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Franciscan at Home

Forming those who form others

Empowering Parents to Disciple Their Own Children

The focus of this article is a practical consideration: how to help parents in the task of “discipling” their own children. The topic is a rather vast one, so I’m going to break it down into two parts. The first part, the mindset catechists should have toward parents, is the focus of this article. Part 2, practical tools to empower parents for discipleship, will follow in the April issue. We all have heard the Church’s teaching on this: parents are the “primary educators” of their children.[i] But do we really believe this to be true, and indeed act as if we believe it? I have talked with many Church employees and volunteers who treat this statement like some empty platitude saying, “It’s a nice theory, but in reality WE are better at teaching young people the faith. We have degrees in Theology after all!” In the paragraphs that follow, I hope to shed some light in this area, and offer some practical ways we can empower parents to take up their call to educate, even “disciple” their own children. But fair warning: I may strike some deep-rooted cords and maybe even unnerve you a bit. This is an area that desperately needs attention in the Church today and needs serious renewal if we hope to be effective in the years ahead.

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Jim Beckman is Executive Director of ImpactCenter, an apostolate dedicated to ministering to ministers and leadership development in the Catholic Church. A graduate of both Franciscan University and the Augustine Institute, Jim has served in various roles of leadership for national, regional and local ministry over the years. He is a dynamic and passionate speaker and has a great love for the Catholic faith and for discipleship. He has built solid and thriving ministry programs in numerous parishes and Dioceses. Jim also serves in a contract role with FOCUS, serving to help foster greater Church Engagement and strategic partnerships. He and his wife, Meg, live in Littleton, Colorado with their five children.

This article is from The Catechetical Review (Online Edition ISSN 2379-6324) and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of The Catechetical Review by contacting [email protected]

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