Stepfamilies Ministry

Stepfamilies are also a huge demographic in the culture and in the church, but they are often an invisible group in that their family dynamic is not obvious until you know them. The principles of God’s word are the same for every family, and blended families are not exceptions. But the marriage and parenting dynamic is just somewhat different in most stepfamilies, so specialized ministry and counsel is necessary in premarital counseling and in ongoing support for these families.

As a blended family themselves (defined as any family which has stepchildren or stepparents/ grandparents due to death or divorce), Bryan and Libby were thrilled to find a great body of wise and practical advice on the subject which helped their family immeasurably! They HIGHLY Recommend the book, “The Smart Stepfamily,” and many other resources such as “Dating and Single Parent,” which are excellent and helpful books by Christian marriage and family therapist, Ron Deal. 

“Traditional advice on marriage and parenting may not be entirely appropriate for stepfamilies… Blended families start out with children and other biological parents to consider. Keys: A new stepparent needs to give the natural parent the lead in parenting and especially discipline in the beginning while he or she grows their relationship with the stepchildren – particularly for older stepchildren. And the husband and wife have to make their marriage a priority by investing in their relationship with scheduled time together to pray and discuss their family, to seek out a supportive community and resources, and to provide a united parenting front.” – Bryan and Libby