Children
Families
and
Reaching
What about
outreach to kids
and families—both
in and outside of
church? It has been
shown that the number-one indicator
of children remaining connected to
the faith as adults is the role of their
parents, specifically their parents
modeling an active faith life.
1
Five hundred years ago—long before people were doing quanti-
fiable research on youth ministry best practices—Martin Luther
understood parents' significant role. So he wrote the Small Cat-
echism as a resource for heads of households to use with their
family. He knew what modern-day research confirms: while a
child's relationships with teachers, coaches, pastors, and youth
workers are important, none of them are more influential than
the relationship with his or her parents.
14 Lutheran Life
