Welcome to Passionate Parenting
A resource to empower, encourage and equip busy parents with simple, adaptable and practical tools.
I'm Debbie, founder of Passionate Parenting.
My husband, Steve and I, have 3 incredible children, now grown, that love and serve the Lord. They have filled our hearts with such indescribable joy and awe. The Bible, specifically 3 John 1:4, expresses exactly how I feel... “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth”. It is our desire that all parents would experience this sense of fulfilment, as they are supported to raise whole, happy, and healthy-hearted children.
Our Story
At the age of 8 I gave my heart to the Lord. I was the only Christian in my home and despite my young age, I felt drawn to one day having a family of my own that centred itself around a beautiful relationship with God. On reaching adulthood, I became a full-time missionary, joining an international itinerant drama ministry. I was soon married, and experienced 'living by faith' with my husband, and with no fixed income for ten years, we learned to rely on God for every thing we needed! As we travelled and ministered across Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, and the USA, I learned from experience that God is always enough!
Over these years we stayed in over 500 different homes, and had the opportunity to observe lots of families. I took notes as I saw what worked and what didn’t work. I interviewed all kinds of parents, including parents in ministry, and was blessed to hear their views on the fruit of their decisions, both positive and negative. God used this to grow in me a heart for parents, and He opened my eyes to the importance of healthy families and the role of the church to champion our precious Mums and Dads.
As my own children came into the world, I sensed a calling to pursue the full time mission field of motherhood. I knew the sacrifice, prayer, and intentionality involved in full-time life on the mission field, and instinctively knew to apply that to parenting. Like all families, we have navigated the ups and downs and challenges of life, but through it all God has taught me that following His design - works!
With family as my focus, I remained involved in ministry, volunteering in Kids Ministry and then Youth Ministry as our kids progressed through each stage of childhood. I also had the privilege of being a Director of Family Ministries in the US for two-and-a-half years, helping to connect and support families. When my young adult children all left home within 12 months, I began to formalise what God had been revealing to me about his heart for families. At the encouragement of my Pastor, I ran my first parenting course in 2016, and have continued to mentor parents and speak at women’s conferences on family and parenting.
Passionate Parenting was birthed from heart-felt questioning: How can we champion families? How can we give them what they need to thrive? How do we encourage parents to enjoy the (often exhausting) process of raising up these precious children? The answer is a bit cliche but it’s simple and deeply true… Jesus.
Passionate Parenting was birthed from heart-felt questioning: How can we champion families? How can we give them what they need to thrive? How do we encourage parents to enjoy the (often exhausting) process of raising up these precious children? The answer is a bit cliche but it’s simple and deeply true… Jesus.
Following God’s plan makes sense. He created the family and He knows exactly what it needs to thrive. What I also discovered through my own parenting journey was that being a follower of Jesus didn’t automatically equal success as a parent. We all have to navigate our way through the ups and downs of family life as well as leading our family through the unexpected. We need support, validation, great tools and a “well done” spoken over us every now and then. Imagine for just a second…. if every church was full of healthy, flourishing families. What do you see? I see influence, healing and impact. I see happy children growing into healthy-hearted and wisdom-led adults that can bring God’s redeeming love into our world.
We designed the Passionate Parenting Workshop to put six simple, very basic tools in your hand. Just tools - not rules! These tools can be applied to any family dynamic, in any season, to help you build a firm foundation upon which to launch your children into a Christ centred adulthood.
discover the resource that is the passionate parenting workshop
Please note
This website and the Passionate Parenting course is not intended to offer specialised parenting advice regarding behaviours or special needs. Every family is uniquely beautiful and our tools are designed to be a helpful addition that can be adapted in to each family at the discretion of the parent.
"Your children are the mission field that God sent you to win over for Him" - George Barna (The Barna Group)