I have a challenge today for all those who are saved and have children. I know many new moms and dads who have young children. So much of the time when at this stage we are just existing. Getting from sleepless nights to exhilaration, when the first full night of sleep happens. From baby food, to table food, from diapers, to potty training, and on and on the process, goes. Until one day they are on their own and you wonder if you’ve done enough for them to have the faith that will see them to eternity with Jesus.
I remember a seminar that I attended in 2017 where the statistics were given of young adults walking away from the church. In adults raised in the church, going 3 times a week, 61% of the 20-24-year-olds walked away. Each year it seems to be increasing by about 7%. Now statistics show almost 75% of those young adults walk away from fundamental churches. Usually, they are leaving to attend a modern, no strings attached church, and eventually, they are not in church at all. Surveys on middle and high schoolers from Christian homes showed 40% of middle schoolers had doubts about the Bible, and by high school, it rose to 45%. It was alarming to me because they were talking about fundamental Bible-believing churches.
The greatest reason for the failure was the lack of teaching the biblical truths that are the basis for our faith. All through school our children are taught opposites of the faith when it comes to the age of the earth and the origin of man. This all begins in Genesis and if you don’t lay the foundation then everything on top crumbles, because of a wrong foundation.
It is not enough to tell our children God created us, we must go deeper and show them exactly what the Bible teaches. It is time for Mom and Dad to step up! Proverbs 22:6 tells us that it is the parents that should be training the children. It is not the church or the school that should be the primary source of information. They should be an aid, not the primary.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
The verb “train” (chanak) means “to put something in the mouth.” It refers to the mothers or nurses of long ago when they would chew the food before giving it to the child. The Hebrew literally means to initiate a child in his way. In other words, start while they are so young they can’t chew their own food. You would be surprised how much training can go on at a few weeks old, and the older they are the more training you can do.
Just like a railroad lays a track, you put down a track for the way you want them to go, and you make sure they follow it while they are young, and under your control. It’s hard work, but it is so worth it. Teach your children how to listen. They won’t understand everything you tell them, nor what the preacher says, but they will get something. Each “learning to listen” session will build upon the other ones. Teaching or rather training is a 24/7 job! Deuteronomy 6:7 makes that very clear.
Deuteronomy 6:7 “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
For instance, when you have your children in church make them sit and listen. The Holy Spirit can help them to understand some things. Reward them afterward for remembering one thing that the preacher said. I know it works, we trained our own, and many children from our bus ministries through the years. In time, all the family will be able to listen with no distractions. Go home and talk about what the preacher talked about. Find out what they learned in Sunday School. Make everyday life lessons from the word. Pray with your children and be sure to show them when God answers.
Teach them at home. Instead of having books that have no spiritual application start with books that tell great Bible stories. After all, there’s great excitement when you think about some of them, and your children will love them! Teach about God’s protection when you read about the three Hebrew young men in the fiery furnace. Teach about God’s provision when Elijah is fed by ravens. Teach about Jesus’ love for them, when he says to permit the little ones to come to him. There is an exciting Bible story for just about every situation in life.
We must also teach them we will all answer to God for what we do. I remember teaching my boys the verse in Numbers 32:23. I would remind them often “be sure your sins will find you out.” By the time they were young kids and on through the teen years if they did something wrong they would usually come and say, “I know you’ll find out so I’m going to go ahead and tell you.” They need to have an awesome fear/reverence for God.
Another way to teach children is through songs. Music is a great teacher for things we want to remember. Use songs that have great biblical truths and they will get “stuck in their heads.”
I know sometimes I felt like the mean ole Mom, but I wanted my kids to know God, and serve him as soon as they were accountable for their sins. I wanted the Holy Spirit to have truths to work with when it was time for Him to deal with their hearts. The sooner we teach on purpose, the sooner they will be saved.
Teach them proper obedience. No backtalk, obey immediately, and with the right attitude. For them, it is obedience with a promise, but the greatest reward is when you see your children teaching and training their own children, with the Bible as their guide. That’s when you know that even with all your failures, and I have plenty, that you have done your best to raise them for the Kingdom! It’s all part of the training! How much effort, how much prayer, how much time, are you willing to invest to make sure your children don’t end up in the 75% that walk away from the church and God?
