Family Ministry is currently comprised of three workable models. The Family-Integrated Ministry model is characterized by its removal of age segmented activities with all families, infants to parents, worshipping together. The Family-Based Ministry model maintains the age segmented programs and activities of most churches, yet intentionally provides curriculum, activities, and events designed to draw the generations together. The Family-Equipping Ministry model may retain youth ministry and the Sunday School hour, but every activity and function of the church is focused on championing the parents as the primary disciple-makers in the children’s lives, while at the same time the parents recognize and embrace the church as an active partner in the process. At The Journal of Family Ministry, and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, we are training ministers in the Family-Equipping Model, but we believe we can learn from other models which have similar goals.
Read more about the three models in “Perspectives on Family Ministry”.
Contributed by Brandon Shields
Dr. Brandon Shields is the teaching pastor at First Baptist Church, West Palm Beach, Florida. Dr. Shields has established himself as the spokesperson for the Family-Based model of church ministry. Read more about the Family-Based model as well as other helpful insights in “Perspectives on Family Ministry”.
Very seldom does one observe athletes from different teams get together to “learn from each other.” How often do you think Lebron and Kobe, Tiger and Padraig, or Machida and Silva sit down over a cup of green tea in a collaborative effort to share ideas for the mutual benefit of one another? Probably not too frequently. And, it would seem, justifiably so, for such an exchange would necessarily erode the competitive advantage one athlete or team enjoyed over another.
Sadly, men and women from different ministry “tribes” can be much like professional athletes. We keep a safe distance from those on other teams, refusing to learn from them in order to keep our perceived competitive advantage. We don’t read outside our own camp, instead choosing to parrot our favorite authors and publishers. We caricature and oversimplify the positions of those with whom we disagree, demonizing them with cute slogans, platitudes, and pithy sayings gleaned from our favorite blogs. We narrowly pursue the perfection of our own models of ministry, refusing to admit our own shortcomings and acknowledge the merits of other successful approaches.
This kind of thinking reflects a tacit immaturity, for we have much to learn from each other as we strive to accomplish the Great Commission in biblically-faithful and culturally-fruitful ways.
Family ministry is no different. Even a cursory look at the cultural landscape shows that we have our work cut out for us. Families are hurting, and they desperately need the redemptive power of the gospel to bring healing to situations that seem broken beyond repair. Moreover, evangelical churches don’t seem to be faring much better: our families are experiencing divorce, moral failure, and despair at rates similar to the culture at large. Those working with families need to learn from each other - we need to be sharpened, challenged, and refined by other models.
In what follows, I would like to suggest some ways that two of my preferred family ministry teams, “Family-Based” and “Family-Equipping,” can learn from each other in an attempt to more strategically and effectively reach more families for Christ.
Dr. Brandon Shields is the teaching pastor at First Baptist Church, West Palm Beach, Florida. Dr. Shields has established himself as the spokesperson for the Family-Based model of church ministry. Read more about the Family-Based model as well as other helpful insights in “Perspectives on Family Ministry”.
