5 vital tips for church leaders to engage dads
Editor’s note:If you find these tips helpful, this is just a snippet of Manhood Journey’s Church Leader Survival Guide.
Tip #1: Discussion & dialogue vs. Teaching & lecturing
These meetings cannot become a lecture where you or the facilitator talks or teaches while the “audience” listens to you. The goal is to get the dads and sons talking, and if you follow the prompts in the 1-on-1 Guides and the Facilitator’s Guide, this will happen naturally. These discussions will engage the dads and sons in interesting dialogue with a biblical basis.
Set the expectation early with your group—participation is required! Get everyone talking without being too heavy-handed.
Tip #2: Room setup is key
If your church has a “casual” room to meet in, that’s ideal. Or if you have a small enough group (or a big enough home!) you could even meet at a leader’s house. Regardless, try to set up the room so that distractions are minimized and the space is as inviting and comfortable as it can be.
Tip #3: A note for Table Leaders
Do:
– Try to get all the dads talking
– Try to get all the boys talking (without embarrassing them…too much)
– Encourage various viewpoints without letting one person get you way off track
– Pro-tip: Consider using “The Pre-Tee-Up” technique by working with a dad or young man to have a prepared response to get things rolling. (Text this dad or pull him aside before the session and ask him to “go first” when the discussion time begins.)
Don’t:
– Don’t let one guy dominate
– Argue or criticize
– Become dogmatic – avoid doctrinal debating and matters of opinion
– Use ridicule or sarcasm to get people talking – you might get an immediate response, but it will build up resentments over time and push people away
Tip #4: Respect people’s time
Meet for 60 to 90 minutes. Start and end on time. Pick a night of the week that you and most of your group can agree on and honor their involvement by beginning and ending on time. Busy dads (and, that’s all of them!) will appreciate a well-organized and efficiently run group.
Tip #5: Sit with who brought you
This is big. Make sure kids sit next to their dads or chaperones. Don’t let dads gather around one side of a table and the sons sit on the other. This might feel a bit awkward the first week, but with only one or two weeks of reinforcement you will have everyone trained. The goal of these groups is to have dads with their sons, not just hanging out with the other dads. Strictly enforce this early on and it’ll pay dividends later.
This post is the third in a series of 4 survival tips for helping church leaders engage dads. Read the second in this series here, “How to facilitate a father/son gathering in your church.”
Photo source: istock
 | Kent Evans is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Manhood Journey. He is married to April, his wife of 22 years and has five sons ranging from ages 4 to 20. He is the author of Wise Guys: Unlocking Hidden Wisdom from the Men Around You. Learn More » |
More on Vision & Culture
- Open borders or compassionate order? (by Bob Russell)
- They tried to quiet Charlie Kirk—but the gospel still speaks (by Bob Russell)
- What can Christian leaders learn from a 20-something YouTuber? Quite a lot… (by Zac McGowen)
- Steps to Launching Your Personal Workplace Ministry (by )
