3 Ways to Model a Relationship with Jesus to Your Kids

Kids are not just watching what you do in your spare time; they are watching to see what matters to you as a family. It is important to model what it means to have a relationship with Jesus to your kids. Sometimes, it can feel like it has to be big, grand gestures and long conversations about deep topics, but it's in the little moments where prioritizing time with Jesus models the importance of a relationship with Him. You can do many things as a family to create space to discover more about Jesus together.

Here is a list of options but remember to do something that works for your family.

1. Prayer Jar:

Add things to pray for on popsicle sticks and place them in a jar. Take turns pulling a stick and praying for whatever is on the stick. When you take turns praying out loud, it will give space for you to model prayer, and build their confidence as they explore praying out loud for something specific. Examples of some things to put on popsicle sticks are Las Vegas, Family, Friends, and Neighbors. This activity models prayer for your kids and demonstrates prioritizing prayer as a family.

2. Bible study:

Dedicate time to work through a bible study with your kids. Bible studies can be done as a whole family or individually with different family members in your home. Please don't feel pressured to do it every day; it can be once a week if that works better for your family. The point of something like this is to create space to cultivate deep conversations around who God is and to model prioritizing time for Him in your day.

3. Gratitude Practice:

Pick a notebook or journal you will use just for this practice. This practice can be done in the morning or at night. Each time you sit down to do a gratitude practice, pick three things to thank God for, then select a specific thing to pray for about the next day(either tomorrow or the one that just started). Keeping everything in one place will allow you to look back and see all the good that God has done. The point of this practice is to pause, thank God, and notice Him in the small things throughout the day.

BONUS:

Worship Time During Commutes: What would it look like if, during any commuting time, your family had worship music on in the car? Often, traveling in the car is an open space we can use to communicate with our kids about Jesus. You can have worship music playing in the car and continue normal conversation or dedicate that time to listening to the words and worshiping as a family. This is something you can do as often as you want; just set a goal and frequency so you can commit to it as a family.

Kids are watching what you make time for, not just what you say is essential. If you reflect on everything your family has made time for in the past month, would your priorities communicate your relationship with Jesus? Try incorporating one of these practices to help model for your family the importance of