In student and children’s ministry, we say that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church.  But do we evaluate our effectiveness through that lens? We can pour time and energy into providing excellent take-home resources for parents and kids designed to catalyze spiritual conversations after church is over and even create a rhythm in the home. But do we take it a step further and find out whether they are being used?

What if we started asking these questions:

• What’s happening at home as a result of our interaction with kids, students, and parents at church?
• Is our curriculum actually impacting how families live?
• Are our environments accomplishing the purposes for which we design them?
• What else could we be doing, or what should we stop doing, to ensure families are winning at home?

I know, it’s a lot of work to evaluate things through that lens. True. But maybe it’s far more worth it.

So, how do you know if your parent and family resources are catalyzing meaningful interaction at home? What tools do you use to find out? What questions might you add to the list?

We’ll always spend lots of time on preparation, but as 2010 unfolds, what would happen if church leaders started spending even 20 percent of our time on evaluation? I’d love to hear your thoughts, insights, and best practices.