Ross, Reyes introduce new mobile app to help parents connect with teens

Parents and teenagers are constantly at risk of growing apart, and Christian parents and teens are not excluded. “Even Christian parents are in danger of becoming a product of their culture,” said Richard Ross, senior professor of student ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ross, along with Gus Reyes, director of Hispanic partnerships at Dallas Baptist University, has “developed a process for rebuilding heart connection between parents and teenagers.”

The 30 Days product began as a book in 2003 titled 30 Days: Turning the Hearts of Parents where Ross and Reyes assisted with helping parents and teenagers grow closer together by having one conversation together each day. Now, Ross and Reyes have introduced a mobile app version of the product called 30 Days: Parents and Teens.

“When 30 Days was published in booklet form, many thousands of families gladly paid about $20 for the experience. But by moving to an app, the cost now is below $3,” said Ross. “A side benefit is the fact that teenagers think it is cool that they can use their phone to connect with a parent.”

Ross continued by saying that “most parents and teenagers have already drifted so far apart that they just do not know what to do to fix it.” Because of this, Ross and Reyes have authored the 30 Days experience. Through it, one parent and one teenager commit to “spend ten minutes together each evening for 30 evenings,” Ross said. “By following the instructions in the app, the parent and teenager say and do those things that have the most powerful potential to turn their hearts toward each other.”

The 30 Days book has seen many lives and relationships changed for the better. According to a father in South Carolina, he and his son “were going through a very difficult time this year” and the material in “30 Days has brought us closer together. To see him getting ready for our time, even making sure he told me not to forget, makes my heart sing with joy.” He expressed thanks to God and for the 30 Days material.

One teenage son, Kevin, said “During our 30 Days, one night my mom told me all the things she likes about me. The next day I was put down by some guys at my school. But I could take it better after hearing the good things my mother said to me.” Ross and Reyes are hopeful that the mobile app can have a similar effect for parents and teenagers.

Ross also sees this process to be used by a church as a whole as they can “mobilize many families, enlist two or three families to begin the 30 Days experience.” He encouraged church leaders to “choose families who can impact other teenagers and parents” and “then plan your church’s largest-ever gathering of parents and teenagers for thirty days later.”

He continued by saying that once church leaders can get the families to participate in the experience together, they can “allow the families that have been through 30 Days to tell their stories.” He then said that churches can use the testimonies to “invite all the families in the church to begin a 30 Days experience together that evening.”

According to Ross, this product is not just for families who are struggling in their relationships with one another. “Strong families report this process has taken their relationships to the next level,” he said. “Weak families report relationships have been restored and life won’t be the same. Best of all, when the heart connection is restored then teaching and modeling again have impact.”

Through the booklet version, “tens of thousands” of parents and teenagers grew closer together and rebuilt relationships that had been strained, Ross said. “Now available as a phone app in both English and Spanish, the experience prompts family members to share stories, answer questions, and open up in authentic ways teenagers most desire,” he added.

“Faith stops flowing from one generation to the next. Teaching and modeling the truth has limited impact when the heart connection between parent and teenager has been broken,” says Ross. However, “Ten minutes a day for 30 days can strengthen a relationship between a parent and their teenager.”

The driving force behind strengthening the relationships of families is Scripture. “God desires to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents as seen in Malachi 4:6 and Luke 1:17,” said Ross. “The heart connection between a parent and a child mirrors the connection between Father God and His children. Most biblical counselors believe this family connection primarily is composed of unfailing love, biblical significance, and true security.”

Ross and Reyes have been encouraged by how God has used their writing in the past but are excited to see it being used in this new medium. The mobile app became available for download on March 1 in both the Apple App Store and Google Play. The app is available for download here.