Live Seminars
If you are interested in hosting a seminar, please call
(800) 585-0511 or visit our seminar
scheduling site for more
details and availability. Check our current schedule to
see if we'll be in your area soon. Download a two-page pdf with details
for hosting a live seminar to pass on to the leadership of
your church. Or, if you would rather, you can purchase the video
series. It's designed with outreach in mind.
If you are interested in becoming a Parenting Seminar Presenter
please click here.
Using Parenting Classes
as an Outreach
More and more churches are
discovering the benefit of using
parenting seminars to reach out to their community. Parenting is a need
people are willing to admit. Calvary Chapel of Mercer County
hosted a three-week parenting class and advertised it to the community.
The response was 138 families from outside the church in addition to the
30 Calvary Chapel families. Over 300 adults and children attended the
seminar. It was an excellent opportunity to introduce families to the church
and its other programs, and even to the Lord. Cumberland Valley Church in Dillsburg, PA offered a one evening parenting class every year for three years. At their
most recent event, they had over 160 adults and children attend, most of
whom were not from their church.
Many churches look for ideas that will attract people to the Lord. Many
of those ideas get some results. Parenting classes, though, create a
unique opportunity to touch the lives of people. Ministering to families
through a felt need often opens the doors for conversations about
spirituality and about the message of salvation. The church develops a
reputation that says, "We care about families," and people are
eager to learn more.
Offering a Children's Program
Effective Parenting has
written curriculum for a children's
program. The
Kids
Honor Club communicates
truths to children that
complement the
adult program. The
children's program is a significant
demonstration that you as a church are interested in families.
Furthermore, as volunteers from your church work together, they experience
the blessing of fellowship and of knowing that they are serving the Lord
together.
Whether you have Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne
Miller live or through video, your church will benefit from the humor,
stories, and practical help. Parents from single parent families, blended
families, and traditional families all learn valuable tools that they can
apply with their kids.
Some Keys to Making a Community Outreach Successful
Several things will help make your outreach successful.
Begin early. Planning ahead, careful organization, involving
many people, and continual prayer are all important for the success of
your outreach.
Offer a children's program. When you care for children, you
minister to the whole family. Parents are blessed by the care you give.
Advertise well. Create a flier and give it to your people to
pass out, put up, and otherwise distribute to neighbors, co-workers, and
friends. Send fliers to all the preschools, private schools, counselors,
newspapers, and radio stations in your area to let them know what you are
doing. Also approach the local school districts to gain permission to send
the flier home with the children or put it into the next parent
newsletter. It's amazing how many parents hear about the class from
preschools. Fully exhaust this step. You won't be sorry.
Have people register. Although you may offer the class free of
charge, ask people to register in advance. This not only gives you a head
count and a list of names and addresses for future classes, it also raises
the level of importance of this class in people's minds. They know that a
space is reserved for them and so they are more likely to see this class
as a commitment instead of an optional activity.
Send out a confirmation letter. One week before the class, send
out a letter of confirmation listing the family members who will be coming
and asking them to correct any wrong information. This letter serves to
remind the participants of their commitment and again raises the felt
level of importance of the class. Include class times, location, and
directions.
Streamline the registration process. At the event have several
registration lines so people don't have to wait. Check people off when
they arrive so you know who has missed the class. Also be prepared to get
names and addresses from those who show up without having preregistered.
Emphasize hospitality. Have several greeters, registrars, hosts,
and hostesses. Have adequate signs to direct people to the class and to
the children's rooms. Offer light refreshments. This not only sets a
positive atmosphere but it also gives people opportunity just to talk with
others. Those informal conversations may contain the most important things
said that evening.
Recruit lots of volunteers. One of the benefits of this outreach
is the opportunity for the church to work together as a team to reach out
to their community. Establish teams of people to pray, put up fliers,
setup, take down, register, do mailings, make refreshments, greet, cut out
crafts for the children's program, and work with children at the event.
Offer free tapes of the presentation to all those who volunteer.
Follow up. Send a letter with a copy of the handouts to every
person who couldn't make the first session. Send a follow up letter after
the class is over to all who registered, inviting them to participate in
other family programs the church offers like Sunday School and the Sunday
worship service.
Following these guidelines produces a great class. The church benefits
from working together, many families attend, and people who come to find
help for family life discover even more. Examples of letters and forms are
available from Effective Parenting. If you decide to use parenting classes
as an outreach, let us know and we'll send you a packet of sample
materials you might use. If you'd like more insight
and step by step guidelines for making your Parenting Seminar Outreach a
success, order the manual from Effective Parenting entitled, "How
to Run a Community Outreach Using Parenting Seminars." |