1. Spiritual Parenting: A
Family Network
Program

2. Parents “Are the guarantors of faith. They give children their first
pictures of God and help them
develop a wonderful Christian virtue called trust, which as they grow older becomes the basis
for faith.”

3. Research: Factors for Strong Families
Mother comfortable with faith talk.
Enforces drug standards.
Family worship is interesting and meaningful.
Parents strongly oppose adolescent alcohol use.
Loving, caring family.
Mother is highly religious.
Parents punish wrong behavior.
Frequent parent/child communication.
Parents set limits.
Father often talks to child about his faith.
Frequent family helping projects.

4. Potential Dynamics in the Family
Nurturing intentional family spirituality
Strengthening family worship
Mentoring personal faith
Understanding our heritage
Facilitating faithful families

5. Intentional Spirituality

6. What do you think
about when you
hear the word
“religion?”
Spirituality
Spirituality focuses on a growing
sense of a daily relationship with
Jesus Christ as your Lord.
Spirituality is never done only in
private, it involves community.

7. Spirituality The family is the place where God is first learned.
(Eph. 4:11-16)
The family is the place where
God is first learned.
Spiritual life naturally grows, as do
the people in which it is experienced.
Spiritual life is a part of every stage
of life

8. Key Dimensions to Intentional Spiritual Parenting
#1 Make the choice to
do something
Make spirituality to be a focus and target for your family life

9. #2 Provide opportunities for
spiritual growth
Provide:
the community;
the opportunity,
environment
where God’s love can be felt

10. #3 Move your choices to action
Develop action plans and make commitments to stick with those plans

11. #4 Spirituality is not just
a private matter, it is
a family matter
Establish patterns for spiritual life:
prayers before meals, at bedtime, and during times of trouble.
church attendance & participation
family worship

12. #5 Relationships with others
central and crucial
> Care for our spouses and parents.
> Care for others around us: the sick, homeless, neighbors

13. Family Worship

14. The Valuegenesis Project on
Family Worship
VG 2
VG 1
How often does your family have worship?
Never % %
Less than once a month % %
About once a month % %
About 2-3 times a month % %
About once a week % %
Several times a week % %
Once a day % %
More than once a day % %

15. Key Factors in Creative #1 Make family worship short,
sweet and simple
5-10 minutes – preschoolers
15-20 minutes -- primary age

16. #2 Make worship meaningful
> Start where the children live.
> Use significant events at school, and at play.
> Use relevant life situations for spiritual lessons.

17. #3 Make worship frequent
Habits are formed by repetition
#4 Do "shared" worship
Share leadership
Switch methods
Involve children

18. #5 Find a regular time
> Study all your schedules to see what might work.
> Build a schedule and begin to keep it.
> Better to do something once a week with meaning than to try to fit worships into an overly crowded schedule.

19. #6 Set an important example
> Parental attitudes, actions, habits, priorities, speech, gestures, excitement, etc. reflect and teach children just what kind of a God they serve.

20. #7 Use routine moments to see God
> Prayer at mealtimes and bedtimes.
> Reading the Bible with the children at breakfast, supper or before bedtime.
> Develop your own personal devotional time.

21. Mentoring Personal Faith

22. Key Factors in Mentoring Faith #1 Don't forget congenial
relationships
#2 Use gentle
reasoning

23. #3 Don't forget faith-talk
#4 Study God's word
#5 Communicate through a
grace orientation
#6 Keep everything positive

24. #7 Pray in your own words > Pray out loud with children
> Teach children different types
of prayers:
* ACTS prayers
A – adoration
C – confession
T – thanksgiving
S – supplication/petition

25. #8 Pray at regular and natural times
-- leaving for school
-- before driving somewhere
-- leave for overnight stay
-- sickness
-- birthdays

26. #9 Vary positions and locations of prayer for the family
#10 Learn to care and share
#11 Encourage love
and compassion

27. Understanding Our
Heritage

28. #1 Teach your "little story" of faith and your family history
Keys To Nurturing A Sense of History
#1 Teach your "little story" of
faith and your family history
#2 Share the "big
story" of faith

29. #3 Share the heroes of
faith with your kids
#4 Clarify doctrinal
questions

30. #5 Spend time together learning
your family's values
* Substance abuse standards
* Way of life standards
* Popular cultural
standards

31. Developing
Family Spirituality

32. #1 Build Strong
Relationships

33. #2 Know what your children #3 Know your children's friends
are doing
#3 Know your children's friends
#4 Help them make
responsible choices

34. #5 Search for a spiritual
community where
your family can thrive
#6 Start your
family's
journey now