What is Parenting Ministry?

Parenting ministry encourages and supports Christian parents as they nurture their children. Parenting ministry is a ministry for ministers: God gave parents the role of primary spiritual leaders for their children. As parents, we minister to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of our children. This is a high calling and God does not expect us to do it on our own. God equips us with his Word, empowers us by the Holy Spirit, supports us with extended family, and surrounds us in the community of our church and neighbors. A parenting ministry is part of that community.

Whether from a local church or a ministry like Family Fire, parenting ministry comes alongside parents in the day-to-day challenges of raising their children into healthy adults equipped to walk with God in their own faith. Parenting ministry is usually an aspect of family ministry,  providing teaching and resources specifically for parents to share their faith with their children. But what does it mean to come alongside? And how does a ministry do that?

Walking side-by-side and rendering aid

You’ll hear ministries talk about “coming alongside” and lending helpful support to someone. It’s one of those overused phrases most of us would like to get away from using so much, but find that it tends to describe exactly what we mean. Most often it means to walk along together in life, side-by-side. People in community live life together, facing challenges and encouraging each other along the way. Coming alongside also means rendering aid. At sea, when a ship is in distress, other ships in the area have a responsibility to come alongside and render assistance. At Family Fire, we try to do both: be a ready partner for you with encouragement and support, and a resource you can rely on when you’re in distress in your parenting and relationships.

A library of parenting resources

How can a program “walk side-by-side” with someone in their parenting? At its heart, a ministry is people. Our Family Fire pastors and writers provide perspective and insight as “fellow strugglers” looking to God’s Word and his Holy Spirit for direction and purpose in the world we live in today. In all our blog posts and videos, we speak of “we” and “us” instead of addressing “you,” as if you’re alone in your situation. God is with us. And we want to be right there with you, too, not coming at you from the outside or above. We do this primarily through regular blog essays that you can easily search by topic. We also have a growing library of encouraging videos. You can also find several handy ebooks with substantive discussions on big topics in parenting:

Biblical Discipline: A Guide for Christian Parents - Helps you navigate the challenging, yet vital, responsibility of discipline.

A Handbook of Biblical Parenting: Cultivating Citizens of God's Kingdom

Chapter 1: “Principles of Biblical Parenting” - Sketches key, universal ideas that undergird parenting at all ages.

Chapter 2: “Shaping of Young Children” - Explores the unique joys and challenges of discipling children in their first 10 years or so.

Chapter 3: “Teaching Life and Relationship Skills” - A great deal of parenting is teaching children how to do things and modeling which things are important.

Chapter 4: "Parenting Tweens and Teens" - Considers how to guide older children through their tween and teen years when everything changes for them.

Chapter 5: “Guiding into Adulthood” - When our offspring are no longer children, our roles change; accepting and fostering these new boundaries of independence is key.

If in your parenting you feel like a ship in distress, you can request prayer from our dedicated prayer team.

Parenting ministry is an aspect of family ministry, treated holistically at Family Fire. We attempt to walk alongside you in your roles of parents, spouses, and even grandparents. The goal of family ministry is to strengthen families and the people in them, helping them to grow in faith and live out their Christian faith in their daily lives, especially at home. We believe that marriage and families are institutions designed by God, a gift for human flourishing. A strong, faith-filled family is a cornerstone of a healthy church and society. Being a parent is one of our highest callings as people of God and followers of Jesus.