Hi parents!
If we have not met my name is Jeremiah Storkson, and I am blessed with the opportunity to serve as the City Kids Director here at City Church! Oftentimes, when we think about the Children’s Ministry, we think about the one hour of time on Sundays where (AWESOME) leaders teach your kids about Jesus through engaging games, fun crafts, and impactful lessons. While that is true and is such an incredible part of what we get to do in City Kids, it is not the only part of it. Our biggest and best goal is to see YOU, the parent, win. If we have not done everything we can to partner with you as parents in the process of discipling your kiddos, we have not fully done our job. You are your child’s biggest and greatest influence, teacher, and small group leader. Now, you might be freaking out reading that last sentence, but I can assure you, this doesn’t require you having it all together, it simply requires your “yes”. One of the most practical yet important passages in Scripture is found in Matthew 6:31-33:
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)
Essentially what Jesus is saying in this passage is that when you seek God first and desire to honor Him in your own life, He will provide the things you need. As parents, if you are seeking God in your life, the influence you have in your child will flow out of that. God WILL provide everything you need. The amazing thing is that He is not expecting perfection. He just desires obedience and an open heart to what He has. So know that you ARE the parent for the job! You are placed in your child’s life for a reason! God is equipping you through His Word, His Holy Spirit, and the community He has placed around you. We want to partner with you in this and provide resources that help encourage and launch you forward on your parenting journey. In this article, I am going to list some great resources that we highly recommend!
Parent Cue
Parent Cue is always the first resource I recommend to parents. There are a few things they do:
The Parent Cue Podcast
This podcast features parenting experts who in each episode, talk about strategies for ways to bring Christ to your kids in relatable, engaging ways.
https://theparentcue.org/podcast/
The Parent Cue Blog
The Parent Cue Blog contains so many great articles written by experts all about how you as a parent can address different issues/difficulties with your children. There are even great articles providing encouragements just for you!
https://theparentcue.org/blog/
The Parent Cue App
The Parent Cue app is to me, one of the coolest resources out there for parents. This app allows you to add all of your kids, and it shows you what they learned on any given Sunday. It gives the info they learned, as well as insight about the phase of life they are in. It also provides ideas for how you can engage your child with what they learned! There is even a place where it tells you how many weeks you have left with your child before they become an adult. If you want to get into your child’s spiritual world, I am not sure there is a better resource.
The Orange Store for Parents
Orange, who provides the curriculum for City Kids, and also created the Parent Cue app, has a great bookstore with really cool resources for every phase a child goes through. I would highly encourage you to give it a look!
https://store.thinkorange.com/parents/
Join a City Group!
Community matters. As important as it is for kids to experience church on Sundays in City Kids, it is massively important for you as a parent to be in community with other parents! The importance of community is expressed starting at the very beginning of the Church! In Acts 2:42-46 we see an example of this.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-46 (NIV)
Scripture makes it clear that God calls us to community with others! It is such a beautiful thing when we are doing life with others. You can use all the resources, but if you are not walking with others, you are truly missing out on such a special part of living life with God, and of bringing Jesus to your kids. We have a lot of City Groups that you can join that have parents who are working towards the same destination you are! To sign up, or find out more about City Groups, text ‘Group’ to 484848 and fill out the form that number sends you.
I want to encourage you that you are not alone! We as a staff want to come alongside you in the journey of discipling your children. If there are any questions you have, or if there is a way we can help, send me an email at jeremiah.storkson@citychurchok.com.