I have been thinking a lot over the past several years about the concept of family ministry in the church. It has certainly been one of the hot topics in youth ministry discussion over the past decade and in recent years it has become a topic of discussion within children’s ministry. This next year I am moving into more of a family ministry role and while my primary work will still be youth ministry, I will continue to be a part of various aspects of the larger church as well as leading a ‘young adult’ ministry which is another ministry that has a variety of definitions. I will also oversee children’s ministry so that we can build a more comprehensive ministry to all families. I see this as programatic and organizational, but also primarily relational in nature. As I begin my doctorate in youth & family ministry I am sure I will have the opportunity to think, read, hear and discuss this topic a lot, but I am also struggling with what it really means to have and do family ministry. It could mean doing things to equip and strengthen families, it could mean to do actual family ministry programs, it could mean strengthening and connecting ministries to children, youth, and parents. There seems to be many, many ideas about this topic and no clear frontrunner and no specific church or ministry that is seen as a model for this kind of ministry. It could be that it is just an improvement and modification of our old and flawed youth and children’s ministry models, but for me I think and hope it is more than that because I have already really tried to move past this in my own career. I would be interested in others thoughts on this topic….
Marcus