This coming Wednesday, I am meeting with a family whose daughter is asking about being baptized.
The parents do not attend church. But they do bring their daughter to our mid-week program.
I will be sharing the Gospel with the parents and their child together. I am praying that the entire family will come to Christ.
I believe God can use children to bring an entire family to Christ.
Think about all the times in the Bible when people came to Jesus for one reason...they needed something for their child. Their child was sick. Their child needed healing. Their child had died. So their first contact with Jesus was because of their child.
Fast forward. I believe the same thing happens today. People come to Jesus because of their children. God works in the heart of parents when they send their children to church. They want their child to have some kind of spiritual foundation. They may not even be able to put it into words, but they know something is missing in their family and they come seeking what that may be.
In other instances, young adults drop out of church. They walk away from their faith for the time being. But then they get married and have a child. They look at their child and God begins to work in their heart. They begin to think about their child getting some kind of spiritual foundation in their life and so they bring them to church. As God begins to work in the life of the child, He uses it to also work in the heart of the parents.
Over the years, I have seen thousands of kids come to Jesus and follow Him in baptism. That's good news, but there is more good news. I have also seen hundreds of parents come to Christ as well because of their children's example.
Here are a few tips on how to see parents come to Christ along with their children.
Always be thinking about and praying for parents.
Pray that God will work in the heart of parents. Pray that God will draw parents who don't know Jesus. Understand that parents are the greatest influence in the life of a child.
When you reach a child, you change a life. When you reach parents, you change an entire family.
No matter how far a parent is from God, when you minister to their child, you have their attention.
Share the Gospel with kids and parents together.
I believe this is key. Rather than praying with a child for salvation, invite them to a class that they attend with their parents. In this class, share the Gospel clearly. When you do this, you will see parents come to Christ along with their children.
I created a class called Starting Point. The class is designed to share the Gospel with kids and parents together. It is a game-changer. You can get the class at this link.
Invite parents to take a spiritual step with their child.
Invite parents and children to come to Christ. After they have stepped across the line of faith, invite them to attend a baptism class together. You can get the class at this link.
I could tell you countless stories of seeing parents reached through their children. I once even saw 3 generations baptized together because we were intentional about sharing the Gospel with families.
I pray this article will encourage and inspire you to reach parents through their children. This is the greatest mission field in the world. The harvest is ripe. Will you labor in this field?
