June 2010

The warm, relaxing summer months are perfect for reconnecting as a family. They’re also ideal for helping your children stay connected to God and boosting their faith in him.

For starters, participate in faith-building opportunities available in your community. These include vacation Bible school, church camps, outdoor worship, mission projects, and more. But realize that faith growth can occur in unstructured, day-to-day settings, too. By talking to your children often about God—and your relationship with him—you model faith in action for young Christians.

Use these ideas as a springboard for summer faith growth:

Take it all in. Admire God’s handiwork as you travel and sight-see. Acknowledge and thank our Creator. Use simple object lessons; for example, draw a line of chalk in front of some ants and notice that most of them won’t cross it. Then talk about what it means to follow and obey God.

Take out the “trash.” Together, clean up a park or street. Then discuss what God wants us to fill our minds and hearts with (see Philippians 4:8).

Take it outside. For variety, conduct your family devotions outside in the shade. Use a book-club format to go through a book of the Bible or a children’s Bible storybook. Encourage questions and have children put themselves in the people’s shoes. Then apply the lessons to situations we face each day as we walk with God.

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