There are spiritual milestones families can celebrate, too, but they may need some guidance and encouragement to capture these memories. As leaders, we have the opportunity to help parents celebrate some significant steps in their child’s faith story.

Take the time to think about how your church engages in spiritual milestones and develop a plan to help parents lead their teens in these key conversations.

You are raising your kids under circumstances that church leaders don’t always pay enough attention to. It’s not that we don’t care deeply about you and your children; we do. However, our efforts to meet your specific needs for support and encouragement are sometimes lacking. That’s why I’m writing this letter on behalf of church leaders – to let you know that we desire to serve you in better ways than we have in the past.

Just so you know, you are raising your teenager under circumstances that church leaders don’t always pay enough attention to. It’s not that we don’t care deeply about you and your teenagers; we do. But our efforts to meet your specific needs for support and encouragement are sometimes not what they should be. That’s why I’m writing this letter on behalf of church leaders – to let you know that we desire to serve you in better ways than we have in the past.

All parents benefit from resources to help them lead their children spiritually at home. All parents need connection with others who are also raising kids to find community and encouragement. However, in addition to those things that we do, single parents can use far more care than what we typically offer.

For all our years of working on staff at local churches, there is one area where we have consistently fallen short, and that is in supporting single parents. There’s a difference between having compassion for those in challenging life circumstances and specifically addressing their unique needs.