Teaching With Intention
The key to teaching children about God is by being intentional. It means deliberately sharing with our children Bible readings, stories, passages, thoughts, and principles. It means being on the look out for opportunities to share Christ with our children. It means carving out the time to spend as a family looking at God’s Word and instructing our children in what we believe—our faith. It means teaching and directly talking to our children.
Yes, children will “catch” a lot of attitudes, actions, feelings, and thoughts about faith from their parents, their families, and from their Sunday school teachers, but the real key to making an impact long-term on a child’s spiritual development happens deliberately. It takes time.
For my own family, being intentional meant that we ate meals together every day. Breakfast and supper times were our family’s intentional time. We prayed, talked through the issues of the day, discussed theological issues, analyzed last Sunday’s sermon, heard our children’s “take” on their Sunday school lesson, and tried to address any pressing issues through the lens of Scripture.
Other times of intentionality came at bedtime. Especially when our children were young, we took the time each night to read a Bible story with them and to spend some time in prayer. We would thank God for the day’s events, praise Him for His blessings, and lead our sons to give Him their requests as they arose.
“The real key to making an impact long-term on a child’s spiritual development happens deliberately. It takes time.”
As our children got older, we capitalized on car time. Traveling for vacations, sports tournaments, and even to and from school each day, gave us time together to be intentional in teaching our children. (They were a “captive audience” after all!) We helped them to memorize Bible drill passages in carpool lines, had serious life conversations, and talked about any struggles that we were having individually or as a family. And yes, we intentionally pointed our conversations back to God’s Word as we struggled together to find answers.
Some of our intentionality came during the fun or spontaneous times that we had together too. Beach trips, hikes, cookouts, outdoor sporting events, and even catching fireflies gave us easy ways to not only thank God for providing us with the experience but also a time to appreciate the beauty of God’s creation.
For your family, being intentional may look different. As spring break approaches, think about ways that your family can slow down and be intentional in teaching your children about God. Intentional can definitely be fun! The important thing is to begin intentional conversations with your children somewhere. Children need both: to know about God and to hear about Him from their parents.
Click here for some ideas that you can use to intentionally teach and talk to your children about God during Spring Break. Print them, cut them out, and take them with you.