INTENTIONAL PARENTING

Parents have the amazing responsibility of helping their children know, love, and follow Jesus. Mark Batterson, the author of “Praying Circles Around Your Children”, writes that "Parenting is not for the faint of heart. It's a marathon, not a sprint. And it's a journey that requires intentionality, commitment, and faith”. As a parent, you have the responsibility of helping your child know, love, and follow Jesus.

Research indicates that more than 50% of children brought up in Christian households will eventually walk away from their faith. These statistics reveal the great need for purposeful spiritual development in the family.

The church can offer love, encouragement, and family, but nothing can replace the family and the spiritual development that happens in the home.

According to scripture, our actions today have a direct impact on the beliefs, traits, and actions of future generations within our family (Exodus 20:5-6, Psalm 78:5-8). It is so important to encourage strong faith in our children, starting with our own personal faith and modeling the gospel in our marriages and relationships with our loved ones.

For some of us, this may require breaking negative cycles from our own upbringing. By doing so, we can launch a new and improved legacy for the next generation, setting them on a path toward a deep and meaningful relationship with God.

Deuteronomy 6:7 instructs us to impress God's commandments on our children and to talk about them when we sit at home, when we walk along the road, when we lie down, and when we get up. This emphasizes the importance of consistently discussing and modeling our faith in everyday life, not just in formal settings like church or Bible study.

A strong relationship between parents and children is crucial in this process, as it provides a foundation of trust and open communication. This foundation can lead to the sharing of faith and values.

Intentional parenting includes taking into consideration the age, development, and personality of your child.

Young children are like sponges. Singing, reading, and talking about basic Bible stories and the foundational truths of Christianity can create a foundation for years to come. These early years are the best time to teach foundational truths.

As children age and reach the older childhood and adolescence stage, they begin to question and challenge. The questions and challenges are an opportunity to share our testimony and engage in deeper conversations about faith. This age is also a great time to begin to encourage habits like prayer and Bible reading.

As children become teenagers and young adults, a parent's role begins to shift. They can not force-feed their children, but they can encourage, motivate, challenge, and advise. Fighting to maintain a strong relationship is so important in this stage. It is in this stage that teenagers and young adults often make the big choice as to whether or not they’re going to follow Jesus of their own accord.

By understanding these different stages of development, parents can become intentional about creating and capturing opportunities to nurture their children's faith.