Here is another post to answer one of the “big questions” that were shared in the Small Church Kidmin Facebook group:
“Trying to get the parents to make home devotional time with their kids a priority. Some seem to be more concerned with the ballgame schedule or swimming lessons or chess club and are comfortable letting us in children’s church be the ones to spend the time to help their children be closer to God.”
This represents an issue that children’s ministry leaders often discuss. The current trend is to impress upon parents that it is their primary responsibility to disciple their child. The complaint is that parents relegate that to the church. One thing that we need to realize is that parents are still growing in the Lord, as are we all. How they have a devotional time, or disciple their children, may not be the same way that we envision it should be, or even how we may have that time in our homes. I will address that in a moment.
It is also our goal to work with parents to teach their children the things of God. I have had much success partnering with parents (as well as much failure) and a key to the success is building relationships with parents. Another key is to provide resources to help them. Many people provide take home papers for the parents to know what was taught to help guide them. Some churches teach the same thing to all ages to help facilitate discussion in the home. These work well in some homes, but not all.
When I shared about how I chose curriculum, I mentioned that there was a time that I chose to use Orange’s 252 for the elementary aged children. One of the reasons that I selected that curriculum was because of the many resources that they offered to help get the lesson home. What worked for me in the church I was serving was to hold the Family Experience (family service) and introduce a widget that they could take hole as a reminder of the lesson, with its purpose and how to use it to help initiate discussion in the home. Many families embraced that and I frequently see Facebook memories where families referenced the family services and how the widget was used in the home, re-enforcing the lesson.
I give that example because that devotional time was not what many might envision. It was not a focused, structured time of Bible reading and prayer, but rather the use of an object and the ensuing discussion and application. It also was not a weekly item. It was once a month, an introduction for what we would be talking about in children’s church for the month. I like to use object lessons in order to help foster conversations throughout the day. Discipleship is not always scripted. Rather a way of life as we follow Jesus.
This is not a post to promote the product that worked well for me. I know of other churches that have used games and activities to help get the message home. Other curriculum may also provide similar resources. The key is to find what works well with the families in your care.
Encourage them to do what I would call the basics. Pray before meals. Pray before bedtime. Depending on the child, read from a story Bible, or a small devotional book. Ultimately we want the child, and parent, to learn to read and study the Bible on their own. We can help the child by teaching that in our ministries. By using the Bible in our classes showing how important it is in our lives.
If you have a family with a 3rd grader or older and their child likes computer games, then I would recommend a game called The Aetherlight. It is an allegory of the Bible beginning with Abraham. As the child plays the game, the parent receives an e-mail with the Biblical correlation to the game. There is a comparison engine to connect the game to the Bible and even a companion Bible (NLT) to help engage the child.
Another resource that I would recommend is the Action Bible. It tells the stories of the Bible in a graphic novel format. When I recommend this, I always encourage the parent to use it as a gateway, asking the child if they liked that story, then to read the full account in the Bible.
Families may be having devotions, teaching their children the things of God in the home; it just may not be the way we envision.
Whatever you do, do not speak down to the families that are not having devotions as you think they should hold them. Rather encourage them in the Lord. As Deuteronomy 6 says, impress it upon your children, the ones in your ministry, the things of God. Teach them about the Bible, how to study it, how to pray, partnering with parents. It is not just the parents’ responsibility, it is ours as well. Let us work together, even if it sometimes feels like we are carrying more of that load. Let us not forsake the children.
What are some ways you partner with parents to teach their children the things of God?
