The greatest chance that a child has of developing a resilient, firmly-rooted authentic faith is when the church and home partner together in their life. At Berean, we firmly believe this! When the church and home work together toward the evangelization and discipleship of a child, there will be a greater impact than if these two institutions worked separately from one other. The Family Ministry at Berean is designed for this very purpose!
This is Part Two of a series of three blog posts in relation to our Faith Commitment Milestone that is part of our Family Discipleship Plan. In the first post, I shared the opening letter of our Salvation and Baptism Parent Guide that helps parents to talk about the gospel and baptism with their child. This guide also helps them determine the readiness of their child to take steps of responding to the gospel through faith, repentance, and a public declaration of their faith through baptism.
Understanding the gospel is vital for responding to it.
In this post, I want to share another excerpt from this guide, one that talks about helping your child to have a clear understanding of the gospel.
I am a firm believer that no one (kids, youth, or adults) is able to properly respond to the gospel if they don't have a clear understanding of it.
I often come across people of all ages that have previously made a decision to go to heaven and avoid hell. They have done this by asking Jesus to forgive them of their sin and "come into their heart." There is a problem, though, when this is the extent of their understanding. They have made a "decision" to avoid the bad and take what is good, but they don't have a real understanding of God, sin, Jesus, faith, or repentance.
Your children need you to help them understand.
As parents, we want to help you walk through these important things with your child so that they can make a true decision to follow Jesus and turn to Him as their Lord and Savior. In the Salvation and Baptism Parent Guide, we walk through the important aspects of the gospel to help you as you explain and teach this to your child. In this post, I want to share with you an excerpt that is titled: "Talking to Your Child about the Gospel." These are some practical suggestions for you as a parent as you walk through this journey with your child.
Talking to Your Child about the Gospel
Here are some general tips and practical suggestions to help you with these [gospel] conversations:
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Avoid over-explaining concepts to younger children that might lead to confusion or a wrong emphasis.
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Take TIME, having multiple conversations as you go through this with kids. A one-time conversation will not be enough for them to wrestle with and grasp the truth of the gospel.
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Look for the small wins of understanding along the way.
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Don't get discouraged if you see them losing interest or not understanding right away. Every child learns in their own way and at their own speed. The key is to not rush the process, but be patient, realizing what is at stake.
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Keep the gospel and the love of God continually in front of your kids. Emulate the gospel to your kids and verbally point out how you see the gospel impacting all of life.
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Your kids will have a lot of spiritual questions. Make sure to answer them truthfully and simply, assuring them of God's love and care.
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Look for their genuine conviction of sin and a desire to repent. Don't force or rush this. It may take some time, but it is a necessary condition of their heart in relation to their response to the gospel.
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Don't put words into their mouth. Let your child come to understand the gospel at their own pace. They will grow in their ability to articulate repentance and faith as they mature.
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Pray that your child will respond through repentance and faith to the gospel. Never give up!
Be careful to not emphasize avoidance of hell as the reason to turn to Jesus. Whereas it is important to talk about hell with your child, you don't want them to only focus on its avoidance. Wanting to avoid hell is not turning to Jesus with a heart of repentance and faith.
It is good for them to be scared of or repulsed by hell, but simply wanting something better for themselves is still placing themselves at the center and forefront rather than Jesus. Make sure to clarify this with your child!
Remember to do your best in trying to discern the difference between whether they are expressing general spiritual curiosity, or true repentance and belief. Be careful not to manipulate and pressure them into responses that they neither understand nor genuinely embrace.
Stay Tuned for Part Three!
In the last post in this series, we will look at other excerpts from this parent guide that talk about what baptism is and isn't, as well as helping to determine the readiness of the child to take that step.
The Salvation and Baptism Parent Guide can be found on Berean's website along with many other resources for families here.