Gospel Parenting in the Home: Timothy Paul Jones

One of the breakout sessions I attended during the Connecting Church & Home Conference was lead by Dr. Timothy Jones, who currently serves as the Associate Professor of Leadership and Church Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Dr. Jones has written a number of books on the subject of family ministry and is one of the leading experts in the field of connecting the church and home. This particular breakout session focused on the importance of equipping parents to be the spiritual disciplers in their children’s lives and why it is so vital that they be involved in this area of a child’s life.

For more coverage of the 2010 Connecting Church & Home Conference visit our summary page. You can listen to audio from this conference on the Southern Seminary website.

Dr. Jones prefaced that it is important that one not merely assume that incorporating new programs and events will result in parents’ discipling their children, but one must first develop a culture that is Gospel centered and points to the importance of investing in their children’s lives. He stated throughout the session that it is vital for parents to grasp that their children are potential brothers and sisters in Christ and that their decision for Christ is eternal. Parents must understand that their children need the Gospel and that one day they will be the future carriers of the Good News. Dr. Jones urged that churches take the time to train parents and equip them to be the primary spiritual disciplers of their children. Events need to be designed in such a way that parents can have a part in training their children, programs need to be established that incorporate the parents’ involvement, and churches need to be equipping parents and giving them materials to help aid them in the process of training up their children.
It is vital in today’s church that parents be held accountable as the primary spiritual equippers in their children’s lives. The church must take time to invest in parents and provide ways for them to disciple their kids. Think of ways that you can improve your current programs and events by giving parents an opportunity of being involved in their children’s spiritual development. As children’s ministers, we need to be aware of equipping parents to be the primary spiritual disciplers in their children’s lives and showing them how they can, on a daily basis, impact their children for God.