How to Help Your Child Grow in Faith: 7 Simple Ways for Parents to Disciple Kids at Home
"Impress them (My ways) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." - Deuteronomy 6:7, emphasis added
The single most important thing a Christian parent can do is lead their own kids to God. I've heard it said that the dinner table is your biggest opportunity for discipleship. It's holy ground. Not the pulpit, but the breakfast counter on a random Tuesday morning. Yet many parents wonder how to actually help a child grow in faith - beyond reading the books and singing the songs. How do you help faith take root?
May you find space here to pause, reflect, and abide.
What it takes for parents to disciple kids at home
Why does faith formation at home matter?
Psalm 145:4 – "One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts."
Faith formation is how faith grows. When I say "faith formation" it basically means how a kid's faith is formed; how a young Christian learns about God and matures as a believer.
We know that faith formation in its essence is actually discipleship. Jesus was the rabbi and His 12 chosen disciples followed Him around, did life with Him, learned from Him, and became more and more like Him. Discipleship is much more like apprenticeship - where a master teaches a protege a certain skill or strategy.
Jesus commanded his disciples to do something important in the Great Commission: To make more disciples. So, that's why you are a disciple of Jesus and your job as a Christian parent is to disciple your child.
There's a beautiful ancient proverb that goes,
"May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi". It means, "May you walk so closely behind your rabbi that the literal dust of their feet fall on you". In our faith (and in your home with your children), it looks like a parent saying, "May all of us huddle together and walk where Jesus leads us to go. I'll ensure I keep holding onto His hand so I can lead you guys well."
I think the incarnation is the best example of why faith at home matters. God loved humanity so much that He came to them. This is what makes the Christian faith unique and it is the beauty of the Gospel message. God made His home among people.
"So the Word became human and made his home among us." - John 1:14, NLT
Faith at home matters because faith is deeply personal and deeply embedded in real life. For children to truly move beyond hearing about God to knowing Him, they have to meet Him in their real day-to-day life.
For their faith to take root, it must be watered every day. A seed does not sprout if it's drenched then dried, and so on. It sprouts when it's kept moist. So your home environment can keep the soil of your child's heart in the right condition so that faith can grow there.
How can I make faith part of everyday life?
Psalm 78:4 – "We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done."
The challenge of Sunday school, childrens church, and even the best youth ministry programs is that they cannot successfully break the box of the program - well, not unless it partners with parents. Why? Because a parent is a child's 1st discipler. That's by God's design.
Making faith part of everyday life has its challenges, of course.
Competing priorities (school, work, feeding the family, social, etc.)
Challenging dynamics (kids tune out parents' voices sometimes)
Courage to be honest (kids see parents at their worst - how do you preach after you had an adult meltdown and lost your cool completely?)
But - and this is important - sharing faith with your own child also holds the beautiful gift of refreshment each of these areas. Instead of "clash of the clans" it becomes "Hey, we're in this together. You're growing. I'm learning. We are following the One who leads us both."
Faith becomes a common shared goal that can make every single aspect of everyday life better.
To make faith part of everyday life with your child you need to break the box that the program could never transcend. True faith at home is so much more than doing a lesson, a prayer, and singing "Kumbaya".
Faith becomes real, not in yet another Bible story - but in a moment where the whole family practices generosity together, or where you choose patience when sitting in traffic, or where you show hospitality by having the neighbors over for a meal.
How can I help my child engage with the Bible, not just learn Bible stories?
Ephesians 6:4 – "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
So let's get to it:
Our aim is not to exhaust kids with theology (Even though, I'll geek out about it in my own time, at my own leisure). It's also not to get into big debates about Scripture.
Parents talk to me often about how hard it is to explain the Bible to their kids. So I ask, "What are you having trouble explaining?" And they name confusing prophecies or hotly debated things like baptism or the Lord's Supper. Then I go, "Why start there?"
It's like you're trying to build a castle with LEGO without the foundation plate in place. It might seem impressive for a moment but that whole lofty idea will not be something that the child can pick up and carry with them into real life, and as they grow up.
If you want your kid to really engage with the Bible - start with the basics. Teach them the most crucial names and words. Teach them the language of the Bible. I don't mean Greek or Hebrew, I mean words like "Jesus", "God", "Spirit", "heart", "save". Concepts and characters of the Bible: "Who is Israel?" "What is a disciple?"
To help kids engage with the Bible, teach them all the things that you need to understand (the building blocks) in order to make sense of the whole (the castle).
Here's an example:
A parent might try to read to a kid from the Book of Acts 15:1
"Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: 'Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved."
The child needs to understand:
the places (Judea + Antioch)
believers
circumcision (yikes)
Moses / customs
salvation
*Side note: Maybe a good idea for a next post is what these foundational things are - let me know? What I do have for you is A-Z flashcards of Bible words.
"Christ is the strongest, grandest, most attractive personality to ever grace the earth. But a careless messenger with the wrong method can reduce all this magnificence to the level of boredom... It is a crime to bore anyone with the gospel." - Jim Rayburn
To help kids engage with the Bible, you need to build it from the bottom up. First things first.
How can I make Bible learning meaningful and memorable for kids?
Proverbs 22:6 – "Start a child on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."
Bible learning is more than stories. A lesson on David and Goliath is great - but it almost has this awkward feeling of "Now what?" at the end of it.
At church, they often try to answer this question by leveling up the program. More props. More costumes. More entertainment. --- Ahhh... Don't get me started, read that rant here :)
I read a beautiful line in a Missiology article by Mark Griffiths earlier this week that said: The ideal
solutions for youth ministry are not expensive, complex, or new, but based almost entirely on relationship building and true connection.
This is good news for parents who want to help kids grow into mature believers devoted to Christ. Relationship is the key and connection is the method. You already have some sort of relationship with your child. That foundation is there.
To make Bible-learning more memorable; make it more personal.
Read passages and stories that apply to your real-life situation. If you need finances, read about miracles together where God provided and pray together for provision. If you need healing, read about when Jesus healed.
After reading, pause and discuss. Share what stood out to you. Consider how the Scripture applies to your real lives as individuals and a family unit. Allow them to ask questions and express themselves - even doubts.
Share stories and testimonies. If you want kids to realize that the Bible is more than a book, talk to them about it in your own words and from your own real life. Who is God to you? When did you come to know Him?
What are some simple activities I can use to help my child grow in faith?
Joshua 4:21-22 – "He said to the Israelites, 'In the future when your descendants ask their parents, "What do these stones mean?" tell them, "Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground."'"
Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God opened the Jordan River for Joshua (just like the Red Sea did for Moses). But the people of God did not rush through this time. They walked through the river and then they picked up river stones. God told Joshua to keep these stones for future generations to remember the things God did for them.
Do you understand?
You, as parent, are walking in the promises of God. Every day. It's all testimony. All grace. We need to slow down long enough to pick up the stones that our kids can point to and ask: "What's this?" We need to create moments of awe and wonder where they can get excited about how real and amazing our God is.
I don't want you to "get" all of this and still feel like "Now what?", so let's make it super practical. Here are 7 ways to apply what we talked about in this post at your home. Maybe choose one to try this week.
1- Make Him your compass
Whether we're intentional about it or not, each family is led by something. Make God the filter that every decision goes through. Look to Him first, before all else. Talk about where you see God. At the dinner table, in nature, after a difficult day, when something beautiful happens.
Practical step:
When you need to make a decision, point to God. “Should we help?” “How should we respond?” “What would loving our neighbour look like?”
2- Pray at every opportunity
Prayer is talking to God and including Him in your life. You can pray out loud. Sometimes, let your kids repeat after you. Later, let them pray in their own words. Not just scheduled prayers—pray when you're grateful, worried, confused, or need forgiveness.
Practical step:
Pause before your next meal. Take hands. Pray out loud.
3- Play worship music
What is the soundtrack of your life? Playing worship music can shift the atmosphere in your home. It doesn't have to be "kiddie" songs. Find a genre you enjoy - from lofi, to acoustic, to rock, or even metal.
Practical step:
Put on a worship mysic playlist in the background right now.
4- Foster relationship
With older kids, parents are hesitant to introduce faith because kids will roll their eyes or appear like they don't care. But they care about you. So share why this matters and start small. Let them see you repent: “I lost my temper. That wasn't right. I'm sorry. I need God's help too.”
Practical step:
Be the first one to be humble, open, and transparent.
5- Yes, read the Bible
The Bible is still God's inspired Word and the number one way He speaks - even today. Read the Bible at church, in a fellowship group, but also at the breakfast table together.
Practical step:
Choose a time when you will read 1 story from the life of Jesus together. Then ask, What does this show us about God? What might following Jesus look like here?
6- Memorize Bible verses together
It's one thing to talk about the Bible; a whole other thing to internalize it. That difference is like learning. It comes by repetition and memorization.
Practical step:
Start with your favorite Bible verse or John 3:16.
7- Next level: Engage their senses
A great way to allow the Bible to move from their heads to their hearts is to engage more of their senses: What do they hear, see, smell, touch, and taste?
Practical step:
Use this fun food-Bible guide I created where foods mentioned in the Bible is used for kids to really "taste and see how good the Lord is" as the Psalms say.
If you do even one of these 7 ideas today, you will have taken an important step toward helping your child encounter God. Remember that faith is modeled in real life. So let go of the pressure, take their hand, and walk behind Jesus together.
That's all there is to it, really.
Children don't only learn faith from what we teach them.
They learn it from the way faith becomes part of ordinary life.
P.S. If you enjoyed this post or feel curious to go deeper, I want to invite you to sign up for my newsletter.
I've worked with individual and groups of kids for over a decade and hold a Masters degree in Youth Work, Practical Theology. Now I find myself on the brink of becoming a mother & it's time for me to consider how ministry moves from Sunday school and into my home.
Come along for the journey as I grow into a parent & apply my knowledge and practice in the setting of family in a new way...
Comments