Pizza & Side Hugs

A Catholic Youth Ministry Podcast for anyone leading youth ministry. Whether you're a youth minister, parent, volunteer, priest, or student leader, you'll find this to be a great resource full of joy, experience, fun, and faithfulness.

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Pizza & Side Hugs

Partner With Parents - Pt. 3

October 07, 2025 • Julia Eckrich, Paul Sifuentes, Rachel Gilman, & Jake Teitgen • Season 5 • Episode 17

We're doing a three-part series on one of the most important topics in youth ministry. If you want to do ministry that lasts, this is where you need to be heading with your ministry. Listen in for Part 3 of our Partner with Parents series.

Part 1 delved into the critical importance of partnering with parents in youth ministry and its effectiveness on your ministry. Part 2 pivots toward the Dos and Don'ts of cultivating effective parent engagement, and how to build supportive communities and relationships with parents. Part 3 focuses on practical steps for fostering engaged parents and ideas for how to build a family-centric ministry.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Partnering with Parents

05:00 The Importance of Family in Youth Ministry

08:40 Integrating Parents into Youth Activities

12:13 Building Relationships with Families

14:07 Communication Strategies for engaging Families

19:15 Creating Opportunities for Parent Involvement

32:10 Flexibility in Ministry for Family Engagement

38:40 Recognizing and Celebrating Youth Contributions

40:00 Innovative Ideas for Family-Centric Ministry

42:20 Conclusion and Call to Action

Links

Family Based Youth Ministry: https://www.amazon.com/Family-Based-Youth-Ministry-DeVries/dp/0830832432 (90's cover here: https://archive.org/details/familybasedyouth0000devr)

Budget Episode: https://pizzasidehugs.buzzsprout.com/697273/episodes/16850484-big-picture-budgets

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