Tips to Disciple Your Kids

Tips to Help You Disciple Your Kids
 
Do feel lost in your own home as a disciple-maker? You’re not alone! Many parents feel lost when it comes to discipling their kids, mainly because they feel they were never discipled themselves. They know that they should, and they want to, but when it comes to actually doing it, they feel lost. ‘Where to begin? What to say? Do I really know enough myself?’ And so, because of the overwhelming feelings or fear of lack of knowledge, many parents tell their kids,‘Listen to your Sunday school teachers’. This is understandable, but it doesn’t have to be this way. It can’t be this way. Discipling your children is far too important to hand off to others—as godly and loving as those teachers and leaders are. Okay, so we know we need to disciple our kids (Deut 6), and we really want to do it, but how do we actually do it? Here are the first three of eight ways disciple your kids (to read the full article visit: The Gospel Project
 
1. Set realistic expectations.
One of the main hang-ups parents have is that they expect way too much of themselves when it comes to discipling their kids, and when they can’t live up to them, they feel like failures and often quit. Parents need to be realistic of what their family discipleship will look like. Perhaps that means talking about a Bible story for 15 minutes one night a week at dinner and trying to find one or two times each week to move conversations toward the gospel. Wherever you are, start there and develop rhythms and habits that work for your family and then build on them.
 
2. See family discipleship as a way of life.
There is nothing at all wrong with having a more organized time of family worship—it is actually a great idea to do that! But parents can’t think of family discipleship as a program to be completed; they have to see it as an ongoing way of life (see Deut. 6). Parents, talk with your
kids about Christ naturally as much as possible. Look for themes in shows, movies, and music and talk about how they relate to the gospel. Talk about the character of God, especially as you experience it in your own life. We have natural opportunities to talk about the gospel every
day—we just have to look for them.
 
3. Focus on Jesus.
The goal for parents should be to always point their kids to Jesus. It is easy to fall into the trap of moralism—focusing on behavior and wanting them to ‘act right’. But that is not God’s heart for them! God is less concerned with their behavior and more concerned with their hearts. And
the way kids will develop hearts that love Him and want to obey Him is through the gospel transforming them. This is why parents need to point their kids to the gospel and allow that to inform how they live. Their behavior matters—but why they behave the way they do matters
far more. Focus on heart change through Christ.
 
Again, these are just the first three of eight ways to help parents disciple their children. To read the full article with great, easy, practical tips, visit Gospel Project or pick up a copy on the HFC Kids Check-In Kiosk next time you’re at HFC.
 
Making Young Disciples,
Pastor Sarah