God has called parents to be the primary spiritual leader of their kids. Deuteronomy 6:4-9, known as the Shema, is one of several passages that calls for parental training of children. This passage is a great model for how parents should teach their children about God.
No one has more influence in a child's life than his or her parents. God uses many people to influence children as they grow up, but it all pales in comparison with the influence of the child's parent.
Kids spend much more time at home than they do at church. The time comparison of how much time kids spend at church vs. how much time they spend at home makes it obvious where the bulk of spiritual training must take place. Here's an example. There are 168 hours in a week. Out of the 168 hours, kids only spend an hour or two at church.
The church compliments what parents are teaching their kids at home, but cannot replace it. What kids get at church is simply not enough. It cannot replace the spiritual training parents must provide for their children. When parents drop their kids off at church and say, "Here's my child. Take care of their spiritual training," the kids will be severely shortchanged.
The church's job is to equip parents to lead their kids spiritually. The church must make equipping parents a top priority. This is done by first making parents aware of their responsibility and then providing tools, resources and training.
In this post, I share key ways you can influence parents to lead their child spiritually.
