Parent Involvement is Critical to Kids' "Faith Success"

If you have school-age children, you've probably already heard how crucial parent involvement is to a child's educational success. Children whose parents are actively involved in their kids' school experience have significantly higher graduation and lower school drop-out rates, better grades, a larger number of positive peer friendships, more consistent school attendance, and higher acceptance rates into post-secondary institutions than kids whose parents take a "hands-off" approach.

What parents often don't realize is that these same statistics and principles translate over into a child or teenager's church and faith experience. Of course, a parent cannot make a decision of faith in Christ for his or her child any more than a parent can do a child's homework for him and expect that he will go on to graduate university and be successful in the workplace. But parents CAN create an environment in which a child's interest in faith in Christ is piqued, accepted, nurtured and embraced. One simple but highly effective way to do this is to volunteer in church ministries that involve their children.

Sometimes this notion is a scary one to parents, especially when it comes to parents of teenagers. See if you've heard (or used) one of these common objections as reasons not to volunteer in your child's youth group:

* I don't want to invade my kid's space.

* He/she doesn't want me there.

* I don't think I'm cut out to work with teens.

These feelings are common, but they're misgivings that are usually unfounded and can easily be worked through (or around.)

The reality is, you don't have to lead a weekly youth Bible study to influence your child's "faith success" (unless that's what you're wired for... if so, you're a youth pastor's dream!) You can simply volunteer to chaperon the occasional youth road trip, pitch in at the concession stand or in the kitchen, or one more of a hundred small jobs that every youth pastor needs filled from time to time but doesn't require an ongoing commitment. You can be a presence within your child's youth group without being overbearing or "in his face."

Did you know that teens whose parents are involved with their kids' youth group experience are more likely to accept Christ at a younger age, have a higher rate of church attendance and lower church drop out rate after graduation, are bolder about sharing their faith with others, are more likely to seek baptism and church membership, more eager to volunteer for their own ministries within the church, and less likely to abandon their faith as adults than teens whose parents are not involved? These are some motivating reasons for parents to consider sticking around and helping out once in awhile rather than dropping their kids off for their youth group activities.