EMAIL 1
Copy/ Paste this email into a browser and send it to parents.
Subject Line: Making God’s Word a Family Priority
Dear Parents,
When it comes to helping your kids understand and grow in their faith, what do you focus on the most? Is it taking them to church and having them involved with Sunday school and all the other events? Do you read them stories from the Bible, hoping that they will be intrigued and want to hear more? These are certainly good things that will contribute to them developing a real faith. But here’s another question: Are you helping your kids develop the habits they need to grow on their own and not have to rely on anyone else to have a vibrant faith? Sure, at this point in life, they need to rely on others for many things. But that will one day change. As they grow older, they will need to learn how to be more self-sufficient, and they will need the tools to do so.
One of the most important things you can do for your kids as they continue their spiritual journey is to help them feel comfortable reading and studying the Bible. As a parent, you have the opportunity to model to your kids what it means to read and study the Bible. They are watching you, and if they see you value time in Scripture, they just might, too. Facilitate times in your home where everyone takes at least some time to read their Bible and reflect on what God says. If you make reading the Bible a normal and natural part of life, your kids will develop a critical habit that they will need as they go through life.
This month, we want to equip you with some resources that you can use to lead your kids in spending time reading, studying, and engaging with God’s Word on their own and together with you. Our hope is that you will find this month’s Online Parenting Class Video inspiring and encouraging and that the 7-day devotional Toolbox Resource will act as a catalyst for building the habits of daily Scripture reading, reflection, application, and prayer in the lives of your children and family.
To watch this month’s Online Parenting Class video, click the link below.
[ INSERT LINK TO ONLINE PARENTING CLASSÂ VIDEO ]
You can do this! We are always here for you if you need us.
Cheering you on,
[INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE]
EMAIL 2
Copy/ Paste this email into a browser and send it to parents.
Subject Line: Spending Time in God’s Word
Dear Parents,
One of the things that we all seem to deal with is the fact that good things get crowded out of our lives. We’re so busy and so preoccupied that we don’t spend the time we need to spend on the things we need to spend it on. If we’re honest, most of us see this struggle play out in the amount of time we spend with God, particularly reading His word. We know that spending time reading the Bible should be a key part of our spiritual development, but for a number of reasons, we don’t spend the time we should getting to know God better through the pages of His Word. We’re content with listening to a sermon, attending a class, or maybe reading another book that tells us what other people think about the Bible.
But, if we really want to grow in our faith and effectively pass it on to our kids, we have to make time to learn more about God and how we can have a relationship with Him. We have to develop the discipline to make time for reading God’s word, reflecting on it, and discerning how He wants us to live each and every day. We have to model spending time in the Bible to our children so they see that we value learning about what it says. We don’t have to be perfect and have all the answers, but we do have to have a posture of learning and growing if we want our kids to do the same.
This month’s parent resources, like the blog article “Teaching Our Kids to Treasure God’s Word,” can help you discover ways to make reading and learning the Bible a key part of your family’s spiritual development. And if you haven’t watched this month’s encouraging Online Parenting Class video, you still have time. To read the blog article or watch the video, click on the links below.
[ INSERT LINK TO M2P PARENTING BLOG ARTICLE ]
[ INSERT LINK TO M2P ONLINE PARENTING CLASS VIDEO ]
We are in this together! Let us know if there is ever anything we can do for you or your family.
Praying for you as you lead at home,
[INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE]
M2P December KIDS Parent Video Script
As our kids are growing and learning in life, they are certainly encountering a lot of different things. They encounter different people, different circumstances, and different ideas. They are trying to process what they think and believe about the world. They are trying to discern what they think is true. They have a lot of input that comes their way, and we need to make sure that the things they are learning are pointing them in the direction we want them to go.
When we think about where we want them to go, a lot of things come to mind. We want for them to be successful, whatever that means. We want for them to be healthy in lots of different ways. We also want them to understand and embrace a true faith in God that will lead them for the rest of their lives. I imagine you wouldn’t be watching this video if you didn’t want that.
You see, just like we nourish their bodies with healthy food, it’s equally important to feed their hearts and minds with the timeless wisdom found in the Bible. When we do that, it’s like giving them a kind of map to navigate life’s adventures. The Bible is packed with stories of courage, love, hardship, and struggle, and the most extraordinary hero of all time—Jesus! Now, the Bible doesn’t specifically answer every question they or we have, but it does offer us hope for the future and challenge us to “live a life worthy of the calling we have received.”
As parents, we have the opportunity, and I would argue responsibility, to guide our children on a journey of faith. I think that we need to be careful that this faith that we help them develop doesn’t just come from things that we think we have heard over the years, principles that we have learned in the past, or vague Christian ideas that we think sound good. The foundation of this journey needs to be the Bible, God’s word, and what He says about us and the world. Think about the stories of Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, Paul and his conversion, and Jesus as He performs miracles, demonstrates His love, and overcomes death. These are more than just words on paper; they are the building blocks of a strong, resilient faith that will anchor your children in the storms of life. Just like we teach our kids to tie their shoes or ride a bike, introducing them to the Bible can be an essential part of their growth and development.
Now, I know life gets busy, and it’s not always easy to find any extra time in the day to do one more thing. But I would encourage you to make spending time in the Bible a real priority for both your kids and for you. If you become more familiar with what it says in God’s word, you will be better positioned to lead your kids as they discover who God is through all that they encounter. And, if we help our kids get into the habits of reading their Bible, reflecting on what it says, and coming to God in prayer, they will learn and grow as disciples. Life won’t be perfect, and things won’t always go their way, but God will be with them.
As parents, we have a front-row seat to not just witness the formation of our child’s character and values but to influence it, and we need a foundation that is bigger than just what we think. The Bible serves as a foundation for instilling virtues like kindness, patience, forgiveness, and love. When our kids learn about the compassion of Jesus or the bravery of biblical heroes, they are not merely gaining knowledge; they are learning the essence of what it means to be a person of integrity and love. Talk about what you are learning, read stories together, ask your kids if they have any questions, and make studying and talking about the Bible a normal and natural part of family life.
So, in the hustle and bustle of life, let’s not forget the importance of cultivating a vibrant spiritual life in our homes. Know that your efforts, no matter how small, contribute to the growth of these little disciples who carry the light of their faith into the world. So, let’s embrace this beautiful responsibility that we all have and let’s dive into what God has given us, His Word, and let’s help our kids develop a foundation of faith that is built on Jesus and bolstered by their understanding of the Bible and their exploration of it.