Children – Parent Resources

PARENT RESOURCES

I think all of us would like our kids to love Jesus, be happy, be good people, and follow their dreams. That’s entirely a possible outcome. But when we don’t long for our kids first and foremost to know and love Jesus by prioritizing the nature of our parenting then our kid’s spiritual development simply will not be what it could have been. What a huge loss that would be!

Let Matthew 16:26, be a reminder that absolutely nothing matters more than helping our kids know and love Jesus. Because when they have Jesus, they have everything.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

  • Helping Your Child Grow Spiritually
    • Parents have a divine call to raise their children up to know God. The world recognizes parents’ responsibility for the upbringing of their children in many areas including their material and emotional needs. Within churches it is widely acknowledged that parents are also called to meet their children’s spiritual needs. According to a survey by Fuller Theological Seminary, around 90% of Christian parents believe that they have the primary responsibility to help their children grow spiritually. However, the same survey discovered that only 10% of the parents do anything more than taking their children to the church. Our children need more than that.

 

  • Lead by Example
    • Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” So, the first step in the discipleship of our children is to ensure that we are as close to the Lord and as full of Christian character as we can be. We need to work on our character flaws, grow in love and knowledge of God. As we grow, our children will too.

 

  • Read the Bible and Pray with Your Children
    • As parents, we should seek to pray and read the Bible with our young children every day. If our children experience meeting with God with us, and watch us seeking God on our own, then they will learn to do the same as they grow.

 

  • Pray for Your Children

    • God has given us our children to shape in prayer. As our children grow and develop there will be times when they need our prayers to bring them through difficult times, to shape their character, or simply to fan into flame their love of God. Wise parents spend time on their knees for their children.

 

  • Family Time

    • Many families choose to have a time each week, or even each day, when they worship God together and share a word. This can be a great forum to bring God central in the home and also give opportunity for your children to exercise their gifts of intercession, prophecy and teaching.

 

  • The Role of the Church

    • Beyond the parents, and those called specifically to children’s ministry, the whole church has a responsibility to see its children grow in the way of the Lord (much as the whole church is called to reach out to the lost and minister to the poor). Allow your children to be a part of church life and they will grow in God as they mix with other believers. Proverbs 22:6 instructs us to “Train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it.” This is our mandate from God, let’s raise up a generation that will make a difference in God’s kingdom.

BOOKS

MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES

  • Music

    • Air One Radio Stations
      San Jose 100.9FM
      Santa Cruz 90.7FM
      Los Gatos 88.9FM
      www.amberskyrecords.com
    • K Love Radio Stations
      San Jose 87.7FM & 91.9FM
      Santa Cruz 103.1FM
      Fremont 99.3FM
      Klove.com

  • Shopping

    • Lifeway Christian Store
      1375 Blossom Hill Rd.
      San Jose, CA 95118
      www.lifeway.com

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