Active Parenting of Teens

Hello Parents!

Every now and again we see opportunities wander through the Student Office here at Kent Covenant Church and we wrestle with knowing whether they are opportunities that would be good to pursue, or if we should just wave goodbye as they wander out of the office.

We are totally experiencing one of those moments right now, and thought maybe the blog might be a good way to let people know what we're thinking on, and see what kind of interest there really is.

One of our central vision pieces here in KCCSM is that our ministry takes place as a partnership between the church and the family. Student ministry works best when we work together. And a lot of the conversation we've been having lately is how can we be a resource to our families. In fact, that's why this blog exists because we're trying to find ways to increase the amount of interaction we have and increase our opportunities to share vision and talk about the big things.

We have a chance to help host an Active Parenting of Teens Seminar and we're kind of excited about it. The website describes the program with these words: 

Learn the basics of parenting a teen (plus in-depth discussion of today's hot topics)
In this class you will learn what's going on in your teen's head, which will help you figure out why they do the things they do. You'll learn how to open up the lines of communication, encourage cooperation and responsibility, and discipline effectively. You'll also explore techniques for solving the inevitable problems that crop up. You'll learn 10 strategies for preventing problems relating to drugs, alcohol, violence and teen sexuality.

We have this opportunity in part because at the end of the school year last summer we hosted a Mental Wellness Forum here at KCC. It was a nifty little event in which we teamed up with the Samaritan Center of Puget Sound and had an open ended conversation about how we as a church and as families can promote and enjoy mental wellness. We began with a team of counselors talking about what they have been seeing and thinking about in their own lives and work as member of the mental health profession and ended with tons of questions.

What we noticed was that many of those questions and much of the conversation centered around issues of raising teenagers and dealing with mental health issues within that particular context. As we were talking with David Wells, a former Covenant Pastor who is now a professional therapist, we started to kick around the idea of holding an event in partnership with the Samaritan Center aimed at resourcing and supporting parents of teenagers.

All of this to ask a question:

Does the Active Parenting seminar look like a strong resource and would you be willing to commit time and money to participate?

Let us know what you're thinking by commenting here on the blog, talking to Jeff or Ruby next time you see them, or sending an email or a facebook our way.

-Pastor Jeff