships can be hard. There can be tension, conflict, and struggle. All of us hope and pray for healthy relationships, especially with the people we love the most. Building and sustaining healthy relationships takes effort and energy. This month, we hope to give you the encouragement and tools you need to make the key relationships in your life as strong as they can be. Our Parenting Class has some great thoughts about this topic, so check it out.
We’ve also provided you with an exercise you can do with your family called Real Talk: Building Stronger Relationships at Home. Check it out and set aside some time to go through it with your kids.
To watch this month’s video or download the Toolbox Resource, click on the links below.
Copy/ Paste this email into a browser and send it to parents.
Subject Line: Building Relational Connections
Dear Parents,
Let’s face it: relationships are at the heart of all our lives. Whether it’s the bonds we share at home, at work, or within our communities, our connections shape and influence so much of what we do. They give us joy, comfort, and purpose, but they can also challenge us in unexpected ways.
Relationships aren’t always easy. They require patience, understanding, and intentional effort. As parents, one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children is the ability to build and sustain meaningful relationships, especially within our own families.
This month, we’re diving into the topic of building stronger, healthier connections. Through our Parenting Class, we’ll explore practical tools and encouragement to help you deepen the relationships that matter most and help your kids do the same. We also have an article for you to check out entitled Helping Your Kids Build Healthy Friendships. It gives a different perspective on this important conversation.
Whether you’re navigating a tough season or simply looking to strengthen your family’s bond, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Click the links below to get the resources.
I recently heard a story of a family dinner. It was around New Years, and the parents were facilitating a conversation about looking back at the last year and ahead to the new one. In the conversation, the dad asked kids what they wanted to be different for 2025, and one teenage son said something like this: “I’m hoping that this year I’ll be able to find my people.”
When I first heard that story, my heart sank a little; My guess is that this teenage boy had probably been struggling with his friendships for a while, maybe years. He expressed one of the most basic needs that we all have as humans, and that’s the need for connection and community.
Over the past number of years, the team at the Fuller Youth Institute have been doing research on the next generation, hoping to produce resources for parents and leaders to better understand and lead kids and teenagers into an authentic faith. Part of what Fuller has been saying is that adolescents are thinking about a lot of things, but much of it revolves around identity, belonging, and purpose. Now, we could talk about all three of these for a long time, but for the purpose of this conversation, we’re going to focus on belonging. You see, that’s what the teenage son I was talking about a few moments ago was expressing … his need for belonging. He wants to find what some people call his “tribe” … his people.
As parents, we want for our kids to find their people. Now, we hope that WE … their family … are their first people, but we all need to recognize that they need their peers. They need good friends and healthy relationships in order to have the fulfilling life that God wants them to have. My wife and I have watched our two kids, who are now young adults, go through seasons where they’ve had really good people and seasons when the people they had maybe weren’t the best for them. I believe that in order to learn how to belong, our kids need to learn how to build healthy relationships … how to find the right people.
When kids are younger, friendships form the building blocks for developing so many things that they will need: friendships help with social skills, emotional intelligence, and confidence. As parents, you play a key role in helping your children learn how to navigate early relationships, laying the groundwork for healthy connections in the years to come.
Here are a few practical ways you can help your young children build and nurture healthy relationships:
First, teach kindness and empathy. Children often model the behaviors they see at home, so encourage kindness by highlighting moments when your child shows empathy, such as sharing a toy or comforting a friend. You can also find and read stories that emphasize friendship and talk about how characters care for one another. Teach them stories from the Bible where people love and care for one another because of their faith in God. Proverbs 17:17 reminds us that “A friend loves at all times,” so remind your kids that part of building healthy relationships is truly caring for others.
Next, create opportunities for connection. Children often make friends and build relationships through shared activities. Look for opportunities for your child to be in environments where they can meet other kids and learn how to build relationships – places like church, sports teams, or playdates with other families. The more practice your kids can have at building relationships, the better they’ll get at building relationships. We already live in a world where we are more and more isolated, so help your kids learn how to connect.
Model healthy relationships. Children are always watching how you interact with others. Show them what a strong friendship looks like through your own relationships. Share with your child how you appreciate a friend’s support or how you’ve worked through disagreements. These examples demonstrate what it means to care for and respect others. And remember, the ability to form healthy friendships often starts with having a secure foundation at home. By showing love, affirming their worth, and creating a sense of safety, your child gains the confidence to step into the world and build meaningful connections.
Finally, pray for their relationships.Pray with and for your child as they grow in their ability to make friends. Ask God to bring people into their life who will uplift and encourage them. Pray for wisdom as a parent to guide them in navigating relationships and for discernment in choosing kind and thoughtful friends. Proverbs 13:20 reminds us: “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” Even for younger children, this principle rings true. Help them understand that good friends should bring out the best in them and encourage them to make choices that honor God.
By nurturing these principles early on, you can help your child grow into someone who builds and maintains healthy, God-honoring relationships. Remember, it’s not just about finding friends but learning how to be a good friend. As your child grows, the seeds you plant now will blossom into a lifetime of meaningful, healthy connections that will hopefully fuel them along the way.
Let’s face it: life is busy. We all have a lot going on in our jobs, with our families, with our friends, and in life in general. So many things are coming at us all the time, and we can feel stretched and easily get overwhelmed. When that happens, there is one thing that often gets crowded out, and that is our own personal faith in God. We fail to focus on our relationship with God as we feel like we have to focus on so many other things. This month, we want to encourage you to make sure you, as a kids ministry leader, are giving your own faith development the time and attention that it needs. We also want to help you practically encourage parents to do the same. As parents learn how to deepen their own faith, they will better lead their kids to deepen theirs. Their family will not be perfect, but they will be on a journey of faith together.
WHAT IS IT?
This month’s resource is a devotional exercise for parents to help them evaluate where faith development sits on their priority list. In the busyness of life, a focus on faith often gets crowded out. This exercise gives parents Scripture to read, reflection questions, and action steps that will help them value faith development on a deeper level.
HOW TO USE IT
Download the Focusing On Faith resource and post it on your website.
Email parents a copy of the resource and encourage them to set aside some time to read it and pray through how they can use some of the principles in their home.
Print copies of the resource for parents to grab at church.
Share a copy of the resource with your ministry team and discuss it together.
There is no doubt that you have a lot going on, a lot to do, and a lot to focus on. When you’re a youth ministry leader, that’s just a part of the deal. But there’s one thing that you really have to focus on if you want to be an effective leader, and that’s your own faith in Jesus. It’s easy to get caught up in doing work for God and forget to pursue the very God you are working for. This month, we want to encourage you to pay attention to how you are growing in your own faith and put some things into practice that will keep you close to the God you are working so hard to serve.
When it comes to putting things in place to help us maintain a healthy and growing faith, we often struggle. We know some things that we can do, but we aren’t always disciplined enough to keep them at the forefront of our minds and actions. This month’s Online Parenting Class will help you identify a few ways to intentionally give your faith development the time and attention it needs. We offer you a few things to think about and a few steps to take as you seek to prioritize your faith in a different way in this new season.
As a children’s ministry leader, your plate is always full. There’s so much to manage, so much to do, and so much demanding your attention. It just comes with the territory. But if you truly want to be an effective leader, there’s one priority you can’t afford to neglect: your own relationship with Jesus. It’s surprisingly easy to get so wrapped up in doing work for God that you forget to pursue God Himself. This month, we want to encourage you to intentionally nurture your faith. Take time to reflect, grow, and practice habits that keep you close to the God you’re seeking to serve.
Click the image above to watch the video or click HERE!
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Subject Line: Building Faith in The Chaos of Life
Dear Parents,
It’s a new season, and if you’re anything like most of us, life hasn’t slowed down; it’s picked right back up! After a brief pause in the usual busyness, the hustle of everyday routines can quickly take over. And in the midst of it all, it’s easy for our relationship with God to move down on the priority list.
We know He’s always there, but carving out the time to build and nurture that relationship often feels like a challenge. Yet, it’s this connection with God that sustains and guides us through every season of life. The good news? Prioritizing your faith doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With a little intention and focus, you can make your relationship with God—and your family’s faith journey—a central part of your life. In this month’s Online Parenting Class, we’re sharing practical, simple steps to help you keep faith front and center, no matter how busy life gets.
We also are providing you with a helpful resource called Focusing on Faith. This resource will guide you through a short devotional to help you evaluate where your faith development is on your priority list. You’ll be guided with Scripture readings and reflection questions.
To watch this month’s video or download the Toolbox Resource, click on the links below.
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Subject Line: Putting Faith First
Dear Parents,
When you think about what matters most in your life, what comes to mind first? Family, friends, work, and your kids’ activities like school, sports, or hobbies likely top the list. Add in your own responsibilities and interests, and it’s easy to feel stretched thin. But what about your relationship with God? Where does it fit in? Oftentimes, we end up trying to squeeze our faith into the little margin we have. We may offer a quick prayer every now and then or attend an occasional church service there, but true spiritual growth often takes a backseat. What if we chose to make faith the cornerstone of our priorities?
When we intentionally focus on deepening our faith, it can transform not just our lives but also the lives of our children. This month’s Online Parenting Class shares practical ways to make faith a top priority for you and your family, helping you take steps toward true and lasting spiritual growth.
I hope you’ll take some time to look over our resources this month. We’ve provided you with a helpful and practical devotional called Focusing on Faith, which will guide you in evaluating where your faith is on the priority list. We’ve also got a helpful parenting article for you titled “Putting Our Faith First.” I hope these resources will be encouraging for you as we all take steps to grow in our faith in this new season.
Don’t ever hesitate to reach out if we can do anything for you!
[INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE]
M2P KIDS January Parent Video Script
Happy New Year! We’re hoping that you are seeing this somewhere early in the new year and you are in the early stages of getting back into a familiar routine or maybe you’re starting some new things and new routines. Either way, you’re jumping back into a more normal rhythm of life that most of us live in most of the time. Well, as you step into this new season where you have the chance to reprioritize some things, we have something we want to encourage you to do.
So here it is. When it comes to deciding what you want to focus on in life and how you want to lead your family, we want to encourage you to make faith matter. Our hope is that you would prioritize your faith in God above anything else. We know there are a lot of things that are important to you as you move through life, but we would submit to you that there is nothing more important than your relationship with God and how that impacts your everyday life as well as the life of your kids.
Some of you are already putting your relationship with God at the top of your priority list. If that’s you, keep it up, and hopefully, the rest of what we’re going to share will simply serve as reminders for you. If you’re someone who maybe hasn’t prioritized your faith in the way that you think you should, we hope to give you a few ideas about things you can do to make faith matter in your life.
Here’s the thing … I’m guessing you are hoping that living a life of faith will be a priority for your children. You probably wouldn’t be watching this video if you didn’t. You want for your kids to have a real relationship with God that will guide them along the way. If you’re anything like me, you want your kids to learn and grow in healthy ways and for them to be healthy mentally, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. If this is true for you, there are a few things that you can do to help make that happen.
First, you have to make faith a priority for YOU. You have to make sure that you have your eyes “fixed on Jesus,” as Scripture says. Sure, you have to look at and think about a lot of things as you move through life, but Matthew 6:33 tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God.”How can you do that? You have to regularly carve out time to spend with God. This is not time doing things for God, but time in fellowship with God, getting to know Him better, and being molded and shaped by Him. We spend lots of time on lots of different things in life and those things are molding and shaping us. We need to take the time to be with God, allowing His Spirit to speak to us. Have a daily “quiet time,” or prayer time or devotion. Practice what Psalm 46:10 says and, “Be still and know that He is God.” You would be surprised the impact this can have on your child’s faith. Our kids are always watching us, and so much of what they learn from us is from our example. During the younger years when our kids are really watching what we say and do, it is incredibly important that we model what we want them to learn from us.
Next, be in community. Surround yourself with people who know you for who you are and can encourage you in your relationship with God. Community can be found in a small group, Sunday school class, or even through close friendships with people who share the same beliefs and values that you do. It is so important to have someone to talk to about faith and with whom you can process your questions and struggles. [God created us to be in community, so don’t isolate yourself or your family as you seek to make faith a top priority in your life.]
Make faith a priority for your family together. Yes, faith needs to matter to you, and there are things you need to do personally to grow, but you need to lead your family, and specifically, your kids, to prioritize faith in practical ways. Sometimes, it’s hard to talk about faith at home. We can talk about church, events, and programs, but what about Jesus? We would encourage you to make having conversations about faith a normal and natural part of life at home. Don’t make it weird. Don’t talk about God as “the big guy upstairs” or some distant being. Just have conversations about what God is doing in your life and help your kids be comfortable talking about how God is working in their life.
Another way to prioritize faith for your family is to attend church together. This may seem obvious, but studies have shown that children that attend church with their families regularly are more likely to stick with faith once they graduate from high school and beyond. So don’t look at church as the place where you can take your kids to “fix” them or keep them on the right path, but look at it as a community of people that your family is a part of, a group of people who are trying to grow closer to God together. The best way for your family to really become a part of a church community is to show up consistently.
Finally, as you start a new season hoping to prioritize faith in a different way, help your kids learn how to prioritize faith in their life. You can’t make them do this, but you can put them in situations where faith matters and surround them with people who will point them to a relationship with God. Encourage them to go to Sunday school or attend church events. Help them build relationships with other kids who are trying to grow in their faith. Help them build relationships with church leaders and other significant adults who will point them to Jesus and help them develop a faith that matters to their everyday life. As you focus on making your faith a priority and you model what that looks like, help your kids do the same.
A new season brings the opportunity for a new focus, and our hope and prayer for you and your family is that you would maybe move your faith and your relationship with God to the top of the priority list. If you do, life won’t be perfect, but we think you’ll be glad you did.
As families navigate the journey of life together, challenges are bound to come their way. Little ones with their own ideas and priorities grow into teenagers with strong opinions and desires, often leading to conflicts and misunderstandings. The road can often feel difficult for parents striving to maintain relationships and foster family unity. That’s why this month, we’re focusing on equipping and encouraging parents with tools and strategies to parent with grace. When parents learn to embrace God’s grace and forgiveness and extend that same grace to their children, they build stronger relationships and healthier family dynamics. While conflicts and misunderstandings can bruise relationships, learning how to repair and strengthen those connections is a vital skill for every parent.
This month’s resources are designed to inspire a grace-centered approach to family life where parents consistently work to restore relationships with their kids. In the Online Parenting Class, wechallenge parents to first accept God’s grace in their own lives and then practice practical, grace-filled parenting techniques at home. In the Coaching Video, you will get a few practical tips to help parents restore relationships with their kids and navigate struggles with wisdom and love. This month’s M2P Podcast features registered play therapist Brianna Edwards, who shares specific ways parents and leaders can cultivate a healthy and supportive culture at home. The Toolbox Item is a hands-on exercise inspired by Brianna’s insights, offering parents practical guidance for navigating conflict and fostering meaningful conversations with their children. Our Blogs and Social Media content offer a few additional tools to deepen the conversation and provide practical advice to parents.
Our prayer is that these resources will empower you to support the parents and families in your church as they embrace God’s grace and forgiveness and nurture the strong, healthy relationships they long for. Let us know how we can continue to support you as you support parents.
The M2P Team
WHAT IS IT?
This month’s resource is an exercise for parents to help them learn how to better navigate the relational “ruptures” that occur in family life. It gives parents prompts and questions that will help them reflect on how they react when life feels overwhelming, things are hard, and relationships are stressed. We always have a choice in how we handle things, and this tool gives some practical tips and ideas to help parents move to a healthy place as they seek to build strong relationships with their kids.
HOW TO USE IT
Download Grace and Repair in the Parenting Journey and post it on your website.
Email parents a copy of the resource and encourage them to set aside some time to read it and pray through how they can use some of the principles in their home.
Print copies of the resource for parents to grab at church.
Share a copy of the resource with your ministry team and discuss it together.
This month, we’re here to support you as a vital resource for parents facing the relational challenges that come with raising children. Life inevitably brings conflicts that can strain family bonds, leaving people hurt and isolated. As followers of Jesus, we know that God’s grace covers a multitude of sins, calling us to both live in His grace and extend it to others. Nowhere is this calling more essential than within the family. When parents learn to offer forgiveness and rebuild relationships, they strengthen the relationships that are most important to them. As a ministry leader, you have the opportunity to equip parents with practical tools to lead well and foster an environment at home where grace overflows and relationships are restored.
This month’s Online Parenting Class highlights a foundational element of our faith: forgiveness. As children grow, conflicts naturally arise, with words and actions sometimes causing pain and strain in relationships. In these challenging moments, parents can receive God’s grace and forgiveness for their shortcomings and, in turn, guide their kids toward living in that same grace to restore broken relationships. God calls us to live in unity with one another, and that journey starts at home. When parents and their kids learn to accept and extend God’s grace, relationships strengthen, and families are more able to live with a sense of peace at home that encourages us all.
We all know that teaching kids about forgiveness and reconciliation is foundational. It’s not only important for their relationships with others, but learning how to forgive helps them grow in their walk with the Lord. This month’s Coaching Video provides practical guidance for helping children understand what it means to apologize sincerely, ask for forgiveness, and work toward restoring relationships. We also give you a few ways to model these principles in your ministry and equip parents to reinforce them at home. Our hope is that we can guide children and parents to embrace God’s grace and extend it to others, creating a lasting impact on their hearts and lives. If we can help children and parents learn how to forgive each other, their relationships will strengthen, and their families will grow closer together.
Click the image above to watch the video or click HERE!
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Subject Line: Offering Grace to Our Kids
Dear Parents,
Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you are in conflict with your child? Of course you do. It’s just a natural part of family life. As your kids continue to grow and stretch their wings, there will be the inevitable struggles and relational challenges that are a part of life together. Our hope for your family is that you can learn to work through these conflicts and challenges in ways that will strengthen your relationships over time.
One of the key pieces of navigating these conflicts is learning how to live in the grace God provides and taking time to repair relationships along the way. If you, as a parent, can get into a pattern of asking for forgiveness from your child when you fall short, you will be planting seeds for a grace-filled relationship in the future. And, if you can learn to truly forgive your child when they fall short, you will be building a bridge to a stronger relationship. This month, we want to give you some tools that can help you step into parenting in a way that models the grace and forgiveness that God gives us and helps you have the relationships you long for.
Don’t forget to check out the resource called Grace and Repair in the Parenting Journey. This practical resource will help you navigate those moments in your family when conflict interrupts. You’ll find helpful prompts and questions that encourage healthy conversation for you and your child!
To watch this month’s video or download the Toolbox Resource, click on the links below.
Copy/ Paste this email into a browser and send it to parents.
Subject Line: Creating an Environment of Grace
Dear Parents,
Dream with me a little. Imagine a home where both you and your kids learn to live with and under the grace and forgiveness that God offers. Imagine a place where, even in the midst of conflict, relationships are strong, and love abounds. Unfortunately, this is not a typical picture of family life, especially as our kids start to spread their wings. As they grow and continue to explore who they are, conflicts arise, and relationships fracture. As a parent, you have the opportunity to create an environment where God’s grace is truly at the center of your relationships.
In order for you to be able to offer God’s grace to your kids, you have to start with prayer. We have to ask the Lord for wisdom about our own lives as well as about the lives of our children.This month we hope to help you step into learning how to better repair your relationships at home through living in the grace that God provides and teaching your kids to do the same.
I hope you’ll take some time to look over our parenting resource, Grace and Repair in the Parenting Journey. It’s full of practical insight to help navigate building a stronger relationship with your child through intentional questions and conversation prompts. We’ve also got a helpful parenting blog for you titled “I’m Sorry” Says “I Love You.”
Don’t ever hesitate to reach out if we can do anything for you!
[INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE]
M2P KIDS December Parent Video Script
Hi, Parents! Thank you for joining me as we talk about the power of apologies and seeking forgiveness in the relationships we have with our kids.
The Bible has much to say about forgiveness. Psalm 86:5 reminds us of a wonderful aspect of God’s character, stating, “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.” God’s forgiveness is an act of His unending mercy and grace toward us. We are reminded of how He handles the sins we confess to Him in Psalm 103:10-12. “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” His Word instructs us that as we have experienced the Lord’s forgiveness, we need to extend that same gift to each other. We see this through Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:32. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Teaching our kids about confession and forgiveness is an important responsibility we have to help them understand a key component of healthy relationships.
Apologizing and asking for forgiveness is not always something that comes easily for any of us. Conflict with others is so hard. It’s uncomfortable being vulnerable enough to acknowledge our shortcomings and mistakes, and pride and fear can prevent us from taking the initiative to move toward restoring relationships. But we can’t avoid conflict, so we need to become more comfortable with handling it. The goal of repair in any relationship like that between parent and child is to reestablish emotional connection and trust.
So where do we start in teaching our children healthy and godly ways to admit our wrongs and seek to fix it with those we’ve hurt? Always with prayer. We can ask the Lord for wisdom to recognize our sins and the humility to admit them and apologize to others we’ve hurt. Whenever we blow it, as we all do, we need to confess it to the Lord, ask for His forgiveness, and accept the grace and mercy He offers.
When we make mistakes that affect our children, we must start to repair the hurt. With anyone we’ve wronged, it’s important to be clear, concise, and sincere. This is especially true with children. Short explanations given in all sincerity are effective. We simply tell them we take responsibility for our words and actions, emphasizing that we know what we did hurt them. Taking time to ask our children to express their feelings validates them and affirms that what they feel isn’t trivial or unimportant to us. Hearing what they have to say gives us important insight into our kids’ hearts.
Offering an explanation about what happened and why helps them learn that we need to be cautious about what we say and do when our emotions are in overdrive. It can be as simple as “I was upset about something that happened at work, and I allowed it to come out in anger toward you.” It’s important for us to avoid making excuses or inserting an “I’m sorry, but…” statement. That shifts the blame off us and negates the heart of the apology.
Finally, asking the question, “How can I make it better?” and following through on it shows our kids that repairing things with them is very important. It assures them that our love for them is never-ending, allowing them to rest in the safety of a relationship that desires to fix what’s been broken. We want them to understand that the ultimate goal of forgiveness is to restore our relationship with the Lord and, whenever possible relationship with the one we’ve hurt.
There is so much our children learn from us as they listen to our words and observe our actions. When they inevitably make their own mistakes and hurt us, their siblings, and their friends, we can use those opportunities to guide them toward the restoration that they have seen us model. We will be able to walk them through making things right with the Lord and with others. Our faithfulness in modeling and coaching in this area helps to equip our children with tools for a lifetime of healthy relationships.
As children progress throughout their lives, they encounter significant milestones. They will celebrate taking their first steps, losing their first tooth, going to school, and turning double digits, just to name a few. Of greater importance, children will encounter significant spiritual milestones that serve as powerful, tangible reminders of how God is working in their lives. These spiritual milestones are essential for their faith development and can become foundational building blocks that shape their faith for a lifetime. As church leaders, we have the privilege and responsibility to not only witness many of these milestones but also to help facilitate these milestones and guide parents in recognizing and embracing them. Whether these moments arise naturally or happen unexpectedly in God’s perfect timing, they are all vital opportunities to witness God’s presence and work. By intentionally marking and celebrating these moments, we invite families to be part of God’s story and help them deepen their spiritual connection. Together, we can foster a faith that lasts and encourage parents to lead their children with confidence and faithfulness.
This month’s resources are all designed to help you and the parents in your church step into seeing and celebrating these milestones in your children. The Online Parenting Class will help parents think deeper about the spiritual milestones their kids are moving through and how to celebrate them. The Coaching Video gives you, as a ministry leader, ideas and encouragement on how you can both create milestone events and invite parents into these pivotal moments in their child’s life. The latest M2P Podcast features Lydia Randall talking about ministry and milestones and the importance of paying attention. Our Blog Articles for both leaders and parents will approach the topic from a few different angles for you to consider and reflect on. As always, we have Social Media Posts for you to engage and encourage online!
We’re thankful for you! Let us know how we can help!
The M2P Team
WHAT IS IT?
This month, we have a great resource for parents from My Faith Box. This resource helps parents think through the idea of spiritual milestones, why they matter, and ways to create and celebrate these milestones in the family. My Faith Box gives parents practical things to do and poses some questions that can help parents identify ways to implement regular spiritual disciplines into family life.
HOW TO USE IT
Download Creating and Celebrating Spiritual Milestones and post it on your website.
Email parents a copy of the resource and encourage parents to set aside some time to read it and pray through how they can use some of the principles in their home.
Print copies of the resource for parents to grab at church.
Share a copy of the resource with your ministry team and discuss it together.
In our Coaching Video this month, we encourage you, as a ministry leader, to be intentional about creating milestone moments in your church and involving parents whenever possible. You have a unique opportunity to guide children in experiencing spiritually significant moments that help shape their lives and faith journeys. While moments events like salvation and baptism provide perfect opportunities for celebration, we must also pay attention to the “unscheduled” times that God moves in the hearts of young people. These moments of growth, transformation, or personal breakthroughs are just as important to acknowledge. It’s important to help parents be fully involved in these key milestones, empowering them to lead their families spiritually and providing them with the confidence and tools they need to nurture faith at home.
This month’s Online Parenting Class focuses on helping parents see the value of recognizing and celebrating the spiritual milestones their children encounter on their faith journey. These milestones—such as a child’s first communion, baptism, or a personal commitment to follow Christ—can create lasting and meaningful memories that can remind them of God’s work in their lives. When parents are actively involved in these monumental moments, they become opportunities to deepen family bonds and create a shared legacy of faith that goes far beyond the immediate experience. By marking and celebrating these moments together, parents not only strengthen their child’s spiritual foundation but also foster a sense of gratitude and spiritual growth within the entire family.
