This idea came out of a conversation at our Life Group Christmas party a couple of weeks ago. When a parent dropped her son off, she commented that the parents don’t know who each other are. As I was reflecting on that comment later that night, I thought, “Let’s do something about that.”When a parent says something like that, it’s an invitation to do something about it. She didn’t say it in an accusing way. It was more of a passing comment about something she would value having.

I decided to pull off an event that would be a natural way for me to hang out with parents… watching their boys have a blast. The event: Ice Blocking! So much fun. The boys slid down a grassy hill while sitting on top of blocks of ice. Between the boys and the blocks of ice was a folded towel.

It became a family event. One of the dads parked his car in a way to shine his headlights on the pitch dark hill. Another dad was at the top of the hill coaching them on how to get the best ride and shining a light on them. He even took a ride down the hill once. Parents were gathered at the bottom of the hill hanging out having a blast watching the fun. One of them even brought snacks for the boys.

We made some great memories. The parents know each other a little better. They have more appreciation of me as their sons’ leader. The boys had a blast and got super tired (another plus in the eyes of the parents).

When we minister to students, we win when we remember part of ministering to them includes reaching out to their families.