How do we help our children to love the gospel and develop faith that lasts a lifetime? Are there specific resources for parents, youth directors, and lead pastors to help our students connect with Jesus? Our friends at Rooted Ministry are here to help. Their mission is “to equip and empower churches and parents to faithfully disciple students toward life-long faith in Jesus Christ.
You might be familiar with Rooted already. We have previously run articles from their authors, and SOLA Editorial Board member Kevin Yi is also on their staff. They also visited us at our last AALC Conference.
Rooted Ministry’s blog contains encouraging and challenging articles written by fellow parents and pastors. The organization also hosts conferences, regional groups, and mentoring opportunities. You should definitely check out their Family Discipleship Curriculum and several books written especially for teenagers.
Check out some of their best articles below and bookmark their website!
Yes, It’s True- God Really Does Love Your Child More Than You Do by Tracey Rector
“How do we let go of our instinctive desire to plan our child’s life? How do we trust instead in God’s plan, even when it seems completely contrary to our own plans and aspirations for them?”
Mystery and Lament: When It Looks Like Your Child’s Life Is Falling Apart by Cameron Cole
“Like Abraham, David, Saul, Samson, Deborah, Ruth, Tamar, and Rachel, they become a character in God’s story of redemption. As a result, [our children’s] lives will likely be characterized by the same mysterious, difficult, messy bits as both the micro and macro stories throughout scripture.”
When Your Children Witness Your Idols Fail by Mark Howard
“As a parent, these past months have been a brutal awakening. I’ve realized I found more comfort in this world the way it was then I should according to the Old Testament narrative – a privilege I acknowledge was not shared by everyone. And I’m increasingly realizing how I was inadvertently teaching this hope for privileged comfort to my kids.”
Turning Red: Will It Be Okay If I’m Not Good Enough for My Parents? by Connie Nelson
“The great tension, for Ming, Mei, and we first- and second-generation Chinese, is in these unspoken questions we have for our parents: I am different from you. I have my own identity, my own thoughts and feelings. I have dreams for myself that may not be your dreams for me. I have failed to be what you want me to be. I couldn’t meet your expectations. I am not good enough to validate what you have done for me. But… is that ok?”
“What? You too?” Encouraging a Parent Whose Child Is Struggling by Katie Polski
“In this moment on the cross, Jesus institutes a new relationship amongst the body of believers. Look around at your church body! See your fathers, your brothers, your sisters, and your mothers. Jesus gave us this gift of church family so we can be strengthened through Him by the extension of one another.”
Rooted In Prayer: How the Word Teaches Us to Pray by Anna Meade Harris
“Tim Keller says that prayer is ‘helplessness accepted and given to God.’ When I began to realize I didn’t even know how or what to pray for my sons, Scripture offered me the wisdom and the words I was seeking. What follows are some of the things I have learned and practical ways I have applied Scripture to specific issues we have faced as a family. Grasping the implications of the Gospel and learning to pray Scripture have been God’s best gifts to me as a mom.”
Why Our Teens Don’t Know They Need Jesus by Kristen Hatton
“What we as parents often fail to recognize is how the very teaching we believe is necessary for shaping ‘good’ kids actually drives them away from Jesus. Law-driven content actually leads teens to view their own morality as the basis for their right standing with God. By following the rules, trying to love others, going to church, reading their Bibles and avoiding ‘bad behavior,’ students view themselves as ‘good.’”