Show notes
Five years ago, Connected Families had certified parent coaches in just one country. Today? Connected Families is collaborating with CF Certified Parent Coaches in 20 countries and across four continents to provide culturally-sensitive biblical parenting resources.
As Chad Hayenga reflected on our podcast, "In the early years, we did not know how the Connected Families Framework would translate into other languages or cultures." What has become wonderfully clear is that the Connected Families Framework is a culturally sensitive parenting tool, and God is using it to bless families from many languages and cultures.
One by one, ministry leaders from around the globe have discovered Connected Families and sought to adapt tools like "Do-overs," "Slow, Low & Listen," and “Discipline That Connects With Your Child’s Heart” to their own cultural contexts. Many joined our Parent Coach Certification Program to serve families in their communities.
The numbers tell an amazing story of God's faithfulness:
2020: 5 coaches in the US, 140 families supported
2025: 100+ certified coaches across 20 countries, 1,400+ families supported
We're witnessing God's love transcend both language barriers and cultural boundaries, creating a truly global community of families experiencing God's grace and truth. Come along with us as we journey across the globe to see what God is doing through some of our amazing Certified Parent Coaches.
*Note: Interested in having a Connected Families Certified Parent Coach come to speak at your church or gathering? Check out our newly renovated Workshop Speaker page to learn more. As you will learn in this blog post, we now have coaches and speakers available worldwide!*
Want more detailed stories?
Tune in to Episode 238 of the Connected Families Podcast, "Impact: The Unexpected Global Parenting Movement Changing Lives Worldwide" for even more stories.
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Culturally-sensitive parenting resources across the globe
Africa
Ethiopia: Getu Melkamu works for Compassion International in Ethiopia. Getu recently led a Connected Families workshop for 450 Christian ministry workers, equipping them to ensure that all children can feel safe, loved, called & capable, and responsible.
Europe
Finland: Whether it’s workshops, coaching, or online courses, Mari Cerny finds great joy in prayerfully translating Connected Families resources into Finnish. Communities are eagerly awaiting this transformative content in their native language. When parents' understanding of God as the ultimate Parent becomes clear—through experiencing His compassion, grace, patience, and abundant mercy—it creates deep healing and provides the foundation from which all other parenting tools flow with genuine power.
Co-Founders, Jim & Lynne Jackson, with the Cernys in Finland.
Co-Founder Lynne Jackson with Mari Cerny. The Framework translated into Finnish!
United Kingdom: Ruth Wharton is based in Malvern, Worcestershire. She is the first Connected Families Certified Coach in the UK. Ruth works part-time for a local charity that supports people with autism, and is a mother of five. For twelve years, she worked alongside her husband, looking after 60 teenage boys in an English boarding school. It was then that they first discovered Connected Families.
“There are not enough words to say what Connected Families has done for my family and my relationship with God” -coaching client in the UK
Watch the video below to hear from Ruth in her own words.
Asia
Philippines: Connected Families Certified Parent Coach, Samantha (Thammie) Sy, and her husband, Dennis (a pastor), live in Manila, Philippines. They have a deep influence in adoption and foster care ministry in their community. Thammie was looking for a tool to help disciple parents and families in her church and broader community in a more gospel-centered and science-informed way, and with a biblical lens. Then she discovered Connected Families. Recently God opened a door for her to present the Connected Families Framework from metro Manila and beyond and launch a coaching group with parents of kids from toddlers to teens! She says, “I believe that when parents encounter the Gospel in how they raise their children, generations will be changed.”
You can check out the podcast Samantha does with her husband here: Our Parent Hood podcast
Samantha Sy presenting a workshop for 250 people together with Co-Founder Lynne Jackson in the Philippines.
North America
Canada: Steve Bourque lives in Sarnia, ON, Canada, with his wife and 3 children and is a former children's and family pastor at his church. He is a Connected Families Certified Parent Coach and also works for Family Life Canada. (Family Life Canada is also a Ministry Partner* with Connected Families! Here is what he has witnessed:
A surprising aspect of coaching is how parents come seeking practical answers but leave with profound hope and a sense of grace. One dad, despite family upheaval, used his coaching sessions to write a two-page parenting vision statement that included six transformed belief statements. He shifted from "I feel like a failed parent and husband" to "God qualifies me to be a husband and parent and views me through the lens and blood of Jesus, not through my failures." This demonstrates how bringing parental burdens to Jesus transforms our perspective and shifts focus to His greater purpose.
*Click HERE to learn more about how your church or organization can become a Ministry Partner.*
Steve Bourque teaching a workshop in Canada.
The Spanish-speaking community is growing
Luisa Wendt was born in Colombia, South America, and brings a taste of South America to the United States! She currently lives in Iowa with her husband and is actively involved in the translation of Connected Families resources such as podcast episodes and blog posts into Spanish. Here is what she tells us:
One of my favorite moments of sharing the Connected Families framework is seeing the spark of hope ignite again in the faces of the parents who have been looking for ways to understand and relate better to their children. One Sunday, I was presenting a Discipline that Connects workshop to a few parents from Honduras, Mexico, and Panamá. Parents with kids as young as newborns and as old as 50. Because our kids are 6 and under, at the end of the workshops, I usually hear from young families about how the CF Framework will be so helpful as they continue to raise their kids. This Sunday, however, the first one to come to me was a 70-year-old mom who wanted to have a better relationship with her 50-year-old son.
I won’t forget her words:
“Thank you, Luisa, for assuring me that it is never too late to make things right, to try a do-over, and connect with my son. He may be fifty, but he will always be my child and though I do not know how much time I have left in this life, I want to stop pointing the finger at him hoping he will change and I will ask God to help me change by asking: ‘Lord, show me what is going on in me.’”
I left that workshop thanking God once again for the beauty, truth, and goodness shared by Connected Families.
As you can see from the stories above, God's heart for families knows no boundaries! Whether it is through Ministry Partnerships or Certified Parent Coaches, the messages of "You are SAFE, You are LOVED, You are CALLED & CAPABLE, and You are RESPONSIBLE" are spreading exponentially. As we look toward the future, we're filled with anticipation for how He will continue to expand Connected Families so more families can experience God’s grace and truth.
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ephesians 3:20
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