As a child, if dad gave me a task to do, he didn’t really appreciate my delegating skills if I passed that duty along to my younger sister or brother. His typical response was something like, “I gave that job for you to do.”

Some responsibilities just can’t be delegated. We may call others along side to help us get the work done, but we can’t just give the job to someone else. Such is the case with teaching children about God. God gave that duty to parents. Parents should not think they can bring their children to the church and let the “professionals” do it. It has to be lived before them at home.

As youth workers, we must avoid the temptation to take over the parental responsibility. Our job is to help equip parents to accomplish their God-given duty to teach their children. It is fine to help fill the gaps, but don’t try to take their place.

This is a philosophical shift from youth ministry of the past. Rather than focus on ministry with and for students, we need to take a whole-family approach. The greatest impact a youth worker can have in a young person’s life would be bringing the parents to a right relationship with God, doing things His way.

That’s the idea behind the D6 Conference–equipping leaders to equip parents to accomplish God’s plan. Check it out at D6conference.com. For significant savings, don’t miss the very early registration, which ends Februry 2.