It might seem silly to some people, but one of my biggest fears is raising a child that does not come to know Jesus. Yes, my kids’ safety, health, happiness, and a multitude of other things cause me concern on a regular basis. I’ve got the regular mom-anxiety stuff. But eternal life for my babies is something I pray about every single day.
When to Start
My husband, David, and I found out I was pregnant just 4 months after our wedding. Although we had been sporadically attending church since we got married, it was this discovery that pushed us to find a home church where we could have our children grow up. We had both grown up in the church, me in the United Methodist, and him in the Baptist. We’d both seen friends and acquaintances lead lives without knowing Christ, so deciding to raise our kids in the church was a no brainer.
So, we made our attendance in church a priority during my pregnancy. Then, at 8 months pregnant, I was baptized by submersion, since my baptism in the UMC was via sprinkling. We joined the church and had Clark a month later. Of course, getting into a routine and functioning after having a newborn threw us off for a while, but by the time Clark was 3 months old, we were regular attendees again. Clark is now 2, and although he asks if we’re going to play as soon as we pull into the church parking lot, he knows well enough that going to church is something we do.
Bible Exposure
Playing in the nursery isn’t exactly a God-teaching experience. As a volunteer in the church nursery, I know it consists of a lot of play time, Christian music and videos as a background, and snacks. Obviously, most kids in the nursery do not have the attention span nor desire to sit through a lesson on God. It is their presence at church at that young age that helps them to know that they go to this place at least once a week. With the variety of ages in the nursery (birth to 2), teaching at home can be a huge help to the older kids.
A 2-year-old will obviously grasp concepts more than a younger child in the same class. Home teaching is encouraged because of this. Clark loves the Bible. His grandparents have a large family Bible that has pictures in it. His love stemmed from that. So much that he always wants to read his “Baby’s First Bible,” which is a real, KJV Bible with sentimental value. It has no pictures and very thin pages, so I’m always hesitant to let him look at it. Which sounds terrible, I know.
Kid’s Version
Instead, we try to focus on his children’s Bible with colorful pictures and simpler language. Sometimes the distraction works, sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, having a toddler with interest in God’s word is awesome!
“Reading” his Bible each evening is part of it. Clark is read scripture out loud every single evening. He usually requests that he be read to while he falls asleep. I take the opportunity to read my daily devotional and accompanying scriptures aloud to him. Sometimes he is still awake when I’m done, so I read another one or just move on to reading directly from the Bible. I read somewhere that your brain remembers more of what it just learned during REM sleep, so I’m hoping it’s sinking in!
Prayer and Music
We are terrible as a family about praying right before we eat. In fact, I’m not the best at prayer in general. Usually, I am a once before bed praying kind of girl. Since my son is learning something new every day, I am trying to make it a habit to pray with him before he goes to sleep.
He doesn’t speak in sentences yet, but he is fully capable of telling me what he wants to pray about. I then simplify my language to make our prayers much more kid-friendly. We haven’t made it a total habit yet, but when we remember to do our bedtime prayers, he is always interested in adding more.
We also play music during activities or playtime that has scripture-based lyrics. Playing music as he falls asleep has also become part of our routine. If we are in the car for a longer trip, we listen to Patch the Pirate. If you’ve never heard of Patch, look him up! My husband listened to it growing up. It’s like the audio-only version of VeggieTales and it’s wonderful for kids!
If you have any ideas on adding more God interaction and learning to our days, please let me know! I’m always up for adding more!