Faith in a Household
Andrew Ramsbottom
The question that I am asked the most in my ministry with families is,
“What can I do with my children at home to nurture their faith?”
I could spend the next few paragraphs listing and sharing about the many resources that have been created to help with this. Some of the resources are free some are not. Some are available online and some are not. Some take a few minutes and need very little preparation others need lots of preparation and time. My answer has always been a simple one. So here it is. Keep it simple. Use what we all have, a Bible.
THREE EASY STEPS
1. GATHER THE HOUSEHOLD
Gather the household. It may be around the table, after a meal. It may be in the lounge on the comfy furniture. It may be in a bedroom snuggled under a duvet. Just gather everyone.
2. GET A BIBLE
Get a Bible or ask someone to get one. I would recommend a book Bible, not an electronic one (That may come later once a routine has been established.). Also a full Bible, not a children’s Bible or just a New Testament.
3. READ / TELL
Choose a passage of Scripture and read it out loud. Or if you have memorized a passage or know a story well enough you could recite the passage or tell the story. Done! It’s that simple.
If you want some more variety or just want to take this a little deeper have a look at the ADD-ONS section below.
If you want to know more about the public reading of Scripture check out the links at the end.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
ADD-ONS
Prayer
Pray at the start and end of your time together.
You could invite different people to do it each time you gather.
Ask people to write one word or one line prayers. And if they have not learnt to write yet get them to draw a picture of something they are thankful for.
Read prayer from a prayer book or a prayer out of the bible.
Involve others
Let someone else in your household read or tell the story or lead the session.
Zoom (or any other video call programme) call with family or friends or another household. You could ask get them to read the passage or tell a Bible story or pray or share something.
Questions
“What happens if someone asks a question, especially one that I don’t know the answer to?” In my experience, this is the biggest fear that parents have if they do some sort of faith exercise at home. Here are few simple solutions to this challenge:
Ask the “audience”. Ask if anyone else in the group may have some thoughts about it or an answer to the question.
Google, yes, Google it. But together look through the many answers that may be presented.
Phone a ‘friend’. Ask someone outside the group, a mentor, a friend, anther wise family member or a church leader.
If you don’t know just say you don’t know.
Discussion
Have one question prepared that you ask the group to think about as the passage is being read and then discuss possible answers at the end of the reading.