If we’re serious about making disciples, we need to get serious about parent discipleship. Here are some practical ways to make it a reality.
By Zac Workun
The off-season is over. Pitchers, catchers, and teams have reported for spring training and are ready for baseball season. Spring training is the time to establish the positions, align the new players, and plot the strategy for a winning season. Spring means making serious moves.
If we’re serious about making disciples, we need to get serious about parent discipleship. Youth ministry is great, small groups are essential, and Sunday sermons matter. But if we’re ignoring the role of parents in shaping the faith of their kids, we’re missing the most critical piece of the puzzle, and we are starting to see the pieces fall out.
Why parent discipleship matters
1. Parents are the primary spiritual influence
Research confirms what most of us have known in our guts for years: Parents have the most significant influence on the spiritual lives of their children. A Lifeway Research study found 83% of young adults who didn’t drop out of church for some time had parents who regularly attended. Additionally, 83% of those who remained in church as adults said their parents provided spiritual guidance during their teenage years. Meanwhile, for those who walked away, the lack of parental discipleship was one of the biggest factors in their departure. If that stat doesn’t wake us up, I don’t know what will.
The reality is, no matter how strong a church’s next-gen ministry is, we get kids for a few hours a week. Parents get them for thousands of hours. If discipleship isn’t happening at home, we’re fighting an uphill battle.
“If discipleship isn’t happening at home, we’re fighting an uphill battle.” — @zacworkun Share on X2. The biblical mandate for family discipleship
This isn’t just about modern trends or church growth strategies; it’s about biblical obedience. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 makes it crystal clear: “These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat [read: teach, impress]them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (CSB).
The job of faith formation was never meant to be outsourced to the church; it starts at home. The church exists to equip, encourage, and empower parents to lead the way in discipleship.
3. The next generation needs more than Sundays (and Wednesdays)
Our culture is moving at warp speed, and kids are growing up in a world radically different from the one their parents knew. This is exhilarating for teenagers and terrifying for parents. How do you parent what you haven’t learned for yourself?
Church attendance alone is not enough to keep them grounded. For those who simply go to church on Sundays, the danger is they come to see faith as an event, not a lifestyle.So church becomes a happening of their former lives—a sport they used to play, a team they remember fondly but not foundationally.
The more parents engage in daily faith conversations, prayer, and Bible study with their kids, the more likely their children are to see faith as something real and transformative—not just something they do on Sundays.
Moreover, the more parents engage in daily faith conversations, prayer, and Bible study on their own, the more likely their children are to see faith as something real and transformative.
What parent discipleship can look like
How do we equip parents to take the lead in discipling their kids? Here are some practical ways churches can come alongside families and make parent discipleship a reality.
1. Give parents a first pitch
Most parents feel unqualified to disciple their kids. They love Jesus. They want their children to follow Him. But they don’t know where to start. The church’s role is to give them that first pitch—a simple, accessible way to begin faith conversations at home.
Lifeway’s Parent Partner initiative is one great example of this. Instead of overwhelming parents with another program, it integrates faith into daily moments—mealtime prayers, bedtime blessings, and car-ride conversations. If parents aren’t sure where to start, give them a simple on-ramp.
2. Create a dugout for parents
Parents need a space where they can connect, learn, and be encouraged. Host fewer “parent meetings” and more “parent meetups.” Make it about building a supportive community, not just about giving information.
A Lifeway Research study found churches that provided small group support for parents saw higher engagement in family discipleship. It’s not enough to just give parents content. They need a community where they can learn from and encourage each other. More discussion questions just leave them questioning what to do.
3. Be the backstop when things go wild
Not every parent starts from the same place. Some are your blessed regulars, with all the questions, emails, and volunteerism. Some are brand-new believers. Others may feel guilty because they haven’t led spiritually in their home before, so this ask is daunting and new. Some are walking through messy situations—divorce, prodigal kids, or their own faith struggles.
As a church leader, be their backstop. Let parents know they’re not alone. Offer grace-filled encouragement instead of shame-based guilt trips (Please stop saying/kidding: “Haven’t seen you in a while?”). Offer yourself and other seasoned adults as a resource or mentor. Help them see, name, and take small, sustainable steps forward. Illuminate the easy wins and celebrate them.
4. Extend Sundays from the pews/chairs to car rides/table time
If a parent has no idea what their kids learned at church, they’re not going to be able to reinforce it at home. Make it easy for parents to follow up on Sunday’s lessons. This could look like:
- Take-home discussion guides with questions parents can ask at dinner
- Family devotionals tied to the sermon series
- Encouraging intergenerational worship that allows kids see their parents praying and worshiping
The more we bridge the gap between Sunday and the rest of the week, the more we set families up for discipleship success.
“The more we bridge the gap between Sunday and the rest of the week, the more we set families up for discipleship success.” — @zacworkun Share on X5. Leverage digital tools
Stop waiting till Sunday. We live in a content-enriched world, so let’s use that to our advantage. When a student/family misses a week or even a month of planned programming, they are gone but should not be forgotten. Leverage what you know. Weekly texts or short group video messages and emails with a simple discipleship prompt can go a long way.
Can’t make it all yourself? Me neither. Curate video clips, podcasts, and social media posts to encourage and equip parents in real-time.
A 2024 Lifeway Research survey found 60% of student ministry parents say apps and tools provided by their church have had a positive impact on their students’ spiritual. Let’s meet parents where they already are.
Church leaders, this is the work
One of the most pressing issues for fresh student ministers is knowing what the work is.
Parent discipleship often gets neglected or relegated because it isn’t another ministry program. It doesn’t fit in the confines of 75-90 minutes weekly. Parent ministry is important, yet vast. And getting it right is the foundation for generational faithfulness. If we want to see young people grow, we need to be freed to overinvest in the lives of the family alongside their busy calendars, countless distractions, and fears.
It is going to take committed, non-anxious church leaders (senior pastors, youth ministers, and staff) willing enough to make the pivot. Church leaders, this is the work. It’s not glamorous, and it’s relational (read: messy) but it’s what matters most.
Let’s stop seeing student ministry as provision and parents as spectators in the bleachers and start recruiting and equipping them as teammates. They want more for their students, and you do too. When the rhythms of home and life become the hub of discipleship, the church will see its greatest fruit from this generation to the next.
For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.
Zac Workun
Zac is the student ministry specialist for Lifeway and co-founder of Youth Ministry Booster. He has served the local church in various youth ministry roles.
