A place for parenting to flourish

Director of Family Ministries Major David Betteridge and Steve Bunting from the charity Kids Matter talk about working together.

How has partnering come about?

David Following a conversation with Territorial Leaders Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main, Kids Matter connected with the Family Ministries Department to share more about their work with disadvantaged families. 

As we explored their parenting programmes and core values, it quickly became clear that there is a strong alignment in our vision and approach.

Over the years, many corps have delivered a variety of parenting programmes. More recently, Family Ministries has also built a positive partnership with the Bible Reading Fellowship, promoting the Parenting for Faith resources, which have been warmly received. Our commitment is to support parenting initiatives that serve both families intentionally raising children in the faith and those seeking practical help.

We are particularly passionate about reaching families connected to our churches who may feel on the margins or are facing challenges. Kids Matter has come to our attention as we pursue new ways to support these families – offering practical help, building meaningful relationships, and gently creating space for them to explore what faith might look like within their family life.

Steve We’re excited because our heart beats at the same rhythm as The Salvation Army’s. We long for churches to be places of restoration, hope and belonging and places where families can feel connected and be transformed. Kids Matter is rooted in the Church, because that’s where families find a community in which they will flourish.

How does the programme work?

Steve It’s an early intervention programme based around three Cs: confidence, from parents meeting with other parents and realising their challenges are shared; competence, from group discussions facilitated using engaging, accessible and evidence-informed materials; and being rooted in community.

We only run our programme through churches because these are places where families receive wrap-around care, and some prisons. Our long-term vision is that they come to know Jesus. We want them to feel loved and cared for first. 

Parenting is hard for everybody, but parenting in poverty or disadvantage is infinitely harder and it affects children. The main umbrella that protects a child is their relationship with their parents or guardians. By equipping them to parent confidently, with more skills at hand and in community, children will experience better relationships, which will impact generations to come.

David It’s an affordable and accessible six-week programme, delivered locally by people from within the church community.

How does Kids Matter’s mission align with the Army’s?

Steve We serve with the unconditional love and grace of God as a pattern for our behaviour, with a bias to the poor and marginalised. Kids Matter is designed for families who are growing up in poverty. 

Our vision is to see every child in need raised in a strong family where no child is written off simply because of the circumstances they are in. We can’t solve everything, but what we can do is equip primary caregivers to love their child in ways that will hold them through the storms of life.

David At the centre of everything we do is a commitment to share the good news. Our love for others is grounded in the belief that every person is created in God’s image and worthy of dignity and care.

We are called to reach out with God’s love, meeting people where they are and walking alongside them. Our hope is that, through this love, others will encounter it for themselves and experience the transforming difference it can make in their lives.

What’s the next step for anyone interested?

David We are looking for corps and local expressions to pilot the Kids Matter programme. The Family Ministries Department is committed to supporting you on this journey in any way we can.