Family Discipleship & Ministry

A Guided Mentoring Programme

Mel Lacy and Jane Watkins

Thursdays
2–4 pm BST (GMT+1)

cost £500

This mentoring programme is designed for those serving in children’s, youth, or family ministry who are eager to equip parents to disciple their children. Through rich biblical teaching, historical perspectives, and practical training, we will explore how to cultivate a Christ-centred home in partnership with the local church.

Over the course of eight sessions, participants will engage with carefully selected reading, teaching, and discussion within a small group setting. Expect around four hours of reading, watching, or listening per month. In addition to group learning, each participant will receive a 60-minute individual consultation to apply key insights to their specific ministry context.

The programme includes two books and a journal, offering space to reflect and implement what you are learning. Our goal is to equip you to support families at every stage—from early childhood to adolescence—and to encourage homes that thrive in gospel life.

For more info...
TIMETABLE
9th October 2025
The Foundation: What does the Bible say about family ministry?
13th November 2025
The Story So Far: Historical and modern models of family ministry
11th December 2025
The Team Right Now: Roles in family ministry—parents, extended family, and the church
22nd January 2026
Leading by Example: Personal discipleship and collaborating with church leaders
26th February 2026
Laying Foundations: Supporting families with young children in worship and faith formation
19th March 2026
Navigating the Teen Years: Equipping parents to disciple teenagers
21st May 2026
Mission and Delight: Encouraging families to live on mission and enjoy God
18th June 2026
The Big Q&A: Addressing key challenges and applying insights

Mentoring Enquiry

Name

Growing Young Disciples has a threefold mandate: to train, resource, and advise…

Meet the team…

Conference 2026

5–8 January 2026.

Yarnfield Park.

Join us for a dynamic conference experience packed with inspiring speakers, practical workshops, networking opportunities and rich ministry support.

Seminary level training in children’s, youth and family ministry.

Find out more

All content © Growing Young Disciples 2025.

FAQs

The Forge is an online training and resource platform from Growing Young Disciples. It exists to strengthen and support children’s, youth, and family ministry leaders. It is more than a content library. It is a place of sharpening and growth, where gospel depth meets practical wisdom for real-life ministry.

It is for anyone involved in discipling the next generation. Whether you are a full-time youth pastor, a Sunday school volunteer, a church leader, or a parent who wants to think more deeply about gospel-shaped ministry with young people, The Forge has been built with you in mind.

You will find biblically rich training videos, downloadable resources, safeguarding templates, risk assessments, leadership tools, and teaching materials. There is also an online community space where you can connect with others, ask questions, and find encouragement.

The subscription is yearly. You can pay £200 up front, or spread the cost with monthly payments of £20. Either way, you are signing up for a one-year commitment. After that, you are free to cancel at any time.

The subscription covers your whole church team, so anyone involved in children’s, youth, or family ministry can access the training resources and downloads.

Each subscription comes with one named community member. But we know that some churches have more than one key leader involved in children’s, youth, or family ministry. That is why we offer up to three named users per church to access the Forge community area.

This allows your team to grow together without turning the space into a free-for-all. If you need more individual sign-in permissions because of a larger team or unique circumstances, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you.

No. A subscription gives access to your local church team only. Resources must not be shared, copied, or distributed to anyone outside your church. If content is shared beyond these terms, access to The Forge will be withdrawn. We take this seriously in order to protect the integrity of the platform and ensure fairness for all.

Yes. The Forge is a living platform, not a static archive. New resources are added throughout the year, including training videos, downloadable tools, and leadership materials. We are always listening to what churches need and developing fresh content in response.

Yes. This is one of the most common requests we receive. The Forge includes a growing set of short, practical training videos with built-in discussion questions and leader notes. They are ideal for use in monthly or termly team meetings.

Yes. If your church is facing a particular challenge or needs support in a specific area of ministry, we would love to hear from you. The Forge exists to serve the local church, not to replace it. We are here to help.

Yes. While the platform is built on a conservative evangelical and reformed theological foundation, it is designed to serve churches across a wide range of denominations. The resources are biblically faithful, pastorally wise, and practically adaptable.

We would be happy to show you around. Send us a message and we can arrange a preview or talk through how The Forge could serve your team.