Resolving To Get Back To Church (Part 5)

Parents! Get back to church for the sake of your kids!

Over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve written several posts about church with the hope that they would inspire people who haven’t been plugged into church recently to show back up in the coming new year.

I’ve written about the Biblical & historical precedent for church; the reality that as believers we are all part of the body, like it or not, and we aren’t supposed to remove ourselves from the body; and the countercultural idea that commitment to a local body of believers is more important than our personal preferences or priorities. Today, I want to talk about the children, and if you don’t have children, don’t worry. What I have to say still applies, because they are watching you too!

For those of us who do have children, I think it’s important to consider that we shouldn’t just be winging our parenting, but rather we should be extremely intentional about decisions we make to train and raise up our kids to be the adults God has designed them to be, adults who love Jesus, who are obedient to his call to pick up their cross and follow him, and who know how to sacrificially love their neighbors. It’s the most important command according to Jesus. Love God and love neighbor. And, we do that by giving our lives away. Our children need to learn that from us!

Remember that old anti-drug commercial from way back in the 1900s where the dad finds drugs in his son’s room and confronts him about it?

The dad says, “Who taught you how to do this stuff?”

Remember how the son responded, yelling back at his dad? “You alright! I learned it by watching you!!”

Then we hear the voiceover guy say, “Parents who use drugs have children who use drugs.”

Pretty simple message and I think it’s spot on! By and large, at the end of the day our kids will do what we do.

So, parents, let me ask you this. Do your kids see you loving Jesus? Do they see you being obedient to his call to lay your life down (your desires and wants), pick up your cross (dying to self), and follow him? Does your life look different than other adults in your kids’ lives who don’t know Jesus? Do your kids know how to pray because they see you praying? Do they know the value and of reading the Bible, because they see you reading your Bible? Do they talk about the Bible in regular conversations because they hear you talking about the Bible in regular conversations? Do they learn how to be generous by watching you be generous? And, do they learn what commitment to the body of Christ looks like because they see you being committed to the body of Christ?

If your kids were to pattern their lives after how they see you living, would they be sold out for Jesus Christ and his bride, the church, for the sake of the kingdom?

If we are willing to pause long enough to intentionally think through how we want to live our lives, in hopes that our kids will model their lives after ours and becoming authentic followers of Jesus as they grow into adults, I believe parents diving wholeheartedly into a church community is absolutely necessary!

And, when I say diving wholeheartedly into a church community, I don’t just mean showing up on Sunday mornings. I mean giving our lives away to that community!

Can I share a little anecdotal research I’ve done?

As I’ve watched families throughout the years and seen how some children grow into adults who are sold out for Jesus and how other children seem to give up on their faith after they leave home, walking away from the church, one thing stands out to me as the most important variable.

It’s not a cool pastor in tight jeans. It’s not loud worship music and light shows. It’s not even an incredible youth program.

It’s this! Do the kids see their parents authentically living out their faith by using their God-given gifts and talents for the sake of the kingdom and the body of Christ, the local church? And, are the kids given the opportunity to live out their faith, using their God-given gifts and talents, alongside their parents, while they are still children?

That’s it! Of course, it’s not 100% across the board, but almost! Most parents I know who I’ve watched raise children who are, in college and adulthood, continuing to authentically walk with Jesus, who are plugged into the local church, are parents who served alongside their children in some way, as their children were growing up. Many of them are parents who gave up their lives to serve in their church youth ministry or Young Life, where their kids got to see them loving their friends, sharing the Gospel with them, and discipling them. But, it doesn’t have to be youth ministry. Serving authentically is the important thing.

In fact, for the current generation of teenagers, one of the most important character traits is authenticity. It’s why I keep saying it! This generation will reject anyone, they don’t believe to be authentic. And you know what? Good for them! They should!!

So, let’s be committed to being authentic followers of Jesus in front of our kids and in front of everyone else, for that matter! And, participating in the life of the local church is part of that authenticity.

Friends, it’s not our prerogative to live our lives the way we want to live them. I mean, God gives us that option, but that’s not what we were designed for. We were designed for community, fellowship with God and with one another. We were designed to live our lives 100% for Him, not for ourselves. And, God has established the Church, the bride of Christ, to be his hands and feet in a lost and dying world. If we are followers of Jesus, it is not okay to remove ourselves from the local body, regardless of whatever reasons we come up with or whatever feelings we have. It’s not okay to turn “church” into something we consume online (or even in person). Church is not a show for us to watch. Rather, it’s a family for us to participate in. We are to submit our lives to God and to one another, “not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing” (Hebrews 10:25a).

As we head into 2025, my prayer is that we would see a resurgence in followers of Jesus prioritizing their lives around the local church, showing up in person to worship together, pray together, give generously to one another, and love one another in such a way that those on the outside would look at us and say, “I want what they have!” Then, we can share that what we have is Jesus and his Gospel and we can invite them to put their trust in him and to become part of the family of God, the Church!

Could it be that God is calling you to resolve to get back to church or to dive in more fully!?

Happy New Year!!!