Part of having a strong Christian family and a huge reason for this section titled “Strong Families” is implementing some kind of devotional to your family’s schedule. Whether you have never done family devos or have been doing them for years, here is your crash course in family devotionals.
The Need
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that our children’s faith is under siege in today’s society. Now there are a lot of reasons that one could point at as being the problem, but this article is not about focusing on the negative but rather offering a solution. (You can check out the FPBlog’s section on youth faithfulness here.) The point is, there is a huge need for kids to practice and observe a godly lifestyle.
Just Do It
There have been many, many books written on the subject of family devos so I will keep this point short. Just do it! There are so many excuses as to why people don’t even try to do them in their homes but really it just comes down to giving it a shot. I have made many mistakes in my life (shocker, I know!) and I have likewise made mistakes in my family devos, but we move on. My wife and I learned what worked and what didn’t but we saw that there was a need and the last thing we could do is sit around and roll the dice as to whether or not our kids remained faithful. Take action! Do something!
Fun, Fast, Frequent
Here are the three points that I try to incorporate into our family devos. I love having fun with my family no matter what we are doing. Did you know that worshipping God could be fun? Actually, it should be, so this was one thing I wanted in my family devos. If they weren’t fun then I knew that I wouldn’t last, let alone my kids. Our family devos take about 10 minutes, just enough time to sing three or four songs and share a short thought and end with a prayer. Bing, bang, boom … done! And to solidify our devos as a habit for our kids we try to do them every day.
Timing Is Key
The number one complaint I get from parents about family devos is, “We don’t have enough time to do them.” I get it, kids and families are busy these days. Between sports practice, homework, eating, playing video games (yeah, I went there), and going to worship there is no time for something like this.
Or is there? Get creative with it! There are a lot of 10 minute blocks throughout the day when you think about it. Just to name a few: 1) The car ride to worship, practice, or school. 2) Before bed time. 3) After dinner while everyone is sitting around. Pick a time and stick to it.
So there you go—crash course complete. If you are looking for material or ideas, just open the Bible to what your family has been studying in their Bible classes, or find a devotional book you like and stick with it.
Now get out there and keep your family faithful!
By Chris Krotz (of Strong Church)
This article first appeared in the WeeThink family section of Think magazine. For more info, or to subscribe, click here.
