Question for Christian parents ?

Question

How should we present God in such a way that our children won't abandon the faith when they grow up and leave home ? I believe honey works better than vinegar.

Answer 1

Show you believe and pray together, attend sunday school, and church, study the sunday school lessons with the children.
show them the things that GOd created, and the beauty.

Answer 2

You dont say how old your children are but if they are just little say primary school age and under then using simple activities and reading stories which contain christian values and morals are great to begin with.
There is a great site DLTK which has suggestions and crafts for younger kids.
As for older ones pre teen and teen all you can do is lead by example,encourage your children to become invloved in their faith, join a youth group or mix with other families with teens who share the same moral standing as yourself,try to encourage them to make friends with other kids from your church then they will look out for each other in times of temptation.
Dont sweeten God to be sacchrine and romantic, with older kids they wont fall for it they need to know that thier God is strong and forgiving full of mercy who can really be there for them to turn to in times of trial.
Also most important dont think that your children will not abandon their faith.They may fall into sin and be tempted by the lures of the world.If they leave the faith when they are older do not lose hope, know that you have done your best to transmit the faith to them but there will come a time where they have to also take the freedom God will give them and possibly not always use it with wisdom or discernment.At these times just pray for them and trust God after all they are His children too.
Blessings to you

Answer 3

I heard a speaker on a radio show once say that a lot of Christian parents set their children up to rebel because they don't allow the Holy Spirit to work in their children's lives. They just impose the restrictions of the faith without giving the Biblical backing as to why. We try to not only teach our children right from wrong, but we take the Bible and show them WHY. Prayerfully, they will develop the convictions they need to stick to it. Without the convictions, they are just abiding by the rules until they move out really.

Answer 4

Raise a child in the way they should grow, and when they are old, they shall not depart from it. Notice that christian kids 100 years ago were alot better behaved than the ones today.l have noticed that alot of times, non christian kids are better behaved than christian. I think we as christians need to step back up to the plate and teacher are children from day 1 about God. That includes discipline, manners, and anything else. Spare the rod and spoil the child. Isn't it rather self evident nowadays that children aren't spanked? They are mouthy and alot of times really aggrivating to be around!
God bless!

Answer 5

Great question and so important.

Emphasize that God expects us to be "His Helpers." Start them doing this with you while they're small. My sons, now 21 and 25, can't remember a time before they delivered Meals on Wheels. I know that our meals came later than usual, but the elderly were charmed by children and loved to see them toddle in holding the milk or napkins.

Whether your church has preK's stay the whole time or leave for a "Children's Time"--my personal preference, find out the first hymn early in the week and teach the tune and first verse to your kids. Use car time for this. Have them stand up, run your finger under the words of the verses and praise them for singing out. Make attendance a matter of habit, even when you're away from home. Speak of the responsibility God put on you when you had these children.

Talk about your beliefs, the sermons, where you agree with or disagree with some ideas or practices of your church or other Christians. Model respect for Christians with whom you disagree and hold open the possibility that God may cause you to change your mind about something faith or practice-related.

Involve your children with Christians of various ages and involved in various ministries. Age-level groups are very important for learning because they are developmentally sound, but they need to be matched with interest groups even for little kids. If they expect to find age-peers in a church, the typical 12-30 year-old attrition will encourage them to drop out, too. Although many adult members dropped out then and returned, the majority of drop outs stay gone--and that impacts your grandchildren, too. Connections to other church adults keep church-going a habit. A child who goes to church to be with more than parents and peers will continue despite conflicts with any of them.

Help them find a church-related cause or issue--Bible study, music, feeding the hungry, evangelism, earth stewardship (ecology)--that they can identify with.

Answer 6

If religion is an intregal part of family life, children are less likely to abandon it. Don't just go to Church on Sunday morning and leave it at that. Pray together, talk about God and the sacrifice He made for all of us.

Remind children that God wants us to act according to his commandments, but that He also loving and forgiving.

Become involved in yor church community and involve your children as well. In our family, we go to Church, the kids see me head off to Bible Study while they are in Sunday school, we pray together, and we participate in social activities. I looked long and hard to find a good Church home for my family. Our local Lutheran Church is an excellent community. The families are very involved, the kids are (mostly) great, and the teens and college students are energized and excited to share the Word with the younger ones. There is no acceptance of ungodly behavior or beliefs, but there is also the knowledge that we are saved through God's gift of Grace. So, people don't sit around gossiping about who is the worst sinner in the group this week. I couldn't stand belonging to a gossipy church.

God is not the only thing in our lives, but He is the most important. I don't beat my children over the head with a Bible or anything like that, but I refer to God often, and I also talk with them about my own doubts. Doubts are a normal, human thing.

That being said, you really can't guanantee that your children won't rebel. I went through an agnostic stage (college can do that to you) but I came back to the faith in my early 20s. God was important to my family, and I didn't ever really deny Him. I thought I did, but in my heart, I knew the Truth.

Answer 7

Let it be part of your life. Pray before each meal (even when you eat out), pray with them at night. Let the kids see you and your husband praying together often for them or others. I drive my kids to school and we pray in the car before we leave. This, of course, can be done before they leave to catch the bus as well. Find a church that teaches the Bible and has a great youth group (that's a HUGE one as they get older). Make sure you praise God after prayers have been answered. Lead by example.

Answer 8

we have just always been really open and honest about our faith.
my oldest is 4 and says all the time how much she loves God.
we just talk about how great God is, and how even though there will be tough times God can deliver us from them.
We pray at meals and bedtimes, and just make it fun, not like a strict religion.
i feel if it is forced upon a child they will want nothing to do with it, but if it is somthing they enjoy then they will really open up to it and embrace God.
my daughter will pray for people that she meets and will do it in front of them, she is not ashamed at all.
Eventually she may stray but if we have instilled what is right and wrong and who God is and what he can do for her, i believe she will come back and always believe.

Answer 9

I would say not to force it upon them ("You HAVE to go to church!!") but make it fun w/ religious books and games and movies (VeggieTales are great). I know it can be expensive, and may not work for everyone, but my parents sent my sisters and I to religious schools. Preschool, grade school, and high school. This way, religion was part of our daily lives. But, I do know a few people who went to these schools that were bad apples, and that gave up their faith. But... If your child decides to give up their faith, the only thing you can really do is pray for them to change their mind and come back to God.

Answer 10

My husband and I have been doing the same things my parents did. We get fun books and activity sets that teach religion (for example, http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=4677&event=CF) and take them to church at least every other Sunday (I go once a week but sometimes need to go without them). I read them a story from the bible (sometimes I read fromt the children's bible and sometimes a regular one, but always an age-appropriate story). We pray together and I encourage my four-year-old to pray on his own. We're doing the best we can to let our children love God but there's no way to guarentee they will when they're older, all we can do is make it fun.