Your child is going to abandon their faith

Well, maybe. It depends. There is a unique phenomenon that I run into in a regular basis. Couples connect, they get married, and they have children. Along with children comes a renewed desire to reconnect with a church. Again and again I hear, a foundation with church is so very important for children. I agree wholeheartedly. To grow healthy adults, children need to be nourished by the Holy Spirit through God's Word from an early age. The problem I keep witnessing is what happens as those same children grow older. Children are continually, predictably abandoning their faith as they journey into adulthood. As Pastor of Discipleship at St. Mark for the last 6 years here is one of the recurring problems I see.

Some parents are convinced that religion and church is important for their kids... not themselves. I don't want to beat up on parents too much but I do want to be honest. If time with God is not your priority it will not be for your children either. They are watching you and the time with pressing things (Facebook, sports, work, chores, etc.) that surpass the most important things (praying and listening to Jesus) will influence their view of God. If He is just another extra thing that can be forgotten in the business of life then that is what they will live out. More is caught than taught. Have you been caught loving Jesus, talking about Jesus, singing to Jesus, going to Jesus for the sins of today? Yeah, I have my moments where just the opposite is true. I'm thankful for Jesus' forgiveness for my shortcomings as a parent. I'm also thankful that my children still look to me to guide them in setting their priorities. I can show my children just how valuable my Savior is everyday in big and small ways.

We recently asked parents to go through their Cross Training (Kinda like Sunday School on Wednesdays) lesson at home with their children during the Lent season. When they came back we surveyed them to see how it went. Here is what we found from the 60 parent's responses.

The majority of families who invested the time in God's Word for themselves and their child benefited marvelously. One dad said, "I was amazed that my son actually listened to me and even remembered what we talked about 7 weeks ago."

As a dad who has a busy life I've resolved to read a little potion of the Bible at the breakfast table with my family. (Yes, that means I have to get up a little earlier, Ugh, but it is worth for the quality time with Jesus and the kids.) I've also resolved to verbally bring Jesus into the conversation at little spots throughout the day, when I have opportunity to praise God for something good, go to him for help, or confess to him a specific sin. Lord willing these will be the memories that last with my children. Lord willing these will be the things that lead my children to trust Jesus the rest of their life.

I'm curious to hear what has helped you connect your family to Jesus time?