At Champions Centre, our #1 priority is to help you Move Life Forward in every area of your life. This includes family! The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6; “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” We believe there is no better training ground for raising up mighty men and women of God than the home and we want you, parent, to be fully equipped with the tools you need to train them up well.
One of the best ways to train up your children is to start by laying a foundation of trust and connection with them. Let’s face it: your kids are going to go through, or maybe already have gone through, some tough situations as they grow up, and you want to be someone they trust to come to and confide in. That doesn’t come without intentional effort, though, which is why we want to introduce the concept of Family Meetings to you and give you some tools to help you start your own family meetings!
The goal of the family meeting is to intentionally create a space where you have the ability to lead and connect with your family on a weekly basis. Family meetings can look however you want them to look, and they can change weekly, too. The only real requirement is that you meet as a family every week - preferably on the same day and time each week as well.
Some questions to ask as you plan your family meeting:
What day and time work best for our family?
Commit to a day and time and stick to it - nothing else interferes with this space in your week.
What is the purpose/goal of this meeting?
To have fun? To hash some things out? To grow together? Practice faith? The purpose can change depending on the needs of your family each week.
How will the meeting flow?
Come up with an idea of how your family meeting will flow.
For example:
- Share purpose/goal of meeting
- Highs/lows of the week for each person
- Share calendars/get on same page for the week
- Do shared activity together
- End in prayer for each other's needs
The family meeting really can be whatever you want it to be. You have freedom to make it unique to your family. The important part is that you are meeting weekly to create this intentional space of connection with one another.
Here are some ideas of what your family meetings could look like:
FUN
Game night, cook a meal together, bake, quick trip to get ice cream, movie night, let your kids choose the game or movie, invite some of your kids friends over and their families, serve in the community together.
GET ON THE SAME PAGE
Calendar for the family--school, practices, events, house rules, house projects, working late? Chores for the week?
ADDRESS CONCERNS
Conflict resolution between family members, bad attitudes, contributing to/serving the family, chores, personal care and self-respect in appearance, manners, violating house rules, friend choices, phones, check in on school etc.
PRACTICE FAITH
Do a devotional together, worship together, spiritual disciplines, watch the Church Kids show and discuss with kids what they learned and why it matters as a believer, Questions you could ask -how did you see God at work in your life this week? Who did you bless and encourage this week? Who is someone in your life you can be a light to this week? Share what God is doing in your life as their parent, include your kids in what you are praying for and walking through. Teach prayer outline - P.R.A.Y - Praise God, Repent, Ask him for help, Yield--be quiet and listen for him to speak.
DEVELOP CHARACTER
Identify areas of character you want to develop for your kids. Character development refers to the development of conscience, moral concepts, religious values, and social attitudes in the child.
(Examples: Teach kids how to have a conversation with an adult & practice it, develop public speaking skills by having kids offer a presentation on a topic (maybe a scripture, or something they have questions about) Use game time to teach how to be a gracious loser by congratulating a winner and being a humble winner by thanking the loser for being a worthy opponent. Do an activity as a family. Build something, problem solve something, work hard at something. Talk about working hard, perseverance, not giving up etc.)
ASK YOUR KID(S)
How can I be a better parent to you this week? Humility speaks loud and if we are going to see humility in our kids it must be modeled.
It’s never too early or too late to start this practice of weekly family meetings. Just start! Make the time. Connection with your kids will always be worth it, and we pray this is another tool in your toolbox to help you fight for your family and move your life forward.
Still stuck on what to do in your family meeting? Here are a few resources that can help you as you start planning!
100 Kids Activities To Build Character - Moments A Day
