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Encouraging Kids To Depend On Their Own Faith

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  “I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

– Luke 18:17

Children are created with a tendency to believe. If you tell a child a story from the Bible they will believe it. Kids do not wrestle with doubt like adults do, because they haven’t had any “train wrecks” yet. Sometimes we make light of child-like faith, as if it isn’t real faith but Jesus didn’t do this. Jesus always encouraged the faith of children and we should do the same. So, how do we encourage the faith of children? Here are three things that I do:
  • Let the kids pray for each other. We have a tendency to teach kids to depend on the faith of adults. I found that I got better results in prayer when I let the kids pray for each other. If I get a prayer request from a child I will ask another child to pray. By doing this I am honoring their faith.
  •  Teach kids about faith. The Apostle Paul says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” When we teach what the Bible says about faith it causes their faith to grow.
  • Teach them to depend on their own faith. If a child gets afraid at bedtime, they will call for Mom or Dad. When Mom comes in the room the fear goes away, but the fear returns when she leaves. This cycle reinforces their dependence on their parent’s faith. Talk to the kids in your class about this and encourage them to use their own faith to resist fear.
What are some things that you do to teach kids about faith?   P.S. I’ve created a 12-week series on Faith teaching kids to deepen and depend on their own faith. You can check it out here: Faith 2.0  

Pastor, Filmmaker and Coach, Mark Harper has over 30 years of experience in the local church. He is the creator of the Super Church 2.0 Curriculum, which is used in over 5,000 churches worldwide. The focus of Mark’s ministry is helping leaders build strong churches and helping parents build strong families. Not only has Mark served in the local church as pastor, associate pastor, and family ministry pastor but he is also a certified coach with the John Maxwell Team.

5 thoughts on “Encouraging Kids To Depend On Their Own Faith”

  1. Laura Ottaviano says:

    Re: If I get a prayer request from a child I will ask another child to pray. By doing this I am honoring their faith.

    Pastor Mark, I like this statement so much! I love that you have put the right label- honor- on this important practice.

    Reply
  2. Jeanne Bowser says:

    I have kids lay hands on the child that needs prayer. Also, I have the kids come up and pray over offering, and what is on their heart to pray about. Teaching and training; it will never stop:) Thank you Mark!
    Is this Faith curriculum new that you are promoting? Thanks

    Reply
  3. Jeanne Bowser says:

    The reason I asked is we have most of your teaching, but I have not been able to find the Faith curr. Thanks for your reply.

    Reply

  4. Pingback: I'm Overwhelmed - What Do I Do? - Super Church

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