Don't Forget the Grandparents!

Yesterday I asked, "What are you doing to encourage and equip parents/grandparents topass on a heritage of faith?" I said; "I do believe it matters what we do at church with children and we have to have effective, engaging and exciting children's ministry. But, we can not continue to, 'put all our eggs in one basket', the 'basket' of children's ministry and expect we will have enough influence to reach and keep children. The statistics just do not back this up. Of course, there are children who are reached by children's ministry. Children who do go on to know, love and walk with Jesus, but there are far too many who leave the church as they grow up. Far, far too many.

So, I want to ask you; what are you doing to challenge and equip parents and grandparents to pass on a heritage of faith? While the church can have a role in ministry to and with children, the primary responsibility for this lies with the parents and grandparents."

Before I write more about encouraging and equipping parents, I want to talk for a moment about people we often overlook when it comes to the conversation about passing on a heritage of faith . . . grandparents. I am a grandma and as a grandma there is something I know with all my heart which my son and daughter-in-law do not fully realize; children grow up so very fast. The years fly by. It can be hard to see this when your house is filled with three, young, very active boys under the age of seven, but I know how fast they are growing up. Time is passing and must not be wasted.

Do not discount or fail to consider grandparents as they can be people who are able to make a significant impact in the lives of their grandchildren. For many children, there is something special about going to grandma's and poppa's house and spending time with their grandparents is something they enjoy. Equipping grandparents so they are able to make the most of the time they spend with their grandchildren and are effective at passing on a heritage of faith is something we need to think through and develop a plan for doing exactly this.

So, as I write about equipping and encouraging parents to pass on a heritage of faith, I'll also include suggestions on ways to do the same with grandparents.

Let's start, "moving some of those 'eggs' to another 'basket'" and in so doing help recapture the 168 hours in the week and make the most of those hours!

Do you have a plan to encourage and equip grandparents in your ministry to pass on a heritage of faith to their grandchildren?