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Coaching kids to Christ

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3 great ideas for moms and dads

Evan Stermer, 15, is a left-handed power pitcher who throws a baseball at 80 miles per hour. Last summer, he played for the U.S. Olympic under-14 team in Mexico.

Evan’s parents pay $6,500 a year for private coaching. No price seems too high for parents with a dream for their children.

We all have dreams for our children and we’ll stop at nothing to help them be the best they can be – physically, emotionally, socially, and academically.

But what about eternity? Do we also invest in the spiritual development of our children?

We can’t leave the spiritual development of our children to Christian schools or the church alone. Studies show that parents are still the number one influence in a child’s life, more than media or peers.

Here are three ideas parents can use to invest in the spiritual development of children:

  1. Talk with your kids as you eat together or drive home from activities. Studies show that people learn best in a question/answer type of setting. You can ask your children spiritual/moral questions any time or place. For example, if you’ve seen some poor sportsmanship during a game, talk about it on the drive home. Ask your children if God wants people to act that way. You can even discuss a Bible story or verse that ties in with the poor sportsmanship incident, such as the argument among Jesus’ disciples as to who would be first in the kingdom.
  2. Encourage your children to do life journalling or daily Bible reading. Encourage your children to spend 10 minutes one night a week life journalling with you. Simply read a short passage from the Bible, talk about what it means for your lives, and write about it in your journals. This will help you and your children develop a lifelong habit of reading Scripture.
  3. Get involved in your children’s Sunday school and club programs. If your child were playing a championship game, would you watch? Naturally, you wouldn’t miss it for the world. Imagine that every Sunday or club night is a championship game in your children’s ministry. Your children are learning biblical values that will influence their behaviour for the rest of their lives. Don’t miss out! Get involved!

Gabrielle Wiebe is children’s pastor at North Langley (B.c.) Community Church.

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