The church will come alongside you in many ways to support you and help you as you seek to raise your kids to be followers of Jesus. This usually happens through formal ministries at the church, such as Sunday School classes, Awana, youth group, etc. However, there will also be specific people that will invest in your child’s life. We call these spiritual mentors. These are people within the life of the church who take an interest in your child and pour into them spiritually, alongside what you are already doing as their parent. This might be someone you see regularly on a Sunday morning, or another family you become close with at the church, or your kid’s youth group leader.

We want to encourage you to look for and encourage these relationships in your child’s life. The Bible says, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). In an abundance of counselors there is safety. The point is, we all need other believers who speak into our lives on a regular basis, and our kids need this too! Yes, our kids need mom and dad and grandparents, but they should also have other godly adults who are investing in them spiritually on a regular basis.

Building Lifelong Followers of Jesus

A recent study done by Barna Research Group shows that the top three positive influences on a child’s spiritual formation is 1) Parents, 2) Church, and 3) Christian Community (Read the report HERE)

Likewise, according to the Fuller Youth Institute, one of the number one factors that leads to children keeping their faith beyond high school is having other Christian adults investing in their faith journey.

• Sticky Faith Research Report
• Sticky Faith: Building Lifelong Faith

With the biblical truth on this topic, as well as the research results, we want to encourage you as a parent to look for and affirm the other Christian adults who might invest in the spiritual life of your child.