About Engage Family Ministries:

HELPING FAMILIES PURSUE JESUS

You want to lead your family toward Jesus, but life pulls you in every direction.

Engage is here for the parent who wants to lead their family toward Jesus, but isn’t sure where to start.

OUR STORY

Why Engage Exists

We exist to help families engage with God and each other. Engage with God:  God is always pursuing us, and He desires us to respond to Him. Engage with Each Other:  Healthy relationships and families don’t happen by accident.  Parents need to be intentional about pursuing their kids to point them toward Christ.

After more than 30 years in youth and family ministry, I’ve had the same conversation in church hallways, camp dining halls and parking lots more times than I can count. A mom or dad pulls me aside, lowers their voice a little, and asks some version of the same question: “Am I doing this right?”

They love their kids. They love Jesus. And, they want more for their family. But between practices, homework, jobs, and a phone that never stops buzzing, the good intentions keep getting pushed to next week.

If that sounds like your house, you’re not the only parent who feels lost. It sounds like mine too. Sara and I have four daughters, and we’ve fumbled plenty of handoffs along the way.

I think of faith like a relay race. Every generation runs its leg, and the most important moment is the handoff. Deuteronomy 6 paints the picture: talk about God’s truth when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. In other words, faith gets passed in the ordinary moments of family life, not just on Sunday morning.

Engage Family Ministries started in 2018 to help parents make that handoff well. We’re a nonprofit ministry, and we build biblical, practical resources for the real questions families are facing right now.

When you don’t know where to start, Engage Family Ministries points you in the right direction.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

Strong families don't happen by accident, they are built.

Everything we make at Engage fits into one of three pillars. When technology is put into it's proper place, your family has more time together to live intentionally and to teach Truth.

Truth

Faith grows at home first. We help parents ground their kids in who God is and who He says they are, in words a family can actually talk about around the dinner table.

Time

A mentor of mine once told me, “Quality time is a myth. Quality time is an accident that happens in the context of quantity time.” You get about 936 weeks from birth to graduation. We help you spend more of them together, on purpose.

Technology

Technology isn’t the enemy, but it needs a plan. We give parents tools, not just warnings, for smartphones, social media and screen time, so the screen stops setting the rules in your home.

Statement of Faith

  • We believe the Bible to be the inspired, only infallible, authoritative Word of God;

  • We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit;

  • We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and in His coming personal return in power and glory;

  • We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful humanity, regeneration by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ is absolutely essential.

  • We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life;

  • We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

  • The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe.

MEET STEVE

Hi, I'm Steve!

I’ve spent more than three decades in youth and family ministry as a youth pastor, ministry coach, camp counselor and communicator. That’s a lot of camp cabins. If you’ve ever smelled a cabin full of junior high boys on day four, you understand the level of commitment we’re talking about.

You might also know me as the guy who invented 9 Square in the Air, a game now played by churches, schools and camps in more than 25 countries. That work taught me something I didn’t expect. Kids light up when adults create space for them to connect, and the same is true at home.

My wife, Sara, and I have four daughters: Lauren, Megan, Hannah and Katelyn. They’ve taught me more about parenting than any book, mostly by watching me get it wrong and giving me another chance.

I can’t tell you how many times my kids have seen me on my phone during dinner. So, when I talk about screens, I’m talking to myself first. We are all growing! My hope is that Engage makes the road a little clearer for you and we point you to Jesus.

Steve has been featured on the HomeWord podcast with Dr. Jim Burns.

WHO WE SERVE

Built for the home and for the church that supports it.

For Parents and Grandparents

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You simply need a next step that you can take this week. Our courses, books and free videos give you that step, whether your kids are toddlers or teenagers.

For Children’s and Youth Ministry Leaders

Parents are meant to lead their kids toward Jesus, but the weekly program usually comes first. You already disciple kids every week. Engage gives you ready-to-use resources to equip their parents too, so what happens at church keeps going at home.

WHAT CHANGES

You move from confused to confident.

Picture the smartphone conversation happening calmly, because you already know what you believe and why.

Picture a dinner table where the phones are in a basket and faith comes up naturally, because it’s part of how your family talks now.

That’s the goal behind everything we make. Your family engages with God and each other, and moves toward Jesus.

"After reading some of these resources, we started making some changes. We chose to delay giving our daughter a phone, and we are trying to live more intentionally. It's still hard, but I feel confident that we are moving in the right direction."

-Parents of an 8 year old

Start where you are.

Each step towards Christ is the right one.

If you are unsure of what to do next, choose one of the free resources below to get started.

Truth

Time

Technology