Parent resources: To strengthen your faith and to share your faith with your children.
Parents play the biggest role in discipling their children. Parents are instructed in Proverbs 22:6 “To train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (ESV). Parents are called to be the primary disciple makers of their children. Youth ministries, youth pastors and youth leaders are great tools and resources to help you make disciples of your children. However, all too often the primary responsibility of discipleship is placed upon the youth ministry and the workers. When in reality the youth ministry and workers are supposed to come alongside the parents and help the parents disciple their children. Think of youth ministry as a partnership but the responsibility primary falls on the parent. That sounds pretty daunting doesn’t it? Here at First Presbyterian we want to equip you and empower you to be disciple makers of your children. This is why we are providing you resources to do just that and that is why we also have Wednesday night and Sunday morning programming for all grade levels.
In Psalm 127:3 – 5 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks his enemies in the gate” (ESV). These verses are a great reminder that children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. The husband and the wife must come together and raise their children to be faithful disciples.
Another verse that supports parent discipleship is Deuteronomy 6:5 – 9 which says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children (emphasis mine), and shall talk of them (emphasis mine) when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as fronts between your eyes. You shall write them on doorposts of your house and gates” (ESV).
Notice that the Lord wants total devotion from the parents. He calls the parents to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength and might. Then the author then says teach these things to your children. Notice the words, talk, sit, walk, lie, and rise. At all moments we can and should be pouring biblical truth into our children’s lives. We should be constantly teaching our children about Christ and sharing the Gospel with them.
Here is are two articles that encourage parents to disciple their children:
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/most-solemn-mandate
https://truth78.org/pages/family-devotions
Discipleship is not a “one time event” during the day. It happens at any point during the day throughout the day!
So, with the call and the commands before you as parents to disciple your children in the Lord we want to come alongside of you in your journey to do just that. First Presbyterian wants to see you and your family grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord. We want you to see you pass the faith of Christ from one generation to the next generation. Nothing is of greater importance than discipling your children.
Here are some helpful resources and tips to help you to be disciple makers in your home.
- Pray with your kids. Praying with your kids is important and the Lord likes to hear and answer our prayers.
- Bible reading – reading the Word of God as a family is so important. Let the Word of God dwell richly in your homes. Find a time during the day or night to spend some quality time in the Word with your family. Teach your kids the Word of God both the Old and New Testaments. Memorize Scripture together as a family.
- Sing together – singing as a family sounds awkward but how awesome is family worship especially when the family sings theological rich songs and praise the Lord with their lips. A couple great worship bands include CityAlight, Sojourn, Sovereign Grace Music, Ascend the Hill, and The Modern Post.
- Rooted Ministry is a great ministry that provides parents with resources and tools to help you disciple your children. https://rootedministry.com/parenting/They also have this list of available resources: https://rootedministry.com/parenting/resources/
- Ligonier is a great Presbyterian ministry that also has wonderful resources to help parents grow in their faith as well as devotions and teachings that you can pass along to your children. https://www.ligonier.org/learn
- FamilyLife is another great resource to help you as parents to grow in your faith. They have resources for parents to help you in your marriage, family, as well as resources to help disciple your kids. They have a wealth of resources to help you no matter what stage of life you find yourself in. https://www.familylife.com/
- Focus on the Family is another great resource that provides good articles and resources for parents, marriage, kids and culture. They have devotionals for couples as well as for parents and youth. They also tackle tough topics to help you and your kids navigate the culture that we currently live in. https://www.focusonthefamily.com
- Truth 78 offers Christ exalting curriculum to help you teach the Word of God to your family. While they are not free like the other resources they have an abundance of good resources for every age group. The mission of Truth 78 “is to inspire and equip the church and the home for the comprehensive discipleship of the next generation.” https://www.truth78.org/catalog/category/view/id/27/?use=105
- AWANA is what we use here at First Presbyterian for grades 1st through 6th. Here you will find how you can share the gospel with your kids. https://www.awana.org/2019/03/07/simple-tips-sharing-gospel-kids/
- Solid Joys Devotional – a free devotional by Desiring God which can be found on the App Store for both Apple and Android.
- Books are also great to help you and your children grow in your faith. If you have pre-teens or teenagers I encourage you to check out this book: This changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen years. There are lots of good books to help you grow in your faith and to disciple your kids. Here are some titles: Faith-filled moments: Helping kids see God in Everyday life by Kelli Trujillo, Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting. If you would like additional book recommendations please reach out to our youth pastor Jordan.
- Songs from The New City Catechism:
- Expository Parenting: These are two great resources that help and equip you as parents to teach your child(ren) the Word of God.
As always, you are not alone in your journey of discipling your kids. We want to come alongside of you and help you train your children in the Lord from grade pre-k to college. It is never too late to start discipling your kids no matter how old they are even if they are out of your house.