By Tosha Williams • Vanguard Church, Founder of Mommy Disciple Me
\”Mommy Disciple Me!\”
Let\’s be honest-you\’ve probably never had one of your kids ask you this. I\’ve certainly never had one of my five kids say this phrase! Kids ask moms for a lot of things, but-\”Mommy Disciple Me!\”-probably not.
And yet, come to think of it, our kids usually don\’t ask us to teach them how to eat solid food, how to look both ways before crossing a street, or how to navigate social media, either. There are so many truths our kids need to know that they never, ever ask us to teach them.
But we do teach them these, and so many more things, because we know how important these truths are to life.
The same is true for teaching our kids about God and His Word. As Christ followers, we know that discipleship is our calling. Jesus commissioned His followers to: \”Go into all the world and make disciples…\”
What better place for families to do this than with our own kids?
We disciple our children by teaching them to love God and to love others, to value God\’s Word, and to live according to the way Jesus commanded us to live.
But, how exactly do we do this? How do we teach our children all this? Moms do 1,001 things every day for our kids! Our schedules are overwhelming; our responsibilities are demanding. How do we fit discipleship into our lives along with everything else? And, oh goodness, what if our kids don\’t want to be discipled?
God has had something to say about this from the very beginning. In Deuteronomy, He instructed Moses to tell the people:
\”Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children\’s children\” (Deut. 4:9-10 ESV).
The kids and grandkids and children God has entrusted to us may not be asking to be discipled, but God wants us to make sure they know what we have learned and experienced with Him.
Discipleship is intentionally planting the seeds, tending the soil, and cultivating the roots so that our kids have the chance to grow into strong fruit-bearing trees for the faith. Discipleship isn\’t a guarantee that they will follow God all the days of their lives, but it does give them the opportunity to know Him better because we have known Him.
And, the truth is, even though your kids may not be asking the overt questions, they do want to know who God is to you, what He has done in your life, why the Bible matters to you, and what your soul has experienced. In the days and years of relationship, families have the amazing privilege of making God\’s ways known to the next generation.
Your kids may not be asking you to disciple them, but-whether they use the words or not-they are asking you to help them understand why your family believes in Jesus and in God\’s Word.
Your kids may not be asking you to disciple them, but-whether they use the words or not-they are asking you to help them understand why your family believes in Jesus and in God\’s Word. Every parent has the privilege of days and years to speak faith into the next generation, and every church has the opportunity to encourage parents to do this with the help of object lessons (get more information about it here) or an interesting curriculum that teaches them church lessons in an entertaining way.
Few kids are going to say, \”Mommy Disciple Me!\” However, their lives are asking the questions.
Let\’s intentionally answer them through discipleship.
Mommy Disciple Me is a free, internet-based discipleship program for families of all ages.
