Ten Tips On Shaping Your Child’s Attitude To Church
1: Make church a priority in your weekly family calendar. Children know how important school is because they have to go unless they’re sick. Communicate how important it is to meet with God’s people by only missing church for either sickness or family holidays.
2: Plan your family calendar around the church’s calendar. Put church events (esp. the family events) into your family calendar and plan around these special church family gatherings.
3: On the way to church (as you walk or drive) pray as a family – that God will use each of you to serve other people at church and help them to grow. Pray also that God’s Word would be taught faithfully to the kids, teenagers and adults at church.
4: On the way home from church give each family member an opportunity to share what they’ve learnt or what they’ve been reminded of at church.
5: Talk about how God has made us all different – we are all good at different things. Talents (things we are good at) become gifts when we use them to serve others at church. Discuss what each person in the family is good at and think about ways each person can use their gifts to help others at church grow to be more like Jesus.
6: Praise God for the gifts he has given each of you and celebrate when God gives you opportunities to serve the church family.
7: Think about a ministry you could get involved in as a family. It could be a monthly ministry (setting up or packing up) or a one off ministry (handing Christmas parcels out to needy families).
8: Sometimes children don’t want to go to church. If they don’t have a friend remind, them it takes about 6 months of regularly going before most children feel at home.
9: Talk as a family about how to encourage someone at church who has helped them grow. Encourage your child to thank people who have helped them love Jesus more and live for him by making a card, writing a letter, thanking them in person…
10: Be careful how you speak about church and people from church in front of your children.
Written by Sandy Galea © 2015 Kidswise. Sandy is the Children’s Minister at MBM Rooty Hill Anglican Church.
Recommended Web Sites:
* www.families.org.au
* www.thegospelcoalition.org
* australia.thegospelcoalition.org
* www.youthworks.net/newsletters (sign up for Youthworks monthly newsletter aimed to help parents shepherd their children faithfully)
