Let's Talk Grandparenting Ministry - It's In the Simple Every-Day Questions . . .

When we engage the grandparents in our churches so they are focused on passing on a heritage of faith, we will help them understand sometimes this means they will plan intentional times to sit and have conversations with their grandchildren. But, there will also be times when questions or conversations just come up as part of every day life.

For example; the other day I needed to talk with my daughter-in-law on the phone for a minute and then, of course, I talked with my grandsons, too. Josiah had been looking at some VBS stickers I had given him - as you know, I review most VBS resources each year and some of the VBS items end up going to my grandsons. He asked me what it meant when one of them said; "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

I told him the "fear" it is talking about is not "fear", like when you are afraid, but instead it is talking more about "respect". When we respect God, it is the first step to being wise. He said this made more sense and went on telling me about some of the other stickers.

I am very happy he asked me about something to do with God and His Word which he didn't understand. I'm very happy he understands what this verse is saying and look forward to more conversations - even short conversations like this one - which will help my grandsons understand God's Word and encourages them to think about it on their own, too!

Yes, engaging and equipping grandparents, so they pass on a heritage of faith is about the intentional conversations we have with our grandchildren; the times when we plan to use resources like Science, the Bible & Fun!, but it is also about those times when they wonder about something and rather than just forget about it, they ask us, which gives us the opportunity to answer their questions.

So, definitely encourage the grandparents in your ministry to be intentional about passing on a heritage of faith to their grandchildren, but encourage them to watch also, for those opportunities to answer questions about God's Word when their grandchildren wonder what something means; those times when they have simple, every day questions . . . as this is passing on a heritage of faith, too!