If you’ve been in children’s ministry for 10 days or 10 years, you’ve likely spent time wondering how you can equip parents to disciple their kids. Here are three powerful ways you can amp up your parent partnership game!

Effectively equipping and partnering with parents is a long-standing challenge because family ministry can look different for every family. We often hope for a one-size-fits-all solution, but the truth is that flexibility is key in meeting the nuanced needs of today’s busy families.

The childrensministry.com team took these considerations with us as we attended a national children’s ministry conference and soaked in information galore. We gleaned insights from brilliant children’s ministry thought leaders who presented inspiring workshops. And we loved listening to you—the faithful leaders who love kids and families in the daily rhythms of ministry. We heard the mix of tiredness and tenacity that can come with ministry.

So let’s take a look at three energizing pointers we’ve refined from all the in-the-trenches stories and strategies we heard from you! We hope they power up your family ministry efforts.

1). Link Hands With Other Leaders to Guide Parents in Discipling Their Kids

If there’s one thing we saw clearly at the conference, it’s the power of doing children’s ministry together. If you want to be the best version of your ministry self, make networking a top-tier priority.

When you do ministry alone—or only with ministry partners at your own church—you’re limited.

Remember that you’re part of a big, diverse, amazing family of God. When you reach out and ask for help, you can break out of unproductive ministry “ruts.” With the caring advice of someone who isn’t entangled in your struggles, you can find the breakthroughs you’ve been praying for. Or you can be that voice of breakthrough for someone else.

Jot down some ideas of ways you could connect with others in children’s ministry.

Can you reach out to a church near you and invite kids ministry staff to join you for coffee? Can you join a couple of online communities of other children’s ministry enthusiasts? There are many, including social media channels for national children’s ministry conferences like the Children’s Pastors Conference hosted by the International Network of Children’s Ministry (INCM). Or David C Cook’s Ministry Spark Community—a private Facebook group geared for children’s ministry ideas and inspiration. There might also be some children’s ministry forums and connection spaces within church denominations.

Investigate the possibilities, and set a goal of meeting three to five new ministry friends. Even if you only talk online, those friendships can be fruitful!

2). Get to Know the Generations of Parents Who Are Discipling Their Kids

You may have heard a thing or two about the Millennial generation, which includes people born between 1981 and 1996—perhaps you’re a part of it. What do you know about the cultural influences and events that impacted this generation and how they parent? What about the people in Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012)? They’re also among the parents you’re serving. What makes Gen Zers different from Millennials?

This may sound like stuff to leave to sociologists, but there’s great research specifically for ministering to the generations! Leverage it to understand and come alongside today’s parents.

For example, Millennials were there for the dawn of text messages. Texting became a key form of communication, so they’re more likely to see text messages than other forms of communication. Gen Zers are generally more apt to miss text messages. For Gen Z, posting information on social media—using short videos or sound bites—may be the best way to communicate with them. If you want to reach parents of each generation, it’s good to know their preferences for consuming information and what form of communication best grabs their attention.

As you’re building your ministry network, set aside some time for research about these two generations of parents. It’s also worth noting that many grandparents are raising their grandchildren. If you’re ministering to grandfamilies, spend some time getting to know the generations of these caregivers (often Boomers or Gen X) so you can support them, too.

As you research different generations, you’ll learn strategies to keep your communication relevant and visible. And you’ll discover more about the needs and wants of these specific generations so you can effectively deliver resources, activities, and support for discipling kids at home.

If you’d like to dive even deeper into family and church research, check out the 2025 Barna report: The State of Today’s Family.

3). Share Spiritual Development Insights by Age Level

A pain point we heard many leaders voice at the conference is that parents often feel like they don’t know how to disciple their children. Many parents aren’t sure how to lead their children spiritually or what spiritual development looks like for their infant, toddler, or third grader. They’re likely looking to you to disciple their child.

You might feel the weight of that expectation and need. And you might have your own expectations about what parents can do at home to help their kids know Jesus. The sentiment we heard at the conference is that the responsibility of discipling children doesn’t belong to only children’s ministers or only parents. It’s shared.

So keep sharing. Share quick tips and pointers about kids’ spiritual growth. Teach parents what concepts kids can and can’t grasp at different ages. Post these on your social media channels either in brief, written posts or through short videos where parents can see your face and hear your voice. Many Millennials and Gen Zers are most comfortable consuming and implementing information that comes in short sound bites.

Have any articles shaped how you tell kids of all ages about Jesus? Share those age-level insights with parents! Or even better, summarize the content by making short videos to help parents capture the information more quickly. Sharing the strategies you use in church can help parents develop discipleship strategies that will feel familiar to their kids. That repetition—at church and at home—will cause what kids learn about Jesus to settle deeply in their hearts.

Equip Parents to Disciple Their Kids at YOUR Church

Our team left the conference feeling refreshed, excited, and inspired! We hope our takeaways inspire you to build your network, deepen your understanding of today’s parents, and lavishly share age-level spiritual development information. These three things can strengthen your family ministry and equip parents for the greatest adventure they’ll have with their kids—growing together in a lifelong friendship with Jesus!

If you’re on the hunt for a resource that can equip you with text message ideas, social media posts, age-level insights, seasonal event ideas, and fun experiences for families to do at home, check out Team Family. It’s built for flexibility (for you and families) and can streamline your whole year of family ministry!