surround families
Surrounding families is all about looking for ways to build supportive relationships with caregivers. This includes finding practical ways to come around expecting and new families in nurturing relationships – and building the modern-day village around them.
The strength of the local church is to be able to create community around one another. No other public institution gets it right like the church does and can. By surrounding families, the church is coming around young familyies creating a community by building loving relationships with moms, dads and caregivers that help them feel supported, safe, relaxed and cared for, whilst giving them confidence in their ability to parent well and be able to provide responsive care to their young child. Surrounding families like this is important to prevent parents from feeling overwhelmed, lonely, isolated, stressed, or fearful. Surrounding families is your church really living out the saying “it takes a village to raise a child.” It is creating a “modern day” village around a mom or dad to raise a child.
Reflect on what you already have happening in your church. Some examples are:
- Host a mom’s group / Host a dad’s group
- Sunday meeting if you have a mom’s room/parents’ room – these can be facilitated times or have a volunteer hosting parents in there.
- Host a Baby showers – congregation incl. dad / Nappy braai (dads),
- Older man to connect with and mentor new dad – Mentorship,
- Older women can walk with mothers – mentor new parents.
- Support groups for teenagers who are pregnant
Read this resource for more ideas: How to surround families – document
How can you surround families in the First Thousand Days (FTD)?
1: Get to know the families in the First 1000 Days in your community
In order to be an FTD-Friendly Church – you need to know who the families are in your church that are in the FTD.
- Find out who is in the FTD
- Listen to parents and families in FTD – find out what is happening in their lives, what are their needs. In order to know how to better serve, support and connect them (document)
2: Build supportive relationships
Relationships matter! And at a time where new parents should not have to try find people to care for them, ask how they are, support them – what can you and your church be doing to look for those families to surround them with love – the kind of love Jesus asks us to show others. There are various ways that you can create spaces for mothers and fathers to build relationships with other parents in the same life stage as well as other caring members of the church community. Who in your church can you ask to go and build supportive relationships with parents in FTD?
- Developing positive supportive relationships – document
- Tips on how to have a good conversation with mom or dad – document
- Some tips on how regularly you can check in with mom or dad – document
- How to listen with empathy – Brene Brown – Youtube video
- How to positively affirm and encourage mom or dad – document
- Life Group Guide – document
3: Ways to practically support families in FTD
There are some very practical ways a church or an individual can come around families in FTD, that in a time when there are additional needs for parents, the church moves closer to the families so they don’t drift out of community.
- How to provide practical support to mom or dad – document
- Support a mom in the First Thousand Days – DGMT challenge
Surrounding families resources for churches
How to care for families in the First Thousand Days (FTD)
- How to care for families during pregnancy – document and blog
- How to care for families during birth – 3months – document and blog
- How to care for families during the 1st year of life – document and blog
- How to care for families during the 2nd year of life – document and blog
- How to encourage Love, Play and Talk with families in your church – document
- How to support families to promote early learning – document
- How the church can encourage mom and dad to respond and love baby – document
How to surround all caregivers in baby’s life
for mom
- How to support mom when she returns to work after having a baby – document
- How to set up and run a great moms’ group in your church – document
- How to celebrate Mother’s Day well – document
for dad
- Why fathers matter – document
- Barriers to fathers being involved in their child’s life – document
- Fatherhood and the church – a reflection on the webinar – blog
- How to encourage dads – document
- How to talk to fathers about fatherhood in FTD – document
- Fatherhood, The Church & the First Thousand Days – webpage
teen parents
- Teen Parenting & The Church – webpage
- Teenage Pregnancy and the role of the church – document
How to surround families with challenges
- If mom or dad are struggling – document
- Building resilient families – the crucial role of the local church – document
- Caring for families with postnatal depression – document
- Caring for families with substance abuse in the FTD – document
- Caring for families with disabilities in the FTD – document
- Caring for families experiencing grief and loss – document
- Caring for families with preemie babies – document
Stories of churches who are surrounding families
Watch this video to hear how The Bay City Church is surrounding families in the First Thousand Days
