Navigating Faith as a Family: Tips for Parents
Pastor Michael here!
I still remember the first time my child belted out Matthew 5:14 in her cute toddler voice with hand motions to boot: “You are the light of the world.” There are lots of options for raising children in faith in Olathe, KS. As a children’s pastor and the father of two preschoolers, I want to tell you some practical tips that have worked so far for our family.
It’s challenging to raise kids with strong values in a world where there is so much selfishness and conflicting messages about what is truly important. Keeping faith as a guiding principle for our families is so important. I beam with pride when my daughter comforts other kids when they cry or when she joyfully screeches, “I love Jesus!” We want you to experience that too.
Setting a Foundation for Faith at Home
My wife and I call our little girl our “copy machine,” because she repeats everything she hears. If something accidentally escapes our mouths, she immediately picks up on it. While watching your words is important, it is even more important to give your child good behaviors to mimic. Raising children in faith in Olathe, KS can be tricky when you are competing with examples that we don’t want our children to follow. While we can’t shut out all the other voices we can set a good foundation of faith at home.
“How do I establish this foundation?” you ask.
Going to Church: Simply going to church regularly sets the example that faith is important, and that church is an ordinary part of life.
Bible Reading: Reading the Bible to your children or reading biblical children’s books to them or even just telling Bible stories in your own words are great ways to show the importance of the Bible and familiarize your children with it.
Prayer: Prayer is something the whole family can do around the table and something you can do with your kids before bed. For example, at KidZone Learning Center, we teach our children a simple prayer to the tune of “Brother John.” It goes like this:
“God our Father, God our Father, once again, once again, we bow our heads to thank you, we bow our heads to thank you. Amen. Amen.”
Then we clap our hands together and say, “Amen!” My family sings this prayer before our meals. It is easy for my daughter to fold her hands and follow along and she loves to shout “Amen” at the end.
Making Faith Fun and Engaging for Kids
Faith is fun! Kids can learn very quickly that faith gives joy, peace, and a reason to celebrate! There are some great family faith activities in Olathe for your kids to attend.
Midweek Faith and Fun: A lot of churches will have a Wednesday night kids faith event. At Olathe Wesleyan Church, we have an explosively fun 2-hour event on Wednesday from 6:15-8:15pm. Parents can use this time to have a date night or participate in our English as a Second Language class or our Alpha gatherings to have a meal and a conversation about faith.
Play: You can buy Little People nativity sets to help children learn the Christmas story, and Oriental Trading has plenty of Bible-based toys! Even with normal toys, you can reenact Bible stories.
Sing: Kids’ faith songs are super catchy, and kids love to sing! Young kids especially will love it if you sing them “Jesus Loves Me” or “Zacheus was a Wee Little Man!” All of these songs can be found on YouTube. If you want more, look up Listener Kids on YouTube.
Involving Your Family in Church Life
If I was to give any Christing parenting advice, it would be to attend a church regularly. As parents you are busy. We are too, but having a solid church life is an incredible blessing for families. Why you ask?
Family: As you connect with a church, you will find that the people there become like family. Children gain more people as unofficial grandparents. I still remember the lovely church lady and her sweet long-haired chihuahua that babysat me and my brother growing up. We would play with Legos, go to Blockbuster, and get the old, animated Sonic the Hedgehog Movie and Spy Kids. The family we gained at church became a huge part of my own childhood.
Sunday School: Kids connect with friends and learn about God in Sunday School. At Olathe Wesleyan Church, we have some incredibly fun classes where kids like my own daughter have made deep friendships. She hugs her best friend every week before they go screaming around the auditorium after service. It’s a lovely sound before one of them falls over and starts crying.
Youth Programs: At Olathe Wesleyan Church we have a vibrant Sunday night Youth Program where young people make deep connections with each other and dig down deep into faith and what it means for their lives. They have gone on these awesome trips together, been drenched in foam, done archery training, and plenty of other goofy and wild stuff that you’ll have to hear about from them to believe.
Encourage Open Conversations About Faith
You might be a little intimidated about open conversations surrounding faith. You might be new to faith or not think of yourself as an expert. Don’t worry! You do not have to have all the answers! Consider these tips:
Be Honest: Answer questions as honestly as you can, including saying, “I don’t know.” You can always say, “I’m not sure about that. Let’s see what the Bible has to say.” Or “I don’t know that. Let’s ask Pastor Bill about that next time we are at church.” My dad was always very open to me about passages of Scripture he found challenging, and he also was very honest about passages he thought were funny. Those conversations were always meaningful to me growing up because of that honesty.
Ask Open-Ended Questions: “What do you think God wants for us? What makes God happy? What do you think Jesus would do? I don’t know about that, but what do you think?” AND don’t feel the need to immediately correct them or answer for them. Let them puzzle it out for themselves. Then you can say what you think. “I think God wants us to be kind to our neighbor.” With older kids, it's even easier: “What stands out to you about this passage?” “What do you think about this thing Jesus said?” “Where have you seen God at work this week?”
Read the Bible: After you read the Bible together, ask your kid what they think about it! They’ll probably say some strange stuff, but that’s ok! They don’t need to get everything right. Let them get imaginative with the story and be playful with them.
Building a Support Network in Olathe KS
Raising a child takes a village. Raising children in faith in Olathe KS takes a church! There are lots of ways to connect with other families of faith!
Small Groups: Join one of our Friend Groups here at Olathe Wesleyan Church to connect with other families of faith.
Family Events: Bring your family to our SuperBowl Party, Easter Sunday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Summer Luau with a whole roasted pig, our big Thanksgiving Celebration feast, or our wonderful Christmas Eve program with cookies and hot chocolate at Olathe Wesleyan Church!
Start Your Faith-Based Parenting Journey in Olathe
As a children’s pastor, I want to build a ministry that makes a difference in the lives of kids like mine and yours. When you integrate faith into your family life, you are unlocking joy, peace, love, and a higher purpose for your family. These are simple tips. It is not a complicated thing to bring faith into your family life. These are time-honored practices that will make a meaningful difference. These may not all come naturally, but they get easier with repetition.
Discover how faith-based parenting in Olathe KS can transform your family’s journey! Join us for family events and worship this week!