The world is weird right now. So much has changed in the past year that no one could have expected. Jesus has remained the same, but some days it feels like everything else is different. With being home as a family so much, I feel like my opportunities for pointing my kids to Christ and faith training has grown exponentially. And, in the same breath, I could say it has become oh-so-much-more difficult.
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Olympic Faith
One of the things our family missed because of Covid was watching the Summer Olympics. We love to spend time marveling at the athletes and seeing our girls be inspired to try for greatness. It is an especially helpful tool for our oldest, who is still learning perseverance and hard work. To see stories of how hard the Olympians train teaches our girls that they won’t just wake up at the Olympics one day.
The same is true for their faith. Our kids will not just wake up in a deep relationship with Jesus one day. We need to be training them for it. Preparing their hearts, soul, minds, and strength to walk out of our houses and into the world. Faith training as a family now, will equip and empower them for later when you aren’t there to help them follow Jesus.
Big Picture
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The verse of wisdom does not say worry about your child’s future, and he will be successful. No, we are called to train them up in the way they are to go. For us, as Christian mamas, the way they should go is following the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
If we do our little part of faith training in the family now, God will take care of later and your child’s heart will be ready and willing to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them the rest of the way. The big picture is not our responsibility. The tiny daily moments are where we have the chance to point our kids to Christ and soften their hearts to know Him intimately.
The Role of Sunday School
For a lot of families, dropping their kids off at Sunday School is all they know to do to teach their kids about Jesus. While Sunday School is great, it is only an hour or so of your kids’ week. One hour a week at Sunday Schoo it is not what God envisioned for faith training our kids. Can you imagine a swimmer that only trains for an hour a week making it to the Olympics?
When I was in seminary, the biggest message I got from my Family Ministries classes were that the church’s job regarding kids was to be a fun, safe place that introduces Jesus and then equip families to minister to their own children.
Churches cannot teach your kids to have a deep and meaningful relationship with Jesus. There isn’t enough time or relationship, plus it isn’t God’s design. God designed families as a place to teach children about faith and model a growing relationship with Him.
How We Don’t Do Faith Training
So, we’ve decided we need to do faith training and that a majority of it should happen at home. Now let’s talk about what NOT to do.
Don’t make it boring and miserable. That’s not a fair representation of the full and abundant life that Christ came to offer. Jim Rayburn, the Founder of Young Life, said, “It’s a sin to bore a kid with the gospel.” I love that!
Yes, there may be parts of the Bible that are not exactly page turners, but those parts are few and far between. There are even parts of the Bible that are not age appropriate for all children. That’s ok. Don’t start in those places.
Also, some of the spiritual disciplines, will not be age appropriate either. I wouldn’t expect my 3-year- olds to meditate for extended periods of time, my 7-year-old to practice lectio divina, or my toddler to fast. And you shouldn’t either.
Faith Training How To’s
OK, here we go. How do we do this thing? The simplest answer is with LOTS of prayer, play, and patience.
Here are a few tips to get you started. But come back as we keep digging into the ways your family can do faith training together to help you grow in your personal relationship, as well as pointing your kids to have their own relationship with our Creator.
1. Keep it fun!
To best represent God and His love for us, we must make it enjoyable for ourselves and our kids. In Psalm 16:11 the psalmist says to the Lord, “You will fill me with joy in your presence.” Can you imagine how attractive you present Jesus when your kids are filled with joy when learning about Him? They will want to come back and continue to learn more!
2. Keep it about relationship!
Your relationship with your kids is incredibly important. Kids want to follow in the footsteps of people they know love them. Love for a child is experienced. You can’t just tell them that you love them, you must show them. If a child doesn’t feel loved by you, they will not want to be like you or believe what you believe when they are older.
3. Keep it simple!
You don’t need to do in-depth theological studies or even elaborate storytelling with tons of props. All you need is a great Children’s Bible (like this one), some passion, and creativity – or some ideas from the internet. Check out some ideas here and here! But you know your children best and what they will enjoy. Most kids don’t need all the toys, felt boards, and Pinterest-worthy activities. They need to hear about Jesus’ love for them in an age-appropriate format from someone they trust and love.
4. Keep in touch with God!
Finally, last tip for today: pray! A lot! God will give you creativity, wisdom, ideas, and confidence in faith training for your family if you ask Him to. He delights in equipping you to point your children towards Christ. God loves your kids more than you do and loves you more than you can fathom. He will highlight opportunities for faith conversations with your kids, spark questions in your kids, and give you the Holy Spirit to refresh you and coach your family’s faith training.
Conclusion
There you have it, friends. Four simple tips to faith training your family and why you should.
Don’t wait for the perfect moment because it will never happen. Say a prayer and jump in today!
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