Rethink That Take-Home Paper!

By Amber Pike

Since Mom and Dad are called to be the spiritual disciplers of their children, we, as church leaders, have realized that we need to equip Mom and Dad so they have tools to lead with. Enter the Sunday school take-home paper. This single page contains the information Mom and Dad need to reinforce the day’s lesson, plus some prayer prompts and additional activities to lead throughout the week. What a win, right?

Most parents only look at the take-home paper when they are cleaning out the bottom of the minivan’s floor.

When you just send home a take-home paper each week as a tool for parents to lead with, the effectiveness is not what it could be. Rethink that take-home paper. 

1. If you are sending home the take-home paper, make it a priority. Teach parents how to use it, remind families that it is being sent home, and encourage kids to do something specific with it.
2. Evaluate whether or not your families are actually using them. Ask parents, or take a look around the church and see how many don’t even make it out of the church building.
3. Could social media be a better avenue to get the information across? Would parents respond better to the memory verse being posted as a challenge on Facebook? Maybe a weekly email could contain the lesson reference and key points for families to reinforce.
4. Consider using budget money to provide families with tangible resources to grow their faith, just as devotion books, worship albums, or even faith-based subscription boxes.

We want moms and dads to lead. We want them to be armed with the tools and confidence to do so. Ask yourself, is the weekly take-home paper doing that?