On this page:

• What is Family Ministry?
• Supporting parents & families 
• Faith Family
• Teaching Values in families
  

What is Family Ministry?

'Family ministry' is a term used in both social service contexts and faith nurturing contexts. Both are vitally important and the two are inter-related.

In the faith nurturing context, family ministry sees 'church' as a partnership between congregation (faith community) and household for worship, teaching/learning, fellowship, outreach and service.

Family ministry recognises the household (family) as the primary social unit in which, through which, and to which Christian ministry happens.

Family ministry is not 'a program', but an approach to ministry and programming. It incorporates a range of assumptions about the nature of 'church'. Among these assumptions are:

• Christian faith involves living out beliefs and values in every relationship, arena and calling of life, with the family and household being chief among these.
• Christian faith is caught more than it is taught. It is formed by the power of the Holy Spirit through trusted personal relationships - often in our homes.
• If we want committed Christian children/youth, we need committed Christian adults/parents.
• Faith is most effectively nourished, communicated and passed on to children in their own home; therefore congregations have a duty to equip and encourage parents.
• A faith community is called to work for the welfare of the individuals and families in the wider community, particularly for children and people with special needs.
• The Christian congregation is an extended family.

Family ministry relates to people's actual 'closest relationships' rather to any specific definition of what constitutes a family.

Supporting Parents and Families

This is a simple resource outlining easy ways in which churches can support parents and families.

  Encouraging Parents and families (40.5 kB)

Faith Family

Faith Family is an exciting venture of cooperation among Uniting, Anglican and Lutheran churches to help parents nurture their children's faith.

The people who prepare Faith Family believe that 'faith is formed by the power of the Holy Spirit through trusted personal relationships - most often in the home' and that children tend to grow in faith best when congregations and parents work in partnership to nurture their faith.

Faith Family is a colourful, quarterly 4-page leaflet that encourages parents and gives them lots of ideas for living out their faith in their homes and helping their children grow in faith.

Congregations and schools are providing Faith Family as a gift to parents (or grandparents, or other carers) of children up to age twelve

Faith Family is a way a congregation or school can be proactive in developing that partnership. By putting this resource into the hands of parents, they

• affirm and encourage parents in their role as the primary nurturers of their child's faith
• give them some simple tools to use in their homes.

View here a sample of this spectacular resource:  Faith family (1.62 MB)

Congregations and schools of the UCA in South Australia can subscribe to Faith Family by contacting the Resource Centre for Children's and Family Ministry P: 82857104, E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Faith Family Resources

If you would like to see the list of fantastic Faith Family Resources please click on this link:  Family resources (47.5 kB)

Teaching Values in Families

Values are shaped in families, in churches, in schools, in the wider community and through the media.Values are generally caught more than they are taught. However, given our current social climate, it is not enough to assume that our children will simply catch our values.

As parents we need to equip our children with an understanding of why certain things are important to us - whether or not these things are important in the wider community. We need to help our children understand that what we do is shaped by what we consider to be important. And we need to give them the language to express the values we are attempting to live out in our families.

For all these reasons it is important that we talk about values with our children. Follow this link to find out more about teaching values in families.