Overview

The popular life strategy of outsourcing is often mistakenly applied to spiritual parenting as well. By regularly attending a dynamic children’s ministry, parents feel they can have truth spiritually imparted to their kids by the “experts.” But the Bible tells us that the passing on of the faith is a role of the parents! Parents are the main influence in their children’s lives. You might not feel the most qualified to raise your children spiritually, but you are in the best position to spiritually influence them. Parents are called to be the primary spiritual leader in their kids’ lives!

Recall

Who is in the best position to spiritually influence your children?

Reflect

If you were honest, on whom have you placed the burden of raising your children spiritually?

Respond

What are some simple steps you can take to pass on your faith to your children? Write out an action plan.

Rethink

What are you doing right now to spiritually influence your children?

Outsourcing

Let me share with you a very common and appropriate strategy for life. You see, I can’t do it all. It’s impossible.

I pay someone to do my taxes. I found a CPA and I trust the responsibility of my taxes to him. My taxes are complicated, I don’t like to swim through details like that, and for me, the price of admission is well worth the value I get!

If my kids ever come to me and want to play violin, the last thing I would do would be pick up the violin, teach myself, and then seek to pass it on to them. This would be a losing strategy. I would, however, find an accomplished violinist who would seek to pass that skill on to my child. And I am certainly willing to pay for that resource.

Following this line of reasoning, someone might decide that a winning strategy to raise your child spiritually would be to find a dynamic church with a dynamic children’s ministry and make sure they are present at church as much as possible. Check the box.

This would just be another way to be a resourceful manager of all of your responsibilities, right? I mean, if it works for my taxes and for my kid’s violin lessons, I could certainly apply this same principle to spiritually imparting truth to my kids, right?

Wrong. The Bible actually has no room or category for a person to outsource the spiritual instruction of their own children to someone else. The Bible is very clear that passing on faith is the primary responsibility of the parents.

Think about it like this: your children will be in Sunday school about 40-50 hours a year. That’s in comparison to about 2,000-3,000 hours that they will be with you in a year.

In the grand scheme of God’s design, do you see why he placed such an emphasis on the role of the parent in a kid’s life? As parents, we will be the main factor of influence in our children’s lives simply by the virtue of how much time we spend with them.

On a regular basis, I need to be reminded that I play the most significant role in my children’s spiritual lives.

You may not feel best equipped to raise your children spiritually. I get it. You are still, however, in the best position to influence them the most for the Kingdom of God. Can you read? Then you can lead. Grab a quality Children’s Bible and just start.

We are parents. This is our role. We are called to be the primary Spiritual Nurturing Agent in our children’s lives. It’s us. There is no Plan B. Jump in. Be a factor of supreme influence as the primary spiritual leader for your kids. Today. Amen.

  • Recall: Who is in the best position to spiritually influence your children?
  • Reflect: If you were honest, on whom have you placed the burden of raising your children spiritually?
  • Respond: What are some simple steps you can take to pass on your faith to your children? Write out an action plan.
  • Rethink: What are you doing right now to spiritually influence your children?