By Melissa Edgington
SOMETIMES Christian parents feel a bit lost in the culture while raising kids. You wonder how to handle the internet, social media, shows, and music. You wonder how much to tell your kids about some of the things they’re encountering in their social circles, like gender and sexuality. You aren’t even sure what you think about some of these things or what a biblical response is to some of the more complicated questions and demands of the culture they’re experiencing.
But there is one decision you can make as a Christian parent that is easy. It’s a no-brainer, in fact. You should take your kids to church. Not a few times a year. Not once a month. Not every other week. Your children should know exactly where they will be every time Sunday rolls around again.
How God bestows perfect peace on His children
Your kids need a foundation of consistent biblical influence. They need an extended family of people to love them, teach them, guide them, pray for them, and show them all of the many ways to be a follower of Christ. They need a community of believers that help them to have confidence in the truths of God’s word. They need to know what it’s like to worship with God’s family. Your children need the church, and so do you.
Raise your children in faith and the Word
So when Saturday evening bedtime is approaching, the one question your children shouldn’t be asking is: “Are we going to church?” They should know. It should be an absolute certainty in your home that unless they are ill, they absolutely will be going to church in the morning. If your family is anything like mine, once the habit is established Sunday will become the highlight of the week–not because football games are on TV or because they get to sleep late, but because they love being with God’s people. These are the people who will love your children through some of the most difficult experiences of their lives, who will teach them how Jesus changes hearts and minds, who will cry with them on funeral days and weep tears of joy with them on wedding days.
Praying God’s promises over your children
If you think being a Christian parent is difficult, you’re right. If you think being a Christian parent is difficult and your family isn’t a vital and faithful part of a local church, then you’re wrong–Christian parenting without the influence of the church isn’t just difficult. It’s impossible. The very least you can do as a Christian is to take your children once a week to worship with God’s people. The very least you can do as a Christian is to make sure that you, too, are dedicated to serving and worshiping with a church family. The church may not be perfect, but neither are you. So it’s a perfect fit.
Take your kids to church. Change your weekend dynamic. Don’t allow your kids to grow up wondering if you’ll be consistent in your faith. Show them what it means to be faithful to the Lord in the most basic of ways: by showing up. The church needs you. You need the church. And your kids need you to teach them how to be faithful.
You only have one shot at these precious teachable years. Of all the regrets you may deal with in this life, you will never, ever regret obeying the Lord and leading your children in obedience. Raising kids as a Christian parent is difficult these days, but nothing is more difficult than knowing that you let the years slip by without making Jesus a priority in your family’s life. Get your family to church and remember the joy of your salvation. Maybe you recall someone who took you to church. Surely you’re willing to be that person for the little souls under your own roof.
Joy awaits. Family. Love and care. Worship. And a remembrance of the goodness of God. Don’t allow your children to wonder anymore whether you will be faithful. Take your children to church and be blessed.
This article first appeared here.
