Helping Kids To Be Pro-Active In Their Faith

Let’s be honest. It’s easy to get kids saved. Children are easily influenced. If you present the Gospel to children they will pray the prayer with you, however their Bible reading and church attendance is very dependent on their parent’s spiritual disciplines. As your kids grow older they will begin to think for themselves. They won’t take everything you say at face value.

They will begin to ask questions like:

“Is God real?”

“Do I believe in God just because my parents believe in God?”

“What about the kids in Afghanistan that never heard about Jesus? Will they go to hell?”

I can tell when a child has made the jump from Mom and Dad’s faith to relying on their own faith when he or she begins to think for him or herself. When a child says, “Mom won’t let me do that,” they are still depending on Mom. When a child begins to talk like this, “I don’t want to do that,” then he or she has taken ownership of their faith.

Ask your kids these questions:

• Do you make your own bed?
• Do you pick out your own clothes?
• Do you help without being asked?

Here are some steps to help kids to be pro-active in their faith. 

1.   Train your kids to be proactive in natural things. This will help them develop a mind-set of pro-activity.

2.   Don’t just reward kids when they obey you. Give bigger rewards when your kids do good things without being told. Make a big deal about it.

3.   Encourage kids to ask questions about the Bible. Don’t freak out if they ask a hard question. Use it as a moment to dig into the Word and find the answer.

4.   Preach less and listen more. Ask them what they got out of the Bible story. When they share something really good, commend him or her.

5.   As your kids get older put them in charge of devotions.

6.   Let the children lead.  Do not be afraid to put kids in leadership roles in Sunday School and Children’s Church. A child volunteer can do almost anything that an adult volunteer can do. Kids just need someone to believe in them and take the time to train them.

What do you do to train kids to be pro-active in their faith?