The First Five Things I'm Teaching My Child About God - A Theologian's Perspective
Updated: Oct 28
The first things we teach our children about God will be the foundation on which their faith grows for years to come.
I may be a Practical Theologian with a Masters in Youth Work, but nobody prepared me for becoming a parent. In the months leading up to becoming a first time mom, I've thought a lot about the kind of relationship I want my baby to have with God.
(First things first: Yes, I do believe that children can have real encounters with God. Read about that here.)
This short article will take you through the 5 most important things I want my baby to learn before he turns... let's say 2. By that time, he should know God in these 5 ways and be able to relate to Him and talk about Him with a fair amount of confidence.
He is With You
We can Talk to Him
He Loves You
He Wrote You a Book
He is Fun (+ Real)
Let's get into it. I'm excited :)
May you find space here to pause, reflect, and abide.
I saw a video on Instagram once of a dad trying to convert his newborn baby. "Blink twice if you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior..." - That's not quite the same as what I'm about to lay out here.
These are five things you live your way into, not five standalone moments with your kids. You'd probably cycle through all five of these in ten different ways by the time that breakfast is over.
It's important to read these not as lessons to do where you sit your kid down for family Bible study and tell them each of these 5 things. That might be a good starting place, but it won't bear lasting fruit unless it's accompanied by REAL teaching.
Your role as the parent is to hold your kid's hand as you both walk together behind Jesus. It's discipleship. The goal is not that you keep being the go-between but that they take His hand at some point.
But before they can make that decision, I believe, you need to show them He's worth following.
He is With You
It's important for children to realize from a young age that God is close to them. Let me explain what I mean by explaining what I don't mean: God is not only far away in Heaven. He is not only sitting on a throne. He is not only at church or out in the mountains.
He is in the room with us.
That realization of the Holy Spirit, the Incarnation, and God-with-us, changes everything. It's divine omnipresence, but it's just put in simple language.
(We'll get more into this as we continue on)
Practical ideas:
When they are afraid, say "God is with you" or "You are never alone"
When they are clinging to you, pray over them that they'd know His nearness
When they cry because you need to go, bless them: "God is close to you, my child"
We can Talk to Him
(Note, I said WE can talk to Him. You have to do it in front of them, then together, before they can do it on their own)
Prayer is not only a spiritual discipline - it's kind of like breath to Christians.
It's important that kids don't see prayer as something we do at church, when we do family Bible study, or when there's a "holy" moment.
It's something that they can do 24/7. As they're walking along. As they're playing outside.
This is an easy one to teach because you model it by praying out loud. Not necessarily always the Our Father or even an official prayer ending with 'Amen' - but this acknowledging Him in the moment.
They also learn to not necessarily expect the clouds to part and a voice to boom down from Heaven - but they can learn to feel His nearness, and hear (or sense) the gentle whisper of His voice.
Practical ideas:
When they open their eyes in the morning, say "Good morning Jesus"
When they are babbling, ask them if they're talking to Jesus again
When they ask to call grandma or an aunt, remind them we can also "call" God - and then pray together
Pray before bed and before meals
Pray when something bad / scary / good / amazing happens
He Loves You
It sounds silly. But especially us theologians can want to get into complex topics like soteriology I mentioned earlier, or whatever else you can imagine. I think you can only handle the complex things of God once some foundations are in place and this is one of the simplest examples.
Let's make it real:
Before we teach that God is coming to judge the world, let's start by how He made the world out of love. Before we focus on sin and Adam, let's start by how they are made Imago Dei. Before we get into the violence of the Old Testament, let's take them to meet Jesus who was gentle in spirit and a friend to those around Him.
You also need to love your kids. Really. Unconditionally. Not only when they do what you would've done. Not only when they sleep through the night.
Their human dignity comes from being made in the image or likeness of God, not in what we think or feel at any given moment.
Love them as the Father loves you. Undeserved love. Unearned grace.
A parent trying to drill Biblical knowledge into their kids without love sounds like... (you guessed it) a clanging cymbal. (1 Cor 13)
Practical ideas:
When they are sad, remind them of God's great love for them
Try saying: "Jesus loves you soooo much"
When they cry because someone hurt them, remind them Jesus loves them
Listen to worship music or kids songs about God's great love
He Wrote You a Book
I love the Bible. But not everybody does. Mostly, I think, it's because we were never taught how to read it. I'm low-key making it my mission to aid in Bible-literacy for believers of all ages - but that's a tangent for another day.
The Bible needs to be central in your family life. Discuss it (and I don't mean formally) - for example: "We have more than we need, how do we practice generosity?" "We need the fruit of the Spirit called patience now" "Ah, it's fun to play with mud. Do you know what Jesus did with it?" "Look at the birds... Jesus loved doing that. He also said that..."
Do you see how that is very different from a sit-down top-down sermon? Children live in the concrete and tangible.
Explore the Bible together. In the same way that you'd get the kids Bible books and stories, invest in some for yourself. Not having all the answers is a normal part of faith - and healthy for kids to see. This teaches them the safety of asking God questions and being curious to know more about Him. Resources are not distractions from the Word, they are gateways into it.
You can also memorize verses together (with moves) - or if they're super little where you move their limbs or point to something.
Practical ideas:
When they are getting ready for bed, read Bible stories along with secular books
Try saying: "God made this special book for you"
Let them see you read it
Talk about the Bible in conversations and offer it as a solution to their problems
He is Fun (+ Real)
God is not an imaginary being in the sky. (We've sort of covered that above) Now we get to the next part: God is NOT boring.
He is not bound to the pages of a dusty Bible. He is not only concerned with judgement. He is not unimaginative or stuck...
One wonderful way to celebrate God's creativity is through His creation. God feels real when we touch a tree and think about how He made it. God feels real when we bite into an apple and "taste and see how good the Lord is".
It's not some far-off idea. It's very, very practical.
This is an invitation to instill a sense of wonder in our children and to help them see how wonderful God is.
Practical ideas:
When they enjoy something (like a tree or a funny animal), say, "Isn't it amazing? God made that"
When they are laughing, remind them God loves the sound of their laughter.
Exclaim throughout the day: "Wow, God is good"
Your turn
If you're a parent, let me know in the comments below what you think the most important things are to teach children about God from a young age?
If your kids are already older, tell us what worked and what didn't?
I need all your wisdom and honestly, I'd love to talk about this with you.
P.S. If you enjoyed this post or feel curious to go deeper, I want to invite you to sign up for my newsletter (sent once a month). Be the first to hear about new resources to lead kids in faith.
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