Every youth leader, volunteer, or pastor has failed at some point in their communication or interaction with their teenagers' parents. Most youth workers are still pretty young themselves, and most parents are guarded and protective of their kids. These factors combine to create a minefield for parents and youth workers to navigate.
Youth ministry mogul Mark Oestreicher starts off A Volunteer Youth Worker's Guide to Resourcing Parents by admitting some of his own failures in his interactions with students' parents. But then Marko uses the rest of the book to explore the importance and deep significance of being intentional with parent contact and interaction, and not letting family ministry slip through the cracks in favor of teenager-only ministry.
If you've had some discouraging interactions with parents lately, this book might help provide a new perspective, allowing you to show some grace, both to yourself and the parents you're trying to minister to.
