Parenting is stressful. Christian parenting, which often involves parenting against popular culture, is even more stressful. Throw in the extra stress of a pandemic, job loss and a host of the other problems this year has thrown at many families, and the parents of some of your Bible students may be at their breaking point.
The problem is that the tightly knit church families of a generation ago have been reduced to people who often engage merely as acquaintances at church. With many churches having gone virtual to protect the health of members, even that has been taken from most Christians.
Christianity revolves around communities of believers who support and encourage one another. Christians were to hold each other accountable for sin and remind each other of the way God wants them to live their lives. Today many Christians, including the parents of some of your Bible students, feel isolated and alone in a world that is almost the antithesis of the way God wants it to be.
Many of these parents need your support and encouragement, but probably won’t be brave enough to ask for it. They need someone to listen, someone to give godly advice, someone to remind them this is just a season that will pass like many others. Some parents may need additional help dealing with abuse in the home, educating their kids at home, job loss, health problems and other felt needs.
You may not feel equipped to provide the spiritual and emotional support the parents of some of your students need. You may not have the financial or other resources to help them with their felt needs.
You can, however, check on them regularly. You can offer to listen and empathize. You can let them know you keep them in your prayers. You can go online or make phone calls to help them find people who can provide the help they need. You can make their kids feel loved and valued and point them to God.
You may not be able to visit each home for safety reasons, but that’s the one blessing of technology. Make use of it to minister to the families of your Bible students. You may be the only lifeline they are offered…for some that can make all the difference in the world.