General

Raising the Greatest Generation the Church Has Ever Seen (Part One)

"We want to empower parents to raise giant killers [those who defy seemingly impossible odds with God's help] to lead the nation back into a place of righteousness," says Rick DuBose, assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, in Ignite Parenting's flagship podcast.

In episode one of Ignite Podcast, the vision is cast for the ministry and resources it will provide to parents.

Rick, accompanied by his wife of 45 years, Rita, shared the importance of the family unit and the tools parents need to successfully disciple their children.

Podcast Host Elly Marroquin, the national director of Christian Education and Discipleship, cited research showing parents as the single most important influence in a child's development of spiritual values and faith.

Rick echoed Elly's comments and added that, even within the healthiest churches using the best discipleship curriculum, the church cannot bypass parental influence on children.

"Even the greatest church cannot overcome the dysfunction of an unhealthy family," he said. "And because the family is more influential than the church (meaning we need healthy families to have healthy churches), we knew we needed tools to equip parents to create healthy spiritual atmospheres int heir homes."

Before providing tools and techniques for parents, Rick and Rita gave listeners a closer look at what they feel parents of today are doing well and what they could start doing to pass faith filled values and scriptural truths to their children.

What Today's Parents are Doing Well

Rita shared that the thing she feels parents are doing extremely well is living authentically. "They're living out what they're speaking," she says. "They're not just saying words, they let their children see that they are authentic in the way that they live."

The couple went on to discuss how kids absorb more of what they see than what they hear. "It's the old adage of more is caught than taught," said Rick, who agrees that parents of today are greater at living out the things they are teaching their children.

What Parents Can Do to Disciple Successfully

Rick shared three things parents can do to successfully disciple their children. "These are powerful," he said, "and if you're not doing these things, rethink what your are doing."

1. Keep your children involved and connected to a healthy church. Our kids need a dynamic spiritual atmosphere with a systematic discipleship process. Parents need to be actively involved, modeling that they believe church is the priority. For example, when kids see their parents getting them ready, taking them to church, and participating alongside them, they are catching on to the importance of being involved in the community of Christ.

2. Make Bible knowledge a priority in the home.

The Bible matters in all areas of life. It's important that families set aside time to engage with God's Word as a family by prioritizing Scripture and discussing it with their kids. It doesn't have to be lengthy; it can be as simple as 10-15 minutes a day, but parents should be willing to give a little bit of their time to ensure this is happening.

3. Live the Bible out in front of your kids. As we've mentioned, kids imitate who their parents are more than what their parents say. If you're making a decision, model committing the matter to prayer. If you're responding to a situation, show your kids that you are making an effort to respond in a Christlike manner.

In short, compartmentalizing our faith makes it almost impossible to pass down to our children. Following Jesus is not just a Sunday morning thing, it's a lifestyle, and one that takes intentionality to demonstrate to our children.