By Terrie Hellard-Brown
When my family lived in Taiwan, each Christmas and Easter I went into schools and shared about Jesus.
One of the first times, I was speaking to some kindergarteners, and I said, “You know how your parents love you even when you do something wrong?”
Every child shook their head NO. It broke my heart. I shifted gears, remembering the culture I was in.
These children had learned already that love was earned and could easily be lost in their culture.
Imagine their surprise as I shared about God’s grace and unconditional love.
That day showed me how much our children internalize what we and our cultures teach. It also solidified my conviction that we must disciple our children as early and as often as possible. We have compelling reasons I call the “5 Ts” of why we must disciple our children:
1. God TOLD us to disciple our children.
Quite simply, if we don’t, we’re disobeying him. Deuteronomy 6:1–9 and Matthew 28:19–20 are the first Scriptures to come to mind, but especially Deuteronomy 6:7: “Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up” (NLT). God clearly commands parents to teach their children what they have learned while doing life together.
2. We set the TREND.
When we are the first ones to teach our children, and we are willing to talk about anything with them, they learn to trust us and to come to us first with their questions. We must tackle the topics of our day with our children (in age-appropriate ways, of course). If we don’t, they will likely find the information elsewhere.
3. We want TRUTH in our children’s hearts.
If we don’t teach them what truth is and how to discern truth, the world will happily step in and teach them the lies of our generation that hurt and mislead.
4. We give our children TOOLS for living a successful life.
When we disciple our children, we teach the gospel, the ways of God, and the morals He set.
The Bible is clear that when we follow Christ and His ways, we will find meaning in life.
We can empower our children—or at least give them the opportunity—to choose a great life.
5. We give TREASURE to the world.
As parents, we aren’t just trying to raise good kids.
Our goal is to raise amazing adults who love God and serve Him with all their hearts, adults who make good citizens and parents for the next generation. In doing so, we give the world a great blessing, a treasure that will help build a future filled with hope.
The reasons to disciple our children are clear.
It is a sacred calling and a necessity for the future.
However, sometimes we find the how-to daunting. I have a whole list of “Ts” for how to disciple our children, but I’ve also written a book to help parents disciple the young children in their lives.
It is called Up, Down, and All Around, and I hope you’ll find it encouraging and helpful in following the calling God has given us.
Terrie hosts “Everyday Discipleship Every Day” podcast for parents. Books: Up, Down, and All Around (discipleship handbook); Building Character through Picture Books (devotions); and A World of Pancakes.
