Parent Partnership
I am a gardener and one of the real joys in my life is to begin with a tiny seed and, through the growing season, watch flowers or vegetables grow and mature. In the last few years I have found even greater joy in the art of bonsai. Many of you will know that for over a thousand years the art of bonsai has been the selective pruning and development of trees from the Japanese mountaintops to small pots. Many of the small wonders are hundreds of years old.
For me the challenge has been to walk the fine line between pruning the plant to get the desired shape and not damaging the vitality of the plant.
In an odd kind of comparison, this is much the same challenge that parents face today. We want to help our children reach maturity in a healthy, balanced way. We want them to grow into productive, honorable Christian adults. Along the way is a field of weeds and thorns working against the process. We must be vigilant to foster the proper nurture of our children.
In today’s world we often think of the physical, mental, social, and emotional maturing of our children, and have many public avenues to help us in these areas. But all too often when it comes to the spiritual development of our children we look solely to our churches to provide the needed nurture.
While our churches are there to provide a foundation, there is much more needed to develop a spiritually healthy, balanced adult. While we have all known of fine, godly young men and women who came from a spiritually impoverished home, that is not God’s first choice. Just as Luke 2:52 reminds us that Jesus grew in a balance of the essentials disciplines of life, our homes need to be the green house for these healthy youngsters.
So, what is the relationship between the church, the child and the parent? The best single word is “partnership.” In a parent/church partnership children are blessed with the foundational truth on a weekly basis from church. Together with peers, our sons and daughters get to hear and experience God’s word. From the home they get to hear and see examples and guidance from parents on a daily basis.
The child is like the bonsai. Selective, appropriate adjustments will produce a work of art that will last a lifetime. In fact, for the child, these foundations will last into eternity!
God’s Unfolding Story for Older Preschoolers recognizes the need for guidance for your volunteers at church and for parents at home. That’s why we provide resources for both teachers and parents. Just as teachers need resources and help teaching the Bible, so parents need guidance in how to invest in their preschoolers on a daily basis. At its best, it is a wonderful harmony of balance and guidance for these young lives. That is Parent Partnership.
David Morrow
Preschool Pastor
Long Hollow Baptist Church
Hendersonville, Tennessee
