One of the challenges we face in children’s ministry is helping parents understand that they are the primary faith builders and teachers. It is essential that a child’s home really be the center of biblical teaching, and historically the home was the center of faith. In my experience, I’ve seen so many families “phone in” faith development and leave that on the complete dependence of the church. Early on in my husband’s work as a student minister, he had a parent come to him and ask why his son “wasn’t better”. He didn’t understand why he didn’t see any improvement from his Sunday morning and Wednesday night church experiences. The reason: home. If the home isn’t the primary place to build on a child’s faith, then Sunday morning and Wednesday night will simply be a check on that week’s “to do” list.

In the spring, the Gospel Coalition published a great article based on the findings from a Lifeway study on what kept young adults plugged into their faith. The BIGGEST impact was Bible reading at home. The second and third greatest impacts were prayer and serving, not just attending, a local church. If you want to see your child continue into adulthood as a faithful and strong follower of Christ, the Bible must be opened, read, and discussed at home.

This can be intimidating for a lot of parents. If they don’t feel confident in their faith, then how will they teach their children?  Your relationship with your child is a good indicator of your child’s relationship with God. Keeping you and your child’s relationship built and rooted in God’s word is the best way to keep their faith developing. Learn together, read the Bible together and discuss questions together. You don’t have to have all the answers, you just have to be ready to discover the answers.

There are three ways I would encourage you to build your child’s faith at home:

1. Talk about God.

Simply open the channel of communication to talk about and point your children to our Heavenly Father. Discuss with them how God is working in your life and ask how they see Him in their life. Keeping that channel of communication open is so important as children grow up and move into adolescence. Starting to ask your kids about their faith at age sixteen is a lot harder then at age six. Talk about their worries, fears, or needs and use all of that to point back to God’s Word.

2. Pray together.  

From the time I was born until the time I moved out of my parent’s house, my parents prayed with me before bed, every night. Every night, whether I had a friend over, I was staying up late or I was just home for the weekend from college. If I was in their house, they prayed with me. Now as a parent of a five and three year old, I have been and will continue to pray with my children every night. It’s a priority in our household. We talk to God, we ask for forgiveness, we pray for those in need and we thank him for how He’s blessed us. I’m modeling for my children how my parents modeled for me. I know what a significant impact it had on my walk with Christ and I deeply desire the same for them. Find a time with your children that is a non-negotiable for prayer: meal time, night time or maybe even in the car, whenever you can. Prayer is a vital part of being a Christ follower and such a simple thing that we can model for our children.

3. Read God’s Word.

As I mentioned earlier, the number one impact to keeping your child on their faith journey is reading the Bible at home. This doesn’t have to be formal or fancy. It can be a devotional or Bible story you read before bed. The point is placing a priority on God’s Word. That the Bible is real, living and active. That it is TRUTH.

In our house, we have a tray on our coffee table with about five different age appropriate Bibles in it. They are accessible and handy whenever we want to stop and read with our children. My five year old is reading on her own and the books she has picked up and read the most have been these Bibles.

Yes, it can be intimidating at times, especially if you struggle with your own growing faith, but there are two books I always recommend that will help both you and your child. The first is The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. This Bible helps point to Jesus in every story in the Bible and can even bring clarity to God’s Word to adults. The second book, Everything A Child Should Know About God by Kenneth N. Taylor, breaks down theological ideas into simple stories with one or two questions to help children begin to grasp bigger concepts of the Christian faith.

What we do at church is important, but what happens at home is VITAL. Make it a priority that your home is a home that is building a strong faith foundation for your children. You make more of an impact on their spiritual journey than a pastor, minister, or Sunday School teacher could ever make. At four years old, you have 728 weeks with your child until they graduate. How will you use those weeks to grow, strengthen and impact them for Jesus Christ?

Thanks for letting me share,