Over his 32 years as senior pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Misericordia (ICM) in Laredo, Texas, Gilberto Velez has witnessed cultural shifts and changing family dynamics.

When Velez planted the Assemblies of God church with his wife, Zulma, parents in the predominantly Mexican congregation adhered to strict parenting styles rooted in tradition.

Today, with more than 2,500 people attending English and Spanish weekend services, ICM remains a religiously conservative congregation. Yet parents are looking for new ways of leading their children.

“It’s a challenge with the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence,” Velez says. “We need to teach parents how to understand the reality of the current culture.”

One resource Velez and his staff utilize is Ignite Parenting (igniteparenting.com), an initiative of AG Christian Education and Discipleship.

Ignite Parenting combines child development research with biblical truths and theologically sound parenting guidance.

Through books, conversation cards, podcasts, blogs, video training courses, and conferences, Ignite Parenting helps equip parents and local churches for transmitting faith to the next generation.

“Ignite Parenting is what we need right now,” Velez says. “We need to compete with the secularization that is dominating our environment. Ignite Parenting gives practical tools that people can put into practice immediately.”

ICM hosted an Ignite Parenting conference in February that drew 500 attendees, including 200 ministers. Velez, a Puerto Rican native and executive presbyter with the Texas Gulf Hispanic District, led a workshop to help pastors better relate to families in their congregations.

“My experience in counseling is that lots of children of pastors want nothing to do with ministry because they believe their parents focused too much on ministry and not enough on them,” Velez says.

A contributing author for the latest Ignite Parenting book, Open When … Parenting through Everyday Moments, Velez wrote chapters on grief, the transition to adolescence, and dating.

Velez holds a doctor of medicine degree and a master’s degree in public health. While working bivocationally for 15 years as a hospital medical director, he developed treatment plans for mental health conditions, including depression.

The Open When book series features guidance from Assemblies of God child development professionals and theologians on a range of issues, from bullying to gender identity. A $1.25 million Lilly Endowment grant helped fund publication of these resources.

“Ignite Parenting was initiated out of a desire to equip and empower parents to be the primary disciplers of their kids,” says Elly C. Marroquin, AG national director of Christian Education, Discipleship, and Family Ministries. “We are instructed in Psalm 78:4 to share God’s mighty deeds and faithfulness with the next generation.”

Marroquin notes that a sizable portion of parents in churches today are relatively new to faith and feel unprepared for transmitting biblical values to their children.

“Ignite Parenting was initiated out of a desire to equip and empower parents to be the primary disciplers 
of their kids.” 
— Elly C. Marroquin

Ignite Parenting complements other AG resources, including Bible Engagement Project, a long-term strategic curriculum that includes lessons for children and adults.

“We’ve found that as parents come to faith, they don’t have the skill set or background in their upbringing to disciple their children,” Marroquin says. “Because they didn’t grow up attending church, they are biblically illiterate. We realized if we are going to ensure that future generations know and follow the Lord, we need to equip their parents, who are learning right alongside their kids to love, worship, and follow God.”

Ignite Parenting offers practical tools for guiding children in spiritual matters. Conversation cards provide prompts for discussions during meals or other family times.

For example, one card asks, “If you could spend the entire day with Jesus on earth, what would you do during your time together?” Each card includes Bible verses and faith-builder statements to help guide conversations.

“The family as an institution is God’s idea,” Marroquin says. “Home is the place where children are discipled. It’s been that way for thousands of years.”

Challenges like weekend sports schedules and shared child custody arrangements keep many families from attending church together weekly.

According to Marroquin, the average churchgoer attends services an average of 1.9 weeks monthly. Even for families attending more frequently, discipleship at home is vital.

“We need to strengthen the home,” Marroquin says. “Discipleship is living out faith in the home. We want households to be founded on God’s Word.”

One of the goals of Ignite Parenting is to build trust between parents and children, which begins with spending quality time together. An event kit for churches models activities that can grow family bonds, while an online calendar explores points of connection that facilitate ways parents impart faith.

“If parents don’t have a relationship with their child, there is no opportunity to transmit faithfulness to the next generation,” Marroquin says. “Kids don’t come with a manual when they hand them to you in the hospital.”

A recently completed 15-week curriculum is designed for small groups of parents meeting at local churches on a monthly basis. The study instructs parents on such topics as praying with children, leading devotions, and reading the Bible together.

In partnership with AG Senior Adult Ministries, an intergenerational discipleship guide focuses on how older congregants can leave a spiritual heritage by helping mentor young families.

“Investing in families is the best thing we can do as pastors,” says Maricela H. Hernández, an AG national executive presbyter and secretary/treasurer of the Texas Gulf Hispanic District. “A strong family is a strong pillar for the church.”

Hernández and her husband, Rafael, recently returned as interim pastors of Family Christian Assembly, the church they planted 24 years ago in Peñitas, Texas.

“We stress that we can never stop preaching and teaching in the homes,” Hernández says. “Parents are the first teachers of their own children.”

Hernández has been promoting Ignite Parenting around the district.

“There is much wisdom in the books, particularly in raising healthy teenagers,” Hernández says. “The printed materials have really helped parents keep their children away from pornography and social media that is so accessible.”

Hernández says the conference in Laredo provided excellent advice.

“They walked away with wisdom and tools,” Hernández says of attendees. “The presenters placed gold nuggets in the hands of parents.”

This article appears in the Spring 2026 issue of Influence magazine.