Faith is integrated into family identity and practice.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
At a time of great change Moses showed the families of Israel the way to a faith filled future. He told them to worship only God, love God completely, learn God’s commandments and teach them to their children.
God designed faith formation to begin in the home. Christian parents are called by God to be partners in his mission to the next generation. If faith is to form in the lives of our children, they need to hear their parents and grandparents sharing God’s story and what it means to them.
We still live in a world of change but family life and practice remain the key to a faith filled future today. God calls parents to be lifelong learners who continue to grow in the faith and develop a purposeful relationship with him.
Where faith is nurtured in the home through sharing of the word and action, children will see clearly how they are part of God’s family. Family life sees parents and children not only sharing their joys, but also the cries of their hearts and the struggles they are facing. Families will discover God’s grace and how God is with them always.
It is essential for the congregation to support, encourage and equip families and in particular parents to nurture the faith of their children. If we want Christian children and young people then we need practicing Christian adults who know and understand the vital importance of sharing their faith.
Recommended Resources
Looking for a way to link Sunday worship with household faith formation Monday to Saturday? Would you like to provide resources to help parents and grandparents pass on the Christian faith in homes? Growing Faith at Home is a weekly Lectionary-based resource to help your households live, share and celebrate faith together each and every week!
GIFT events provide an opportunity for people of all ages to explore God’s love for them by sharing the gift of each other and the gift of faith.
We encourage congregations to host a GIFT event once a term. We have developed a kit of suggested activities and templates that you can use with your congregation. For 2018 the themes will include Lent, Pentecost, Serving Together and Advent. You can also purchase Baptism, Prayer, Trinity, My Bible and Martin Luther kits created in previous years.
