Billy Starkey (Grace Students Director) and Tim Boucher (Grace Kids Director)
The church has about 40 hours a year with a child. That same child spends around 3,000 hours at home. This makes it clear that the most important influences in a child’s life are his or her parents!
This is why God speaks clearly through His Word about the importance of parents training their children up to follow Him. The author of Psalm 78 says it this way:
“We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.” – Psalm 78:4-7
This is an amazing privilege and a daunting task. My (Billy) wife and I have a 9 month old son. While in this phase where he is just now starting to try to walk and is beginning to express his personality more and more, we are already anxious about the future and are asking ourselves, “How in the world can we instill the values in him that he needs to choose to follow Jesus?” On the other hand, my (Tim) wife and I have one in college, are about to have our second child graduate from High School, and have two more still in school, so we get it! We know how these phases pass by and how they grow up so quickly! As parents, we all feel the weight and responsibility of teaching our children to follow Jesus and be equipped for life.
Here’s the good news we believe: You CAN parent your child in a way that honors God. You CAN make significant investments in their spiritual life. You CAN be the godly influence they needs. And we CAN do that better together than we ever could apart.
That’s why, as the Next Gen (Grace Kids and Grace Students) Team, our passion and our privilege is to partner with parents to see their children follow Jesus. We are committed to praying for you, supporting you, working together to invest in your children as you go through this journey called parenthood.
You can count on us to be that consistent presence on your side, cheering you on. What we would love to do is to connect with you. We’re going to list some of our favorite resources below, but here’s how you can best keep in touch with us:
- Infant – 6th grade – Follow the Grace Kids Facebook Page and join the GK at Home Group
- 7-12th grade – Follow the Grace Students Facebook Page and sign up to receive our monthly Parent Update!
- College and Young adult – Check out our young adult group opportunities here.
You’ve got this! Questions? Wanna talk or meet up? Email us at nextgen@woostergrace.org!
Recommended Resources:
The Culture Translator (weekly email to help understand Gen Z)
A Parent’s Guide to Smartphones
30 Days of Praying for your Children
Missed our recent sermon on our heart to reach the Next Gen? Watch it here!
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