This month is all about rhythm. As a children’s ministry worker, you need to make sure you have a healthy rhythm and pace of life as you lead the kids and families at your church. If you aren’t in a good place to lead, the people around you will feel it. You also have the opportunity to help parents evaluate their own pace and evaluate whether their family is too busy to focus on the things that are really important in life. Don’t forget to check out this month’s articles, the toolbox item, and the videos for both you and the parents you serve. As always, let us know if there is anything we can do to help you!
Blessings,
The M2P Team
WHAT IS IT?
This REAL TALK: PARENT’S GUIDE is designed to help you facilitate an open and honest conversation with your child about the pace of life they (and the entire family) live. With this guide, you can be more intentional this month about carving out some time to have some real conversations, listening to your child’s perspective, and honestly evaluating whether your child (or your family as a whole) is in need of making some changes for everyone to move to a more sustainable rhythm.
HOW TO USE IT
Download the REAL TALK: PARENT’S GUIDE and post it on your website.
Email parents a copy of the resource or a link to it and encourage them to take time as a family to have the conversation.
Print copies of the REAL TALK: PARENT’S GUIDE for parents to grab at church.
We want to encourage, challenge, and equip you this month to develop a healthy personal rhythm and an intentional ministry rhythm as you lead in children’s ministry from who God has created you to be. From a children’s ministry standpoint, how can you plan ahead and coordinate with the other ministries in your church in order to stay in sync while not overtaxing the families of your church? Individually, how can you focus on your own connection with God, evaluate your own rhythm, and make room to do some things to grow yourself spiritually?
This month we want to encourage parents to evaluate their family’s rhythm and pace of life and make some intentional decisions to slow down and develop a healthy rhythm. We are all so busy, but parents can do some things to build a sustainable pace that will lead their families to a more healthy place.
We want to encourage, challenge, and equip you this month to develop a healthy personal rhythm and an intentional ministry rhythm as you lead in children’s ministry from who God has created you to be. From a children’s ministry standpoint, how can you plan ahead and coordinate with the other ministries in your church in order to stay in sync while not overtaxing the families of your church? Individually, how can you focus on your own connection with God, evaluate your own rhythm, and make room to do some things to grow yourself spiritually?
Click the image above to watch the video or click HERE!
Do you ever feel like your family calendar is a little out of control? For your kids, there’s school, sports, dance, drama, friends, church, homework, practice, rehearsal, games, events, and so much more. For you, there’s work, home, family, friends, church, plus all of the things I listed for your kids. It can be exhausting for sure!
There has to be a way to help your family develop a healthy pace of life and rhythm that will breathe life into your days instead of draining the life out of you. We have some tips for you. Check out this month’s parent video to hopefully find a few ways to lead your family into a good place as we start the fall.
Email 2
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” It’s an encouragement for us to step away from the craziness of life and take some time to just rest in who God is. As parents, you have the opportunity to lead the way in taking time for God and maybe, just maybe, scaling back on all that you and your family are involved with. You can model to your kids and teens what it means to slow down and rest.
This month’s Ministry to Parents articles and parent video give you some great ideas on how you can lean into a healthier pace of life for yourself and how to encourage your kids to do the same. Click here to see the video and click here to read the articles.
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
If I asked you, “Are you too busy?” what would you say? Well, I think I know. When I talk to parents and ask “How are you guys doing?” the response I get most often is “Well, we’re busy.” It’s interesting, when people say they’re busy, there is rarely a qualifier on it. It’s not, “Well, we’re good busy” or “We’re bad busy” … although there is sometime a “we’re crazy busy” …
The question I think we need to ask is this: “How busy is too busy?” When it comes to you, personally, how busy is too busy? I went through a season recently where I was way too busy. I got into a spot where I had said “yes” to way too many things, and I could feel it. Now, probably like you, I usually feel like I’m too busy, but this was to another level.
As I found myself in that situation, I could sense that overwhelmed feeling that kind of hovers around you. It was with me all the time. There wasn’t much space to think because I just had to keep doing. There wasn’t much time to breath and just be because I had to keep things going and I had to be productive. I bet you can relate.
I noticed that the overwhelming feeling I had could easily bleed out into my family, into my wife and my kids. The way I was treating and dealing with them could easily drift to a place I didn’t want it to be.
And then, as our kids have grown up, THEY have gotten busier too. The demands on their time go up as they get older, and the activities they are involved with get more serious. There are more and longer practices, there is more and harder homework, there are more social opportunities and, if we’re not careful, our kids will drift into a pace of life that they simply cannot mentally and emotionally sustain. They may be able to put on a mask and get through it for a while, but a crazy busy, unsustainable pace is simply not good for kids and teenagers.
So, when it comes to both you and your kids, when you think about your family, what can you do to maybe slow it down a little bit and build a more sustainable, intentional rhythm to life? Hopefully you have some family traditions that are important, things that both you and your kids look forward to doing together, things that can stay on your calendar. But, I bet there are some things that you can, and maybe you should, say “no” to,
I know it may sound crazy, but what if you, as their parents, helped your kids scale back the things they are involved in? What if, instead of pushing them to do and be involved in more, you led them to do and be involved in less? What would it look like for you to lead them to make wise choices with their time and create some space to rest and just be a kid or a teenager? If they weren’t so busy, would they maybe not feel so much pressure and have some time to just be and grow? Because you know what, that’s what they need.
Psalm 46:10 says this, “Be still and know that I am God.” Do you have time to actually do that? More than just going to church services and events, do you have the space to just mediate and reflect on God and your relationship with him? Do your kids have the time and space to just breath and spend time with God growing in their faith, or are they just way too scheduled and are they crowded to the point that have no time for God?
As you step into a new season this fall, think about, are there some things you can do for yourself as a parent to slow down and just be? Are there things that you can say “no” to in order to say “yes” to some better things? Can you develop an intentional, healthy rhythm for yourself and for your family that will lead you to a more peaceful home, to better relationships, and to a more healthy heart? Can you maybe sit down with your family and make some decisions not just about what you will be involved with, but maybe decide that there are some things you won’t be involved with in the coming months? Will you miss some things … yes. Will you maybe at home a little more … yes. Will you maybe have a little more “down time” than you are uses to … yes? Will it be worth it? That’s a big ole yes! It will be worth it to develop a healthy, sustainable family rhythm that gives you a sense of peace that you maybe haven’t experienced in years. It’ll help your pace. It’ll help your heart. It’ll help your faith. It’ll help your kids. And overall, it will just help your family. Which I know is what you want.
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,
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.
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]
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,
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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. 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!
