Parent Question: How Can I Help My Child Experience Jesus?
as a believer and a parent, this question has probably crossed your mind and been on your heart often. at one life church, we want to partner with you to help your child experience Jesus, or in other words come to believe in and choose to follow Christ for their life. so what can we do as parents to nurture our kids’ in their decision to follow Christ?
help your child get to know who God is
take everyday opportunities to imprint the character and person of God upon your child’s heart. when they are very young, pointing out God as creator through experiences in His creation are many. walks in gardens, trips to zoos, hiking, picnics, and even a trip to visit a newborn baby all provide opportunities to point to Him.
when your children are older, reading to your child or their reading the foundational stories of Bible characters and discussing them provides opportunities to see how God works in our lives and always has good and His purpose planned for us.
begin to talk about sin and the consequences of sin
talking about sin is not popular. our secular worldviews can tell us that whatever we believe is okay and that there are no consequences. to just be a good person. furthermore, we don’t like to hear the bad stuff and be told that we’ve done bad things and that there are consequences. but as a parent, we know that we have to address and correct and point our kids to the path of God. so we have to have the tough conversation about sin. and the opportunities will come up, because we all mess up. and when those times come, talk about the wrong done but don’t stop there.
listen and watch for signs your child is wanting to make a decision for Christ
your child’s heart and their conversations will begin to give you clues that they are ready to make a decision for Christ. they may realize that they have sin in their lives and know that they have to do something about it. or they may recognize God as in charge and want to be on His team. their questions and conversations will guide you to open up the opportunity to pray with them. when the opportunity comes, pray a simple prayer like this:
“dear Jesus, i know that i am a sinner. i am sorry for my sins. thank you for your gift of forgiveness. help me to always follow after You, my life leader. amen.”
be sure to also check out our baptism class for kids that have made a decision for Christ and want to share it with everyone by being baptized. parents and kids attend together.