FIRST BAPTIST MONROE STUDENT MINISTRY
Your Role
“Life-on-life discipleship occurs more organically through the daily interactions and shared experiences of a family. And no one is more qualified to be the principal agent of spiritual investment than the parent.”
Pace, R. Scott, and Newton, Ed. Student Ministry by the Book
Make an Impact
Emphasize the Bible: How does your family engage with the Bible? The goal is not to get all of the answers to every question when they are asked, but instead to be able to go to scripture to find the answers to the questions that are being asked by students.
Pray as a family: How often does the family as a whole sit down to pray? The need to encourage prayer also comes with the need for students to see prayer modeled. Having designated times of prayer over a meal or before bed are great, but also be willing to pray together when the need arises. Be brave enough to pray over your student while they are present to hear the prayer.
Serve others: How often does your family practice service as a whole family? This looks different depending on the family, but there are plenty of options. Volunteering at FISH, working at the soup kitchen, or seek out a ministry or mission trip through the church just to name a few options. Serving others as a family unit allows for the children to become comfortable with serving as well as allows them to see the parents being the example of a serving believer.
Be aware of what media you consume: What is presented to students as good art have a major impact on what students invest their time and energy into. Music with messages about sex, partying, and girls or guys will have a lasting impact on how students view the world they live in. While teenagers will seek out music that their friends and peers see as valuable, making sure that their is a presence of Christian music, no matter the genre, is just as important.
Model your faith: Parents are the most influential people in the lives of their children. This starts at birth and lasts even after students leave the house. This is the culmination of all that has been mentioned above. Students who see their parents put value in reading the Bible, pray honestly, serve in their community, and be intentional with the media they consume will have the tendency to do the same.
Starting Conversations
1
What have they read?
Knowing what your student is studying is important. You ask how class is going at school and see the grades that tell you how well they are doing. While there are not grades in faith like in school, asking your student what they have been reading, what they have learned recently, and even what are some hard questions they may have will go a long way in starting to open up conversations around faith within the household.
2
What have you been reading?
While know what you student has been reading or studying is vital, students also benefit from hearing from their parents something they learned or have studied. A parent who has learned that they were wrong on an understanding of God and shares that with their student can leave a lasting mark on the faith walk of that child. Be willing to answer the questions you have for your student yourself. What have you been reading, what have you learned recently, and even what are some things you are struggling to understand right now.
3
Ask for hard questions.
This can be an intimidating option to parents, especially when teenagers already feel like they know more than the parent. having a chance once a week to sit down with your child and ask if they have any hard questions is a big step in encouraging open conversations about faith. Be ready to answer with "I don't know, let's look it up" regularly. The questions may be random and without a logical train of thought, but those times looking for an answer or being able to really explain something to them may be the building blocks they need to make their faith their own.