Equipping Parents at Pickens First Baptist Church in Pickens, South Carolina to Be the Primary Disciplers of Their Children

Abstract

This project included a seven-week curriculum designed to equip parents to be the primary disciplers of their children. This curriculum utilized the “Family Discipleship Perceptions and Practices Survey” from the book Family Ministry Field Guide by Timothy Paul Jones before and after the project was implemented to gauge the parents’ understanding of family discipleship in the home. The curriculum placed an emphasis on fathers discipling their children while also equipping the mothers. At the end of the seven-week curriculum, parents received guidance to develop a long-term discipleship plan and resources from the church to help them continue the discipleship process.

Chapter 1 of this project includes the ministry context of PFBC, along with the rationale, purpose, goals, research methodologies, definitions, limitations, and delimitations of the project. Chapter 2 exegetes four texts on family discipleship: Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 78:1-8; Ephesians 6:1-4, and Matthew 28:18-20, providing the biblical foundation for the project. Chapter 3 analyzes biblical manhood and womanhood, the family-equipping model of ministry, and historical foundations related to family discipleship. In chapter 4 of this project, the development and implementation of the curriculum is surveyed, while chapter 5 gives an overall evaluation.

Parents’ perceptions and practices of family discipleship were positively influenced throughout the course of this project. Before project implementation, only 43 percent of parents prioritized family discipleship. At the conclusion of the project, that number increased to 95 percent. In addition, parental practices increased in 8 out of the 9 areas measured. For example, family prayer and Bible reading increased 12 percent, discussion of spiritual matters increased 14 percent, and family worship time at home increased 37 percent. Finally, when asked how many times in the past two months they had talked with their spouse or close friend about their child’s spiritual development, this number also increased from 29 percent to 58 percent.