Family Ministry: Fad, Phase, or Philosophy?

How do families and youth ministry partner? 

It seems to be the hot topic right now.  Is it a fad and a phase, like candle filled rooms and quiet 2 hour meditation times were, or is it a genuine shift in ministry direction for the church?

Yes.

And yes.

For some, it is the latest, greatest thing.  Some ministries are going to jump on the idea of involving parents so that they can grow their ministries, reach more kids, and see their youth groups "succeed".  They will ramp up the amount of communication they pour on parents, hold a creative parents meeting or two, watch a couple of family ministry vlogs, and move on.  When the next craze of "ultimate frisbee ministry with senior citizens" hits, then the ministries will grab that and conveniently forget their next parent's meeting.

But I think that is the minority.

I think most of the youth leaders and pastors looking into the issue are going to incorporate a philosophical shift into what they do.  That is where we are.  As a church leadership team, we are asking questions, and discussing answers that make me uncomfortable.  We're looking at how to get parents to own the discipleship of their kids, and how we can help them succeed like crazy at it.

We're reading and looking at alot of information from the Orange ministry team.  (www.whatisorange.com)  They have some good ideas.  We'll have to customize it to fit our context, but I'm pretty excited about what we are seeing and hearing from God.

I'd be interested in knowing where all of you are on these issues?  Any thoughts or ideas?  Is it a phase, or a transition?  What do you think?