Parenting by Design believes the primary evangelism and discipling responsibility of parents is to their children. Parents have more influence on their kids than any other person in the kids’ lives, and the greatest gift a parent can give is to introduce their children to their Creator. But it’s not as simple as just telling them what to do. Instead, parents are more effective when they use real life experiences as the primary curriculum for learning. Parents who walk through life alongside their children can use the children’s experiences, the parents’ model or example, and a process of exploration and instruction to help kids come to an understanding of the incredible value of a relationship with God.

Vision

We believe Parenting by Design will be successful when the parents who interact with the ministry establish or re-establish relationships with their kids that promote authentic and respectful communication.

When the members of the family are communicating authentically and respectfully, children are likely to positively receive the evangelistic, discipling, and everyday life lessons their parents are helping them learn. The struggles of ordinary life offer countless opportunities to talk about the mercy and grace of God, but those conversations are not effective when the members of the family are not communicating well.

When parents make themselves unapproachable or untrustworthy in the eyes of their children by the style of parenting they choose, the message can be lost.

PBD’s parenting paradigm encourages parents to give kids more age-appropriate choices in significant areas of their lives. PBD parents also allow children to experience the consequences of those choices as a part of the learning process.

The consequences these children face as a result of their choices are very effective teaching opportunities. After the consequences are endured, parents are taught how to lead their children on an exploration of their motivations and heart as a way to complete the lesson. These children will understand that the decisions they make substantially affect the quality of their lives.

At PBD, we also encourage parents to walk alongside their children empathetically, supporting the child’s efforts to resolve the issues life throws at them and modeling what it looks like to be a devoted follower of Christ. The result will be generations of children (and children of children) that become confident decision-makers and problem-solvers who know the difference between being “successful” from a worldly perspective and being “successful” from the perspective of a follower of Christ.

Values

Evangelism – The highest and best gift a parent can give his children is to introduce them to Jesus Christ so they may enjoy the eternal, abundant life of a Christ-follower (Matt 28:19-20).

Discipleship – If a child is called to life as a follower of Christ, his or her parent has the responsibility of helping that child learn what it means to truly follow Christ in “discipleship” (Matt 28:19-20).

Maturity – As the main influence in a child’s life, the parent has the opportunity and responsibility to help the child walk through the struggles of life in such a way as to learn what God may be teaching them and to strive towards the goal of becoming “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jas 1:4 NASU).