Church :: Teach kids or equip parents?
Should the church teach kids or equip parents to disciple their kids? Can't the church do both? Shouldn't the church do both? It can try. But very few, if any, are succeeding at that approach. What usually happens is churches do one or the other. Not intentionally, but because of human nature. Let me explain.
When parents bring their kids to the pool, if the lifeguard is on duty, parents tend to relax and be less vigilant. In fact, many parents don't watch their kids at all, even if pool management warns them not to rely solely on the lifeguard. In the same way, when the church takes on the job of discipling kids, parents relax and become less active in the discipleship process. In fact, what happens is that if the church is discipling kids, then most parents won't do any formal discipleship in the home at all.
Here's the bottom line. As the church becomes more hands-on about discipling kids, parents become less hands-on. The more a church tries to provide discipleship classes and environments especially for kids, the less active parents are at discipling their kids at home. And since the church is working so hard at the job, it tends to focus less on exhorting and equipping parents for the task.
That's why at Church Acadiana we don't try to both. We try to focus on the best approach; the most effective approach; the most powerful approach. We exhort and equip parents to disciple their kids at home, and then enable families to do church together as a shared experience.
When parents bring their kids to the pool, if the lifeguard is on duty, parents tend to relax and be less vigilant. In fact, many parents don't watch their kids at all, even if pool management warns them not to rely solely on the lifeguard. In the same way, when the church takes on the job of discipling kids, parents relax and become less active in the discipleship process. In fact, what happens is that if the church is discipling kids, then most parents won't do any formal discipleship in the home at all.
Here's the bottom line. As the church becomes more hands-on about discipling kids, parents become less hands-on. The more a church tries to provide discipleship classes and environments especially for kids, the less active parents are at discipling their kids at home. And since the church is working so hard at the job, it tends to focus less on exhorting and equipping parents for the task.
That's why at Church Acadiana we don't try to both. We try to focus on the best approach; the most effective approach; the most powerful approach. We exhort and equip parents to disciple their kids at home, and then enable families to do church together as a shared experience.
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