Teach The Essential Part - It Matters

One of the roles and responsibilities of people who serve in Children's Ministry is for them to help equip, encourage, and come alongside parents and grandparents as they hand down confident faith to the children God has entrusted to them. Children spend from one to eight hours every four weeks at church - and more and more of them spend just an hour or two every four weeks - but they live with their parents; and if their grandparents are engaged they are spending significant time with them as well. Obviously we will be most effective as people who serve in Children's Ministry when we equip, encourage, and come alongside parents and grandparents to help them hand down confident faith.

One essential, but typically under emphasized part of handing down confident faith is for parents, grandparents, and children's leaders to help children learn to be people who talk with God. If they learn to do this and are able to see how God answers their prayers, this is one of the most powerful things we are able to do to help them know God is real, the Bible is true, and help them have a desire to know God more and walk with Him throughout their lives. 

But, far too often parents, grandparents (and even Children's Ministry leaders) struggle to talk with God themselves; which leaves them not even thinking about how to help the children God has given to them learn to talk with God. While curriculum typically mentions prayer from time to time, what do you do to help children actually learn to pray for themselves? How much time each week, month or even year do you devote to involving children - all of them - in praying? What are you doing to help parents and grandparents be equipped to help the children they love learn to pray?

There are not a lot of resources you are able to put in a child's, parent's and grandparent's hands to help them learn to pray, but one is Praying Deeper Through the Psalms for Children. This book will involve children ages four through fourteen in learning to pray the Psalms to God. Each week they will have a new passage from Psalms which they are able to pray to God on a daily basis. Get a copy for yourself and encourage each parent/grandparent to do the same. It is available in a print form on Amazon at this link.

Teaching children how to talk to God for themselves - not just listen to adults pray, but teaching them how to do it themselves - is essential if they are going to grow to be people who continue to walk and talk with God. If we do not do this, there is a very big possibility the children in our ministries will join so many others who grew up and left the church. Equip and engage children in learning to talk with God themselves and equip and encourage parents and grandparents to make this part of their focus in handing down the faith. Teach the essential part - it matters.