How effective would Christian ministry to children be if churches and families adopted a co-operative strategic approach? Reggie Joiner outlines how significant the impact can be, in his book Think Orange: Imagine the Impact When Church and Family Collide. Many parents leave the spiritual stuff to churches, but what hope does a church have of making a significant difference in a child’s life with just one hour per week?
The approach which Reggie advocates begins with aligning church leaders and parents to lead with the same end in mind. Next, it is necessary to craft core truths into engaging, relevant and memorable experiences. Parents need to be enlisted as partners in the spiritual formation of their own children. Every child needs to be connected to a caring leader and a consistent group of peers. Finally, consistent opportunities must be created for students to experience personal ministry.
As I read the book, I could not help wondering about what should happen in situations where most of the parents have no interest in spiritual matters; however, it seems to me that that is likely to be a rare situation. I am very impressed by the clarity of the strategic approach outlined in the book, and I strongly recommend it to anyone involved in ministry to children or teenagers.