"Life on the Goldilocks Planet" Series & Some Changes to the Series

A couple weeks ago I mentioned a change in my "Life on the Goldilocks Planet" series - today I am going to explain what this change is and why there is a change.

One thing we all care about as Christian grandmas (or grandpas/parents) is for the children we love to be people who believe in, love, know, and walk with God. We want them to have a confident faith. Is there really anything which matters more than for our grown and grandchildren to be believers?

What are You Doing? How Do You Need to Change?

As you read this post, picture the families in your church's Children's Ministry. Think about the children who come to church with their parents - likely most of the children in your church are in this group. Think about children from the neighborhood around your church who come to church on their own - or possibly in your church bus if you have a Bus Ministry. Think about the children who come to church with their grandparents. Most, if not all, of the children in your ministry will fall into one of these three groups.

Be Part of the Answer

Today I am going to share with you a true account about real people I know and how the church - Children's Ministry in particular - must step up to be part of the answer.

Giant Anteaters, Peacock Mantis Shrimp, Rufous Potoos & More! is Now Available

 

I am happy to let you know my new book - Giant Anteaters, Peacock Mantis Shrimp, Rufous Potoos & More! is now available on Amazon at this link and in our bookstore at this link. In this book you will find twelve interesting - and flat out surprising animals which help us, and the ones we love, know we are able to believe in God and trust Him with confidence!

It is Time for Another Change

I have been writing this week about studies from the Barna Group. Gen Z - the generation which includes many of the young adults in our church - are turning away from their faith in double the numbers of previous generations. These children/teens/ young adults have a basic understanding of the Bible - likely from Sunday school - and yet are turning to Atheism. They are listening to people on-line who are angry and bitter, filled with hate for God, and are receiving a warped and utterly wrong view of God. We - parents, grandparents, churches, publishers - did not realize we needed to teach apologetics to the ones we love and while they have a basic understanding of the accounts in the Bible, they do not know why they are able to believe God is real and trust Him with confidence.

Barna's Research Motivates Us to Act

I've been writing this week about why we need to commit to equipping parents and grandparents so they are able to hand down confident faith. There are many reasons for us to do this, such as, it is the responsibility of parents and grandparents to hand down confident faith, the church realizes equipping parents and grandparents to hand down confident faith is something they need to do, and of the 168 hours in a week, a church is only able to influence children for maybe three of those hours - it makes sense to equip parents and grandparents to hand down confident faith as they are with the children they love for more hours each week. Today I want to give you another reason.

Don't Let Another 20 Years Go By - Help Parents & Grandparents Now

Nearly twenty years ago a Barna study showed 85 to 96% of parents believed it was their responsibility to hand faith to their children, but beyond taking their children to church, parents did not do anything else at home. The study says; "The survey data indicate parents generally rely upon their church to do all of the religious training their children will receive. Parents are not so much unwilling to provide more substantive training to their children as they are ill-equipped to do such work. According to the research, parents typically have no plan for the spiritual development of their children; do not consider it a priority, have little or no training in how to nurture a child’s faith, have no related standards or goals that they are seeking to satisfy, and experience no accountability for their efforts.

This situation represents an opportunity for churches to prepare parents for a more significant role in the spiritual development of their children. However, while churches offer classes and other programs for children, they do relatively little to equip parents to be effective spiritual guides. The survey found that only one out of every five parents of children under 13 (19%) has ever been personally contacted or spoken to by a church leader to discuss the parents’ involvement in the spiritual life and development of their youngsters." (You will find the full study at this link.)

Let Animals Help You Hand Down Confident Faith

Handing down confident faith is not as difficult as it once may have been - there are now seven books available to help you do this all-important "job"! Giant Anteaters, Peacock Mantis Shrimp, Rufous Potoos & More! is now available on Amazon - you will find it at this link - it will be in our bookstore in a few days.

We Know the Truth - Make it a Priority

Barna Research Group has a new study on how churches view their role when it comes to handing confident faith to children. I highly recommend reading the full report - you will find it at this link, but while 99% of church leaders say parents/family are the ones responsible to hand down confident faith, only 20% train parents/family to hand down confident faith and just 10% provide resources for them to use. They said; "Despite the fact church leaders overwhelmingly agree parents are most responsible for a child’s spiritual formation and development, the data demonstrate how churches place little emphasis on training and equipping said parents. In fact, only about one in five clergy (20% Protestant, 17% Catholic, though this number is higher for larger churches) say they prioritize training for parents, and even fewer provide parenting guides or other resources (15% Catholic, 10% Protestant)."