The Gap - the Need for Grandparenting Ministry

For the past couple days I've been writing about the Legacy Coalition and about mobilizing grandparents to pass on their faith to their grandchildren. Today I want to look at the need for Grandparenting Ministry.

As I've said, most churches serve parents of children, teens and maybe even parents who have children in college, but then until these parents retire and become "senior saints", there really is not much in the church which is focused on helping them understand, prepare for and intentionally engage in passing their faith on to their grandchildren. The unspoken "message" is, once your children are grown, there is nothing for you until you are a senior saint, and then we will fellowship and study God's Word together.

Now, don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with fellowshipping and studying God's Word with other believers, but grandparents have something which is far, far more important for them to do. They are not only ideal people to pass their faith on to their grandchildren, but they are people who God has ordained and designated in His Word to do so.

I know when I became a grandparent, it only took one look at that little sugar with the curly hair and chubby cheeks for me to fall head-over-heels in love. I knew at that moment there was nothing more important to me than for him - and eventually his two brothers - to grow to love, know and follow Jesus with their all. I have been intentional and focused on passing my faith on to these three sweet rascals who are gifts from the hand of God.

I know how to pass faith to my grandsons, and am very intentional about doing so, but I have friends, who when I talk with them about passing faith on to their grandchildren, they just look sad, discouraged and dismayed at not knowing what to do, or how to do this. The church can make a real difference in this area by engaging, equipping and encouraging grandparents to pass on their faith to their grandchildren.

Just because there has been a large gap in the ministry of the church when it comes to serving and mobilizing grandparents, it does not mean this gap has to continue to exist. The church can step up and engage grandparents! It can equip them! It can encourage them to pass their faith on! 

Tomorrow I'm going to write about what your church might look like when you have grandparents who are engaged, equipped and encouraged to pass their faith on to their grandchildren.