I am always hesitant to write anything about parenting since my children are not all grown up yet. Lately I have been feeling I needed to write something as I see a large number of parents whose children are headed down a path away from God. I hope you find this information helpful from someone who is a father of four and has been leading youth group at Church for over 20 years.

1. A Parent’s Faith Sets the Standard. Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us to impress faith on our children, but the previous verse says that God’s commands must be upon our hearts first. It is extremely rare that weak Christian parents produce good Christian children.
– Take the number of times you attend Church and know your children will probably attend less.
– Take the number of hours you serve the Lord through the Church and your children will serve less.
– Take the number of hours you read the Bible and pray and try to grow spiritually and you guessed it, your children will grow less.
*I do want to say that both mom and dad are important to this equation. If only one parent attends then the numbers get less and less. If dad doesn’t take faith seriously, the number of children who will grow up as strong Christians is extremely low.

2. Christian Friends Are Worth More Than Gold. I firmly believe that the biggest influences in the life of a teen between the ages of 14-16 are their friends. Their influence will decrease as they get older but their friends will still rival their parents influence into their 20’s and maybe 30’s.
– One reason Church is so vital is because it exposes children to other youth of like faith. It gives them a forum to work through their beliefs with other teens and caring adults. I think it is extremely important for a young person to be in Sunday School, youth group, FCA or some other Christian group weekly. They need to be there every week building strong relationships. It will take a long time, but the investment is worth it. HEAR THIS – young people who are not involved in their local Church before they are 14 will rarely grow up to follow Jesus. Yes, even that little angel you have at home who is 12.

3. Teens Need To Be Pushed to Grow in Their Faith. Teens get pushed to grow in class in Jr. High and High School. They will get pushed in sports and in clubs. Physically, mentally and emotionally they are growing – and they need to grow spiritually. They need to be pushed to read their Bible, discuss their beliefs and even pray out loud. Sometimes youth at Church learn an enormous amount from other teens. That can range from how to act as a believer to not how to act as a believer. Growth needs to come from somewhere with a Christian perspective outside of the home. Hopefully this will come through the Church in some way.

I have been witness to dozens and dozens of parents who think it will not happen to their children and they were wrong. They tell me in conversations about how disappointed they are with their children’s life choices. I usually want to say (but don’t), your problem started years ago. You missed developing their faith in their formative years and now it is too late.

I hope you will help your child develop their faith before it is too late.