Pushing discipleship at home challenging

Understanding the need for family ministry isn't hard. Finding a way to do it, with so many ministry plates already spinning, may seem impossible. How do church leaders stop being the primary faith trainers of children and youth, and transition that role back into the homes? Have any churches done it? Can it happen without overhauling ministries?

For some churches, the solution might be as simple as finding a way to regularly remind parents to teach faith at home, and provide ideas and resources that make it easy to carry out. Other churches might take a more comprehensive approach.

Richard Ross, a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said that two years ago leaders from 18 churches venturing into family ministry assembled to talk about all the things they were learning. Ross noted some principals these church leaders felt could benefit those who might follow in their path:

?Empower a visionary champion?someone to take the lead.

?Establish new success measures. What gets measured gets done.

?Build on the existing church vision.

?Build into the existing church calendar.

?Use a home lens for everything (rather than making a new 'silo').

?Regularly invite families to commit to teaching faith at home.

?Develop a culture of family intentionality.

?Customize to fit the different kinds of families in the church.

?Invest in tools for families. Start where you are and build.

"None of this will go anywhere if the ministers in the church with children at home are not setting the pace," Ross counseled. "You can fool the people for a while, but not forever. Leaders who nurture warm heart connections with their children, transparently share their faith and pray deeply with those children, and who genuinely live out the Way in front of those children?offer our best hope to see the people in the pew do the same thing.

In recent years, several Texas churches have pioneered their own effective strategies to lead their families back toward practicing the Deuteronomy 6:4-9 mandate. Some of those strategies are:

Family-equipping approach

Philosophy: The family equipping model maintains a traditional age-graded program structure while calling parents to the task of spiritually training their children at home, and providing resources to assist them.

Example: LakePointe Church in Rockwall uses the family equipping approach. Under the leadership of Kurt Bruner, pastor of spiritual formation, the church launched HomePointe in 2008. At a HomePointe kiosk prominently located in the church's lobby, families can find a number of helpful guides and instructional items to help them take incremental steps to teach faith at home.

Bruner noted that the primary fruit they are seeing from HomePointe is "a proactive culture of family intentionality, increasing the likelihood our people will: (1) create a life-long, thriving marriage; (2) introduce their young children to Christ in the context of the home; and (3) launch their teens as devoted followers of Christ."

Family-based approach

Philosophy: A family-based approach maintains an age level- and interest-driven program while providing training events for parents and activities to help bring families together.

Example: Bannockburn Baptist in Austin sets each of their programs in a family context. Each age-group minister is charged with equipping parents to equip their children and teens. The pastor to singles emphasizes faith and home in ministry to singles, preparing them to succeed. A legacy conference held each year for senior adults charges them to pour into the lives of future generations.

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