If they don't come
to you with the small stuff, they will never come to you with the big stuff...
Before heading to seminary at 50, my children’s brilliant Aunt Amy Kippen rans a cross+generational Sunday and Wednesday school at a church in West Fargo, ND, where 71 % of the dads are in church with their kids every week. You heard it right. 71%.
Amy considered the hour at church each week as the kickoff for the REAL Christian education in her church−the nightly FAITH5™ Home Huddles.
7/8 of the Christian education in her church is done off-site every night.
7/8 of the prayer ministry. 7/8 of the pastoral care.
7/8 of the Bible study. 7/8 of the small group ministry.
Amy never had to recruit a single Sunday school teacher because every household in her church had it’s own recruited, equipped and motivated guide - a parent. When it cames to sharing highs and lows, Amy taught parents not to worry about those things a child would share that might seem shallow or insignificant.
“Let them share anything and everything,” she taught them. “No comments. No judgments. If they don’t come to you with the insignificant, they will never come to you with the significant. If they don’t come to you with nothing, they will never come to you with something.”