Discipleship Urgency

The need for good, solid discipleship at church and home is critically high. The concept of Parenting Faith, passing faith on to our children, has been fading, but we, as spiritual overseers, can do something positive about this to reverse this trend and help parents thrive in this all-important ongoing task. Let me start with our ultimate source, the scriptures:

Jesus was questioned by one of the teachers of the law in Mark 12: 28-31:

"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'

In this passage, Jesus was reciting "the Shema," which is a prayer traditional Jews have recited since the time of Moses. It is the affirmation of faith in the one true God, central in their morning and evening prayers. Jesus summed up the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament into 2 Commandments in the New Testament. Looking at the context around "The Shema," Jesus referred to Deuteronomy 6:4-5 but verses 6-9 contain instructions to parents to pass on their faith to their children in their everyday lives at home.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Ministry leaders, more than ever before, we need to exhort parents to live their faith before their children, disciple parents so they are growing in their faith, and show parents how to disciple their kids to have faith in Jesus.

A survey in 2023 from Scripture Union reported: "There's a common belief that churches should equip parents to disciple their children. The word "intentional" was used by some respondents to stress the need for churches to look for new ways to support, encourage, and "empower parents so they'll take the lead role in their children's faith formation." Presently, only 26.7% of churches conduct two or more workshops annually to train/equip parents to disciple their children. All told, there's concern about the lack of interest shown by parents in the faith formation of their children, and many pastors, teachers, and leaders want to do something to reverse this trend.

"There's agreement among most respondents that "it's time to reconsider how we engage with the new generation of parents, to meet them where they're at, and help them find the tools they need to foster their children's faith formation."

The parents and the church community (Pastors, Next Gen leaders) must dream a strategy together for Discipling our church people. The strategy is unique to every church, but without a strategy, there is no target, no milestones of faith realized and little progress recognized.

Churches need to map out a discipleship plan they can realistically and consistently carry out from 0-99. Biblical illiteracy is rampant, and culture is dictating what people should do rather than a Spirit-led, Biblical pattern. Our kids are casualties! The most important thing for them to know in life is their identity and purpose are only truly found in Jesus Christ.

Here are some stats to chew on from Scripture Union in 2021:

• 83 % of Canadian Children are Unchurched

• 63% of people who accept Jesus as Saviour do so before the age of 14

• 85% by the age of 18

We know the best ROI (return on investment) is next Generation!! What are we doing as Churches and leaders to reach the 83% "Unchurched," and what are we doing with the 17% that are churched? How can we partner with and empower the 17%, along with their parents, to reach the 83%? Remember: Kids and youth are the best inviters to church and events – let's support this!

Let's talk partnership – the church partnering with the Parents of our Next Gen

Current Measured Realities:

Here is what is in Parent'’ minds when they bring their kids and youth to our churches. In Barna's recent research (Children's Ministries New Realities):

• 90% agree that Children's Ministries is important when selecting a church for their family

• 88% agree that their children's time in their service is just as important as their time in the adult service

But there seems to be a large difference of perspective as to WHO and WHERE is the primary source of discipleship for our Next Gen:

• 95% of CM Leaders say it is at home

• 51% of the parents say it is at church

This leads to an alarming trend found by the most recent survey from the EFC on Parenting Faith:

73% of solid Christian Parents agree that regarding their role in the faith formation of their kids, they won't impose Christianity on their kids – and 45% of those believe they should give their kids a "robust" exposure to other faiths!?? What??? Now, I don't believe in "forcing" our next Gen to believe in Jesus, but I DO believe we MUST remove hindrances and obstacles so they CAN come to Jesus, and for sure I believe we ALL have a COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY: We need to reflect God's love and truth consistently in such a way that is attractional to our Next Generation – as Jesus would – so that it will be EASY for them to WANT to follow Jesus for the rest of their lives! This is EVERY time you are faced with a Next Gen person! Look at it as an opportunity to reflect Jesus.

Parents have the children for the majority of the time ("regular church attendance" can be viewed as 1-3x per month). Therefore, a parent still has the strongest influence in a child's life - especially in the younger years. A healthy church with an engaging program for children can assist the parents in their role as primary developers of their children's faith.

To provide ROLE clarity - Discipleship, which includes Evangelism in Family and in church, must be a partnership.

• Families are naturally poised to offer informal discipleship in everyday life. Churches are the natural place for a more formal discipleship approach. In families, discipleship happens organically, as things come up in teachable moments in a day, as well as intentionally reading the Bible or Bible stories and praying together.

• At church, there is a mostly planned curriculum with the possibility of cultivating "encounters" through response prayers/heart transformation moments/retreats or camps or simply in small group discussions.

In EFC's recent survey, these are the sources parents turn to for discipling their children:

Therefore, practical steps for Churches to gain good traction with discipleship are:

• To create a clear formal Discipleship path for all ages and stages, a path where disciples make disciples

• Have effective, engaging programming in our Next Gen departments and be relentless about taking the initiative to be outbound to reach those who don't know Jesus yet.

• Equip and empower parents in the grand task of discipling their children by:

  • Providing places where peers can connect - like a parent and tot drop-in, recruit parents to serve together in Kids Ministries, plan special family events but provide solid mentors for these parents in this context

  • Provide podcasts that contain simple, doable steps for parents and kids

  • Regular messages from the pulpit regarding discipleship and passing on faith – even if it is a guest speaker or your Children's Ministries Leader ("Family Month" – Mother's Day through to Father's Day may be an opportune time for this)

  • Recommend regularly good resources such as books and family ministry organizations such as Focus on the Family

In conclusion, let's just examine ourselves for a moment: Am I – are you, are our parents in our churches following Jesus in such a way that our children/youth can observe and "catch" a faith that is worth catching?

Sources:

The Barna Group – Children's Ministry in a New Reality: Building Church Communities that Cultivate Lasting Faith

Scripture Union – Children’s and Family Ministry in Canada

EFC – Parenting Faith

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