Family Adventures: How Listening to a Podcast Can Grow Faith in Families

Family ministry is something most children’s ministry leaders feel like they should be doing—or doing more. According to a 2021 Barna study, 90 percent of children’s ministry leaders said that parents and guardians are among the top three influences on a child’s faith, while only 62 percent included children’s ministry leaders and volunteers in the top three.

And 49 percent of children’s ministry leaders cite parents not modeling discipleship as a primary reason why kids leave their Christian faith by the time they grow up.

We all want to resource parents. We know faith happens in the family. But sometimes we’re not sure how to do it effectively. That’s why Group, in partnership with LHM, has created a brand-new podcast that’s specifically geared to help families grow in faith.

So, what does it look like to do family ministry with a podcast? Consider these five features of our great new solution that will help you resource parents for free!

1. Podcasts make it easy for parents.

Now more than ever, parents face an overwhelming amount of pressure. Schools are in constant contact through apps and emails. School shopping lists are pages long. Sports practices and events bring a never-ending onslaught of racing around town. And social media tells parents, “You should be doing more. You’re not good enough.” The comparison game can make even the most involved parents feel like failures.

Parents don’t need the church to be another voice shouting at them, “Do more!” They don’t need another barrage of emails or another to-do list so they can check off “discipleship.” They need easy ways to integrate faith development into their natural daily rhythms—without needing to schedule a time to sit down and do a devotional. And some parents may not feel like they know enough about God to effectively lead a devotional anyway!

The Gospel Adventures Show is a great, free resource for families to enjoy together. It’s an interactive half-hour radio show and podcast that complement the Friends With God Story Bible. The Gospel Adventures Show is a perfect way for parents to engage in biblical concepts with their kids. They don’t need to prepare, they don’t need to be Bible scholars, and they don’t need to plan a dedicated time.

2. Podcasts fit into family schedules.

One great thing about a tool like a podcast is that parents can do it while multi-tasking. Cooking dinner? Have your kids sit at the table and listen to the podcast with you. Driving to a soccer game? Tune in on your car’s stereo. Or maybe for some families, bedtime, mealtime, or some other time works best.

Because the Gospel Adventures Show is available to stream on podcast platforms, a family can listen to it at whatever time works for them. It’s on demand and easy to fit in while they’re going about their typical day. That makes it feel more like it fits into their lives than pressuring them to add time to a busy schedule.

3. The Gospel Adventures Show is interactive for a family to do together.

Maybe you’re not convinced a podcast could be the solution to family ministry. After all, sitting around and listening to a show doesn’t sound very relational. Don’t parents and kids need to connect with each other for faith formation to happen?

Yes! The Gospel Adventures Show isn’t your normal podcast. Families won’t just sit and listen. They’ll sing and dance together, talk with each other, and do simple experiences together, all led by the hosts of the podcast. It’s the fun and relationship of a devotional without the pressure of a parent having to lead it.

Plus, they’ll hear stories from people in the Bible and from kids like them that will help them talk more about what faith looks like.

The last thing we want to introduce for family ministry is a sermon! Kids learn by talking and doing—so make sure they have a chance to do both in a way that leads them to faith discoveries with their parents.

4. The Gospel Adventures Show makes it applicable.

Kids are learning a lot of information. Between church, school, the internet, and life experiences, their brains are constantly taking in new thoughts and ideas! And one of the things that will determine which info sticks is the answer to this question: “So what?”

You’ve probably heard kids complain about school, asking: “When am I ever going to need to know this?” Well, that same question can apply to the Bible.

Sometimes we teach the Bible as a history book. It’s full of true stories that happened a long time ago, and because we value it, we pass that information on to kids. But the Bible is more than just history! It’s the living Word of God, sharper than a two-edged sword. It matters today!

And that means it’s important that kids aren’t just learning a story (like Noah’s Ark) and expected to file that away in their brains. We have to help them process the “So what?” So instead of just teaching about Noah’s Ark, the Gospel Adventures Show uses that story to teach kids this truth: I am forgiven. And then they get a chance to personalize that by spending time talking with God and seeing their sins disappear!

That’s just one example from one show, but every episode of the Gospel Adventures Show includes a meaningful point and a chance for families to personalize it and put it into action. And that “so what?” will help the Bible stick in their hearts.

5. It’s consistently available for families.

Maybe you’ve bounced around between different family ministry strategies. You tried take-homes for a bit, but they weren’t getting home. So you switched to email, but those weren’t getting read. You tried social media posts, and parent events, and so on…and parents never quite knew what to expect from you.

The Gospel Adventures Show gives you the opportunity to share a resource with families every week of the school year. With new episodes airing each week, it’s easy for parents to tune in, catch up, or even miss a week and skip ahead to the most recent episode. Parents will value having a consistent place to turn.

That doesn’t mean sharing the show is all you do. Having a variety of ways for families to connect will ensure there’s something for everyone!

Reaching families can be hard to do. But it doesn’t have to be! Make it easy, fun, and a natural fit in family life by sharing The Gospel Adventures Show with your families. It’s available on favorite podcast platforms or at gospeladventures.org/show. Plus, check out the Friends With God Story Bible here!