How To Disciple Children

Wineskins Contributor・07/05/22

Save the world, lose your kids. So many of us want to make a difference in the world but we struggle at home where it is most important.

How do we help our children grow into strong, mature disciples of Jesus?

First, we start with the best definition of Christian maturity that I am aware of from Curtis Sergeant. He says that maturity is like a stool with three legs: grow in knowledge, grow in faithfulness (obedience), and grow in sharing.

We need to have our kids grow in all three of these areas if they are going to mature.

Grow in knowledge:

Our kids need to be in the Bible on a regular basis. In order for that to happen they need to see their parents reading the Bible on a regular basis. One of the things I am most proud of about our two sons is that they are working through reading the entire Bible for the second time this year. They are 11 and 13! They know the Bible.

Grow in faithfulness:

Knowing the Bible isn't enough. We know people who know a lot of Bible but are mean spirited people. How do you keep from being a mean spirited person with lots of Bible knowledge? You have to put what you learn into practice through faithful obedience. You can't be mean and practiced the "one another's" for instance.

We have to model for our kids that when you read the Bible you try to live what you learn. Pray over what you read and ask God to make clear which parts He wants you to put into practice today. Make a commitment to do one thing each time you read the Bible. This helps us connect learning and doing...that when God says to do something we must commit to doing it.

Grow in sharing:

Many of us want our kids to obey God but how many of us provide opportunities for our kids to share with others what they learn about God? One way to do this is something we have talked about a lot - a prayer walk. We take our kids with us when we prayer walk. They get to see God working in real time. It is a blast! Help your kids learn their "God story" (testimony) that they can learn to share with others. Teach your kids the simple gospel from the Bible in a simple, sharable way. You can't share what you don't understand! Don't over complicate things.

One tool that brings all three together is Discovery Bible Study! It will grow all three aspects of maturity. We have used DBS with our boys and at 11 and 13 they are very receptive to it. You can learn more about it here.