The Power of a Shared Experience
Dear Parents,
I want to begin by thanking you for participating in this online parenting class. This has been a wonderful way for me to get to know the parents in our ministry.
My goal with this online parenting class is to encourage your family to continue to grow in your faith together.
Today we are going to talk about shared experiences you have with your teenager. There is power in a shared experience. You share many experiences with your teenager. Some of them are great and some of them are not so great.
- you share vacations together
- you share holidays together
- you share crisis and tragedy together
- you share mission trips together
What would happen if you strategically planned a significant shared experience with your teenager each year designed to help pass down your faith to them?
Here’s a short video that can help you get started in that direction.
Right before the video I asked you to consider what it would be like if you strategically planned a significant shared experience with your teenager each year?
In this online parenting class, I want to walk you through seven experiences that I believe you can share with your teenager throughout the adolescent journey.
Below are some ideas to help you plan each one of these experiences. Our goal is to help you create significant shared experiences with your teenager.
6th grade – Preparation for Adolescence – In this shared experience you will spend five 15 to 20-minute appointments discussing with your sixth grader the changes that they are going through physically, mentally, and spiritually. These will typically happen before bed each night for a week.
7th grade – Blessing Ceremony – In this shared experience you communicate to your teenager that they are no longer a child by offering them a biblical blessing. It is a chance for them to recognize that they are growing and changing, and their relationship with you will grow and change as well.
8th grade – Purity Weekend – In this shared experience you will get away with your teenager for a weekend to enjoy a fun getaway. During this time you will also share with them the dreams in your heart in the area of purity. It will be a chance for you to teach them that waiting for marriage is not crazy, but it is God’s beautiful plan for them.
9th grade – Driving Contract – This shared experience allows you to spend an evening with your ninth grader discussing with them the way you are going to handle building and rebuilding trust during the years that they’ll be driving a car. Together you’ll sign a driving contract that will serve as a communication tool to help you in these crucial years to come.
10th grade – Money Matters – This shared experience allows you to spend an evening with your teenager having a little bit of fun and teaching a really important life skill. By having your teenager guess what is spent in your household budget monthly you’ll get an idea of what they know about how to manage money. You’ll also get a chance to share with them eight biblical principles on how to manage money God’s way.
11th grade – Family Tree – In this shared experience you will allow your teenager the chance to learn their family heritage. They will never know who they’re going to be unless they take some time to learn where they come from.
12 grade – Manhood/Womanhood Ceremony – In this shared experience you will host a grand finale to the parenting journey. It will be your chance to unleash your new adult into the world by blessing them as a grown adult.
I will end our time today by asking you one quick question. Did you get all seven of these shared experiences in a healthy way from your parents when you were a teenager? What an investment it would be to give these experiences to your teenager.
There is power in a shared experience. A shared experience can be a gift you give your teenager that will set them up for a life that is driven by faith.
As always if you have any prayer requests, thoughts to share, or questions for me feel free to reply to this email.
Until our next class,
Pastor Jenn