USA (MNN) — If you’re a Christian parent, you likely want to pass on your faith and biblical values to your kids. But “how” is the question, especially when there are so many other voices in culture shouting ungodly messages?
The majority of parents in the US are concerned about their children’s spirituality, particularly Christian parents.
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A study by The Barna Group shows 73% of American parents are at least somewhat concerned about their child’s faith formation, with 37% saying they are very concerned.
Self-identified Christian parents were more likely than non-Christian parents to say they were very concerned about their child’s spirituality (42% vs. 27%).
At the same time, Greg Yoder with Keys for Kids Ministries says, “We’re seeing the research too that says fewer and fewer families are reading their Bibles, fewer families are reading devotions, [and] fewer families are spending weekly time in church.”
The problem, then, is not that Christian parents don’t care about their kids’ faith.
Yoder says, “Many parents have no idea where to start, especially young parents where they probably didn’t grow up having devotions, didn’t grow up having quiet time, [or] didn’t get trained in discipleship.”
It’s never too late to intentionally pour into your child’s faith foundation with God’s Word. Keys for Kids can help!
“Keys for Kids Ministries has been around since 1982. We have so many parents and grandparents who have said, ‘I grew up listening or reading Keys for Kids…and now my grandkids are reading Keys for Kids!’ So we know, in terms of generational foundation, that Keys for Kids is providing a foundation for families to begin building that discipleship foundation.”
Here are 3 tools with Keys for Kids to help parents lay a biblical foundation with their children and teens:
1. Keys for Kids & Unlocked Devotionals
You can sign up for a free subscription to Keys for Kids Devotionals or Unlocked Devotionals (for teens)!
Each devotional comes in the mail and has engaging stories daily to engage a child or teen with biblical truth.
(Photo courtesy of Keys for Kids Ministries)
Yoder encourages, “Begin helping kids go through one of those. It’s one thing to just get one and then give it to a child. But if you’re not doing it with the child, you can’t really have that conversation to ask if they have questions [and] answer those questions.
“Frankly, you might be scared to death that you won’t know the answer to their questions. And you know what? That’s okay. It’s great to be able to look that information up together and learn together as you have this quiet time with your family.”
With the Unlocked subscription, Yoder says, “We’re talking about a lot of issues that are facing teens today, whether it be gender identity or depression or whatever the news item is or whatever the category is. We’re providing a biblical worldview of how a young person can tackle these things and how to help their friends deal with it as well.”
2. Keys for Kids Ministries Podcast
(Photo courtesy of Patricia Prudente/Unsplash)
Another option is the Keys for Kids Ministries Podcast! You can listen to Keys for Kids’ daily devotionals and start a new family tradition — maybe around the breakfast table or driving in the car with your kids.
The stories read by Keys for Kids’ character Zach get children thinking about real-life questions and what the Bible has to say about them. When you listen along, it can prompt deeper faith discussions between you and your kids!
Listen to Keys for Kids on Spotify, Apple Podcast, PodBean, or other podcast apps and sites!
Similarly, Keys for Kids Radio is available for streaming here!
3. Creature Feature Storytellers
A Creature Feature Storyteller by Keys for Kids is a solar-powered mp3 player that comes inside a stuffed animal holder. It comes with nearly 30 hours of Keys for Kids devotionals and an audio Bible.
For every Creature Feature Storyteller purchased, Keys for Kids gives another one to a child somewhere else in the world.
With each one of these tools, you can start new traditions of daily devotionals and prayer as a family.
Yoder says, “Then once you start getting that starting point, when you develop that habit, then you start with the actual discipleship where we talk about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and you allow the Holy Spirit to get actively involved in their lives.”
Header photo courtesy of Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash.
