476. Parents Conference is now Parents Connect

Anthony • Youth Pastor
September 18, 2026

2 Minute Read

During the early years of launching youth house church there were changes that needed to happen before it could be implemented effectively. One of those changes was partnership with parents. Parents conference was created out of a necessity to fill the gap and bring parents and youth shepherds to work together towards the same goal—youth house church.

I have witnessed the culture shift over these ten years. Parents are fully onboard with home gathering and actively communicate with the youth shepherds to coordinate and rotate homes. So now, the emphasis has shifted from “bringing parents onboard” to “continuing to build and maintain good ministry relationships with parents.” Hence, starting this year the youth ministry team felt it appropriate to rename parents conference to parents connect. Back then “conference” was definitely the right word. However, with the current stage of ministry partnership we are in, conference feels too heavy and distant. “Connect” communicates more of what we are trying to achieve in that session and our current relationship with our youth parents.

Although much of the structure remains the same, there is an additional emphasis to discuss with parents how they can practically help youth house church through home gathering. By strategizing together, I believe we can come up with greater ways to support each other and the mission of Jesus at our church.

The reason I am sharing is simply this—God has been faithful. I’m so grateful for how God has taken the small step the youth ministry team took towards parents partnership and grew it abundantly. I believe we are now at the next level of partnership in our church culture. Connecting once a year isn’t much, but when done over 10 years, it can completely shift the culture and dynamic of a ministry. Witnessing it with my own eyes builds my faith that God can take our small initiatives of obedience and faith and turn it into something amazing. It just takes a bit of time.

Stay connected by subscribing below so you never miss an update.

Subscribe to Pastor Blog Updates

By subscribing, you agree to receive email communication from The Seed. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Up Next
From this Author: Anthony
Currently Reading
September 18, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
476. Parents Conference is now Parents Connect
During the early years of launching youth house church there were changes that needed to happen before it could be implemented effectively. One of those changes was partnership with parents. Parents conference was created out of a necessity to fill the gap and bring parents and youth shepherds to work together towards the same goal—youth house church. I have witnessed the culture shift over these ten years. Parents are fully onboard with home gathering and actively communicate with the youth shepherds to coordinate and rotate homes. So now, the emphasis has shifted from “bringing parents onboard” to “continuing to build and maintain good ministry relationships with parents.” Hence, starting this year the youth ministry team felt it appropriate to rename parents conference to parents connect. Back then “conference” was definitely the right word. However, with the current stage of ministry partnership we are in, conference feels too heavy and distant. “Connect” communicates more of what we are trying to achieve in that session and our current relationship with our youth parents. Although much of the structure remains the same, there is an additional emphasis to discuss with parents how they can practically help youth house church through home gathering. By strategizing together, I believe we can come up with greater ways to support each other and the mission of Jesus at our church. The reason I am sharing is simply this—God has been faithful. I’m so grateful for how God has taken the small step the youth ministry team took towards parents partnership and grew it abundantly. I believe we are now at the next level of partnership in our church culture. Connecting once a year isn’t much, but when done over 10 years, it can completely shift the culture and dynamic of a ministry. Witnessing it with my own eyes builds my faith that God can take our small initiatives of obedience and faith and turn it into something amazing. It just takes a bit of time.

Anthony

Youth Pastor

June 12, 2026 • 3 Minute Read
469. Evangelism through lifestyle, not knowledge transfer - Anthony
Recently I joined Caleb, Jen, and the grade twelve graduates for graduation dinner, during which the graduates shared one thing they took away from youth ministry. Of course as the youth pastor, I leaned in to listen to their answer. None of them mentioned my sermons. Both of them replied (paraphrased), “I learned how to love and serve people through watching my youth shepherds.” If they were placed in a situation where they had to love and serve others, they said they felt like they could, because of what they experienced in their youth house church. Some of them also received Jesus because of those very experiences. The more we do house church ministry I’m convinced what changes a heart to open up to living by faith isn’t simply through knowledge transfer of “Christian teachings” but the modelling of Christian life through church community. The feeling, “maybe I can do that too,” was instilled in the youth because of what they could see; namely, an adult leader, a couple years ahead of them, trying their best to live out a Christian life. The impact we leave to the next generation is not how perfectly teach Jesus, but the visible effort we made to follow Jesus, even imperfectly, and their proximity to it. In house church, we can all be part of someone’s finding of Jesus, not because we transferred our knowledge, but because we showed them who Jesus is through our service and actions. So if you truly want to bring someone to Jesus, instead of agonizing over your next potential argument (knowledge transfer), focus on inviting them to come see the community of Jesus (Christian life modelling). As a pastor, my temptation is to believe knowledge transfer is always the answer to the gap between someone not growing in faith. But through youth ministry, I’ve learned many times the gap is filled organically through spending time with them and modelling love, care, and service. There is definitely a place for knowledge and learning. However, I’ve come to accept my main evangelistic channel is living the Christian life, to the best of my ability, and to allow others into my life that they may see Christ through me, despite my imperfections, just like the youth shepherds. What blesses people is invitations into our lives, not invitations into our minds. So even if you’re not a Bible scholar, you have a lot to offer others in their journey of faith if you do life together in house church ministry.

Anthony

Youth Pastor

April 1, 2026 • 3 Minute Read
459. Why I Don’t Sanitize Sunday Messages For The Youth - Anthony
There are topics inappropriate to discuss with children because of their life stage. However for youth, there is no need to censor or hide anything when it comes to the Bible. Often well-meaning Christians try to omit difficult passages for others to experience. I agree that we should highlight first in the Bible what is clear and let newer and younger Christians digest that material first, we should not bring about a culture of Biblical censorship. The Bible is not just writings about God. The Bible is writings about God in history. Therefore, it includes all the descriptions of what happened throughout that history, good and bad. There are descriptions of violence, sexual violence, slavery, war, betrayal, crime, and exploitation not because God condones it, but because these things really happened. This is the fallen world we live in, and the Bible is not shy to tell us so. Yet, often people worry that youth cannot handle such content so they censor it. However, youth are in public environments, such as school, where difficult topics are already brought up all the time. Sex, money, politics, violence, and crime to name a few. They understand and discuss the challenges and brokenness of the world. However, if in their church and Bible all that’s presented is a sanitized view of life, it will turn them off from accepting it as the truth. The irony of sanitizing Christianity from sin is that it ends up having the opposite effect on youth. This is because youth already understand the world is messed up and they are messed up. They are looking for the best worldview that explains why and how to overcome it—the truth that works. When interfacing with youth I try not to be afraid to share the truth and get vulnerable. We are not protecting them by censorship. Youth seek authentic voices, people willing to say the truth even when its difficult. They don’t like facades. I’ve found youth start to really listen and engage, when we explain God’s faithfulness in the midst of our failures, not when we say feel good messages. They don’t need censored self-esteem boosters. They need the courage to admit they are sinful, which comes from someone else first acknowledging how broken they are. When we view the youth as emerging adults, it becomes clear. We need to treat and trust them as people soon to bear adult responsibilities. So, I don’t tone down the messages to a youth-level hoping adults understand. I preach to adults, and hope youth are able to understand. Even for youth retreats, I set the content level of my preaching to young adults or grade twelve. And when the temptation comes to avoid a topic or avoid a passage in the Bible, instead of explaining it away that, “they are too young for this,” I challenge myself to think, “I don’t have enough courage or wisdom to explain this.” And I turn to God for help.

Anthony

Youth Pastor