Dear Parents,

Parenting is a tough job, but it is wonderful, funny, and will expose every one of your weaknesses. That is true of any great adventure – and you are now a part of an adventure. If you are not ready for the whole package, you will be crushed and angry in diaper boot camp. I want you to be ready for every stage and to enjoy each part. We have started a new parenting class that is meant to encourage and guide you on this great adventure. 

I really hope you remember that the church – THIS church – is committed to helping you along the way. I want to be alongside your family when your children are blessed by the men and women in their lives. I want to teach you how to explain sex to your five-year-olds and six-year-olds before the world does (and does it badly). I want to meet with young fathers and talk about how to do this difficult and amazing job of being a Dad. 

I strongly encourage you to not try to do this alone. Parenting is not an individual sport. A good place to start raising your kids in a Christian community is with our parenting class.

Don’t raise your kid to be successful! A successful kid is a good student, perhaps a good athlete. He or she will become financially independent and largely behave himself or herself. That bar is too low, much too low. 

As Christian parents, we want more. In fact, we know that God expects more from us. We want to raise kids who have a passionate love for Jesus that shows itself in an unquenchable love and concern for others. Undoubtedly, this is harder than training them to play soccer well, and it’s more complicated than training them to be good students. 

So how do you know as a parent how to be the spiritual guide for your kids? I’m guessing you don’t have a great answer to that, most of us don’t.  But you can. 

We’ll be launching a parenting class this fall at Stonebriar Community Church. This 11-week program will guide you through the book “Grace Based Parenting” by Tim Kimmel. I have found Tim’s book and perspective on grace and parenting to be life altering. We will go over this book with discussion and examples, and we will try to get our lives and parenting styles to rub off on each other a bit. Just because parenting is a big job does not mean that it has to be a beating. 

Come join us as we navigate this great adventure together. 

Sincerely,

Dave Carl
Children’s Pastor
Stonebriar Community Church

Click here to register.

Class dates are Sundays beginning February 10 through April 28. The class will not meet on March 31 in celebration of Easter.

If you have more questions about the Grace Based Parenting classes, call Children's Ministries at 469-252-5210 or contact us online.