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Standard Name:College Student/Parent Relationships
Scope:All Reliant Staff and Associates
Revision Date: May 26, 2023
Last Review Date:June 15, 2023


Many Reliant employees minister on college campuses. Reliant believes in the command of scripture to "honor one's father and mother." Reliant employees should uphold this command by, as much as possible, promoting healthy parent/child relationships amongst the students they are working with and encouraging parental involvement and support of the ministry. We recognize that many students have strained, broken, or even non-existent relationships with their parents. Still, we want to encourage students to honor that relationship with wisdom as much as possible.

For example, it is generally good to direct students to obtain input from their parents regarding involvement in the ministry and decisions about ministry-sponsored conferences or trips. This could also include notifying the parents of a student demonstrating signs of potentially harmful behavior.

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11 Comments

  1. Mike Swann

    Dave Meldrum-Green and Tom Mauriello, this is a college based idea. Re-write, keep or dismiss?

  2. Dave Meldrum-Green

    Mike how about dropping Baptism completely....but tweaking the first paragraph....

    Reliant has numerous missionaries doing ministry on college campuses. Reliant also believes in the command of scripture to honor one's father and mother. Reliant employees missionaries should uphold this command by promoting healthy parent/child relationships and encouraging parental involvement and support of the ministry. This will involve, for example, directing students to obtain input from their parents regarding involvement in the ministry and decisions about ministry-sponsored conferences or trips. It will also involve notifying parents of a student who is demonstrating signs of potentially harmful behavior

  3. Tom Mauriello

    I would also add a brief note or edit addressing non-christian parents.  Or a phrase like, assuming like-minded or something like that.

  4. Julie Thomas

    Mike Swann, CJ White Joshua Dull Mike Easton Matt Elkins - Do you guys think we need this policy still? Or can we empower/expect the ministry partners to establish guidelines and policies around this topic? (cc: Tom Mauriello)

    1. Mike Easton

      I like this overall. I don't know about the last sentence. I think it would be hard to expect College leaders to: 1) have contact information for parents; 2) to have to share information with parents.

      Overall though, I agree with this statement and thing it's important. I have a doc I wrote for my consulting side hustle on honoring parents through the process of going on short-term trips and long-term going. I think what's written here is a good summary of the heart of honoring parents in the decision-making process. It doesn't go too far to say, "If parents say they can't go, then they are not allowed to go on a trip or do something in ministry." But it also promotes a healthy process of working with parents through this.

    2. Tom Mauriello

      I think addressing it overall for those in college ministry is helpful, it might need some rewriting to acknowledge that home life might not be safe.  The last sentence, especially maybe should be removed, assuming we are talking about legal adults and not minors.

    3. Joshua Dull

      Are we talking about the staff we hire? If so, I don't do any of that. No one on my team talks to the adult children (over 18) that we hire about any of this and I don't think we should. If we're talking about the kids that our staff work with, then I think that is a church thing, not a Reliant thing.  What am I missing?


  5. Mike Swann

    Yeah, if we are keeping it, it needs a re-write. I think it is helpful. Let me know if you want to work together on a re-write.

    1. Julie Thomas

      Mike Swann - can you rewrite before June 1? (smile)

  6. Mike Swann

    Julie Thomas - I'll work on one tomorrow (Friday, May 26). I do wonder about Joshua's question above, on whether or not we need this.

  7. Mike Swann

    Matt Elkins, Joshua Dull, CJ White, Mike Easton

    Here is our rewrite for working with college students who are navigating relationships with their parents. Hopefully, this brings clarity of what this policy is for and clears up some confusion. Thoughts?