Training and Equipping Parents of Youth in the Student Ministry at First Baptist Church, Ellington, Missouri, to Disciple Their Children at Home

Abstract

ABSTRACT

TRAINING AND EQUIPPING PARENTS OF YOUTH IN THE

STUDENT MINISTRY AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH,

ELLINGTON, MISSOURI, TO DISCIPLE

THEIR CHILDREN AT HOME

Daniel James Kitinoja, D.Ed.Min.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017

Faculty Supervisor: Anthony W. Foster

Chapter 1 argued that based on the needs of the community it was necessary to initiate a ministry project at First Baptist Church of Ellington, Missouri, to equip parents to disciple their children. This project involved a parent equipping seminar and weekly publication of “Talk Sheet” discipleship tools. Change in parental practices and perceptions of family discipleship was measured by having project participants take a before and after survey called the “Family Discipleship Practices and Perceptions Survey.”

Chapter 2 provided biblical support for equipping parents to disciple their children from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Psalm 78:1-8, Ephesians 6:1-4, and 2 Timothy 3:14-15. Chapter 3 gave theoretical support for equipping parents to disciple their children, citing research from the social sciences and ministry.

Chapter 4 detailed the project’s implementation. The ministry project included conducting and assessing a Home Discipleship Training and Equipping Seminar, and weekly publication of “Talk Sheet” discipleship tools which were assessed by an expert panel. Finally, a “Family Discipleship Practices and Perceptions Surveys” (appendix 3) was completed by project participants before and after the project implementation. Finally, a t-test demonstrated a positive statistical change in the before and after surveys.

The fifth chapter described the strengths and weaknesses of the project. Suggestions were made for implementing a similar project in other congregations. Finally, a theological reflection section stated that the project demonstrated that ministry leaders can effectively equip parents with the skills necessary to disciple their children by creating user friendly tools and training parents how to use them.