Believe in their belief (How to share the gospel with our kids)

“Mommy, I became a Christian!”

I stopped chopping onions. Turned around. Looked at my blue-eyed blond-haired wonder sitting at the table. He, our “challenge”, our boy who has kept me on my face for 4 1/2 years, who entered the world full of vim and vigor and has been on mission to seek out every loophole the world may offer.

He is wonderful. I adore him. I’d do anything for that crazy bug. But he is a challenge. Often.

I, of course, responded with excitement, but also wanted to see if he knew what he was saying. I quizzed him a little, and he explained that one night, while he was in bed, he prayed to God and told Jesus, “I give you myself.”

“And now,” he explained,” Jesus will help me to do good.”

Yup, that pretty much sums it up.

Later that week he reminded me, “Mommy, I’m a Christian! Why do you sometimes forget that?”

Do I believe my son is a new creation?

How can I be sure? Does he understand the gospel? What about lordship? Do I keep asking and questioning him or trust that his decision is real?  I soon discovered that all my share-the-gospel-with-my-preschooler questions were shared by many other moms. So here are a few tips (from others more wise than myself) on keeping it real:

• Celebrate! If a pre-schooler makes a commitment of faith–rejoice! If that is what the angels in heaven do, then we should to. There will be plenty of opportunities for re-teaching and double-checking. Right now, rejoice that a little bud of faith has blossomed!
• Clarify. As time goes on seek opportunity to clarify what it is that your preschooler believes. The ABCs of faith is a great, simple overview of the gospel. Admit that you are a sinner (have done bad things). Believe that Jesus died and rose again to save us from our sins. Confess your sin and trust in Jesus, and Commit your life to following Jesus and obeying all that God shows us in His Word.
• Repeat and restate. Again and again and again.  We all learn things progressively. If we had to know everything before we were born again, we’d all be sunk. So after our child makes a commitment to Jesus, we are wise to continue to share the gospel, daily, often, whenever possible, and restate it and repeat it. The more we talk about it the more they’ll get it.
• Use Scripture. The rule that applies to adult-evangelism applies to children as well. Only God’s Word has the power to save, the power to open blind eyes, the power to birth faith. Use scripture as often as we can with our kids.
• YOU are the best messenger. When we feel insecure about sharing the gospel with our kids we tend to resort to a book or a show or a video to help us do the work. That’s not bad (I’m going to suggest one below!). But remember that any prefabricated presentation may miss your child’s individual needs and may not speak to their heart the way that only you can. You are the perfect missionary, sent by God, to your child. Relationship drives influence. They will remember your words more than anyone else’s. Use them well.
• Make it the real deal. I love this quote by Martyn Lloyd-Jones: “We must be careful that we do not modify the gospel to suit various age groups. There is no such thing as a special gospel for the young, a special gospel for the middle-aged, and a special gospel for the aged. There is only one gospel, and we must always be careful not to tamper and tinker with the gospel as a result of recognizing these age distinctions. At the same time, there is a difference in applying this one and only gospel to the different age groups; but it is a difference which has reference only to method and procedure.” Same gospel, applied in individual ways. None of us will do this perfectly, but it’s worth consideration.
• Disciple them. The “next step” is always discipleship. Now that junior is a Christian you can jump in with age-appropriate discipleship (otherwise known as parenting) and humbly and confidently continue to teach and train him according to God’s Word.  The best place to start is on our faces, then on our knees, then in our Bibles, then back on the floor playing Legos and teaching and training through the details of life.

What a privilege we have to share the love of Christ with these little lambs. Here is a great little resource you may enjoy. What advice / resources / words of wisdom can you share with us on sharing the gospel with our little one and cultivating their little seeds of faith? I’d love to learn from you; please share!