Spiritual Nurture in the Home

More and more, I’m encountering Christian parents who express fear about passing on the faith to their children. They don’t want to force-feed anything to their kids, and they worry that their kids won’t respond well to efforts to nurture them in the faith. Recent research from the Pew Research Center should serve to encourage us to boldly train up a child in the way he or she should go. The research reminds parents to take the lead in the spiritual nurture of their children and teens. Why? Because a majority of teens ages thirteen to seventeen still follow their parents’ lead when it comes to religion. Eighty-eight percent of teens growing up in evangelical homes say they enjoy religious activities with their families. What are those activities? Fifty five percent read the bible together. Eighty percent say grace at family meal-times. And eighty-eight percent spend time talking about the faith. Parents, don’t be timid. Your kids have been made for a relationship with God, and you’ve been charged to nurture them in the faith.