{"id":3722,"date":"2020-12-08T16:13:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T16:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/2020\/12\/08\/helping-your-children-to-become-disciples-of-jesus-christ\/"},"modified":"2023-06-02T07:02:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T05:02:37","slug":"helping-your-children-to-become-disciples-of-jesus-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/helping-your-children-to-become-disciples-of-jesus-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Your Children To Become Disciples of Jesus Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JHpU5ltmW-g\" title=\"Sittin\u2019 With Sam Ep 30 Helping Your Children to Become Disciples of Christ\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/center>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span> We all dream of the day our children become disciples of Christ and are born again. As parents, we can play a vital role in helping them get to a point where they are ready to make this decision. Yes, our children can receive teaching and help from other mentors in their lives, but our intimacy and closeness with our children enables us to have a profound influence on their faith and walk with God. No one can replace a father\u2019s influence on his child\u2019s heart! Helping our children to give their lives to Christ is the most important thing we as fathers can ever do! <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\"> How old do children need to be to become Christians? <\/span><\/p><p><span> When children are very young, they make mistakes, but God does not condemn them at that time, because they are not yet mature enough to be judged. As children enter into their teen years, they become far more aware of and responsible for their behavior. Most children are not mature enough to make the decision to become Christians until they become young teenagers. They need to be mature enough to understand their sinful nature, grasp what Jesus did on the cross, repent of their sins, and make a sincere, lifetime commitment to following Jesus. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\"> So, how can we help them? <\/span><\/p><p><span> Don\u2019t feel that you have to pressure your child to make this decision. Instead, seek to inspire your child with a love for God and appreciation for the cross\u2014positive things that motivate them. Pray for your child, knowing that God will help them to come to a heartfelt, genuine decision. <\/span><\/p><p><span> In the early part of your study with them, help them get to know the great love of God, which He demonstrated by sending Jesus to save us (John 3:16-17). God wants us to walk intimately with Him as His dearly beloved, born again children. <\/span><\/p><p><span> Inspire your child with the life of Jesus: His amazing miracles, teachings, courage, and selfless love. And of course, our children will fall more deeply in love with Jesus when they understand what He suffered on the cross to save us all. <\/span><\/p><p><span> Not every child raised in a faithful home will automatically have faith\u2014our children may struggle with doubts and may have questions about God and the Bible. And you know what? That\u2019s not a bad thing! It means they are learning to think for themselves and trying to make their faith their own. All four of my children faced doubts and questions, and Geri and I always welcomed those conversations! We wanted our children to ask the hard questions and learn to study and pray and reason through them. In the end, this made their faith stronger! If your child is struggling with unbelief, you may want to study the miracles of Christ and His resurrection. You may also point them to the writings of C.S. Lewis and other great apologists. (My friend Dr. Douglas Jacoby is a great modern teacher who helps many people with doubts to come to faith.) I read through the Gospel of John with one of my sons, and through our study, he came to admire Jesus, and to believe in, love, and follow him. <\/span><\/p><center><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"446\" height=\"294\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Helping-Your-Children-to-Become-Disciples-of-Christ.png?resize=446%2C294&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Helping-Your-Children-to-Become-Disciples-of-Christ.png 446w, https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Helping-Your-Children-to-Become-Disciples-of-Christ-300x198.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 446px) 100vw, 446px\"><\/center><p><br><span> Understanding, appreciating, and deeply connecting to the cross is a crucial step in helping our children make a decision for Christ. Help them understand that each of us is responsible for Jesus\u2019 death because of our sins. Share the story of your own conversion and how Jesus\u2019 death saved you from your old life. Our stories are a powerful testimony that can help children to connect with God on a heart level! <\/span><\/p><p><span> When young teens are making a decision to follow Jesus and be baptized, it\u2019s especially helpful for them to understand that they have not yet experienced some of the temptations that will come their way in their future years. By becoming Christians at a young age, they are being spared from a lot of heartache, because they will be able to make godly choices through their teen and young adult years. This is a powerful motivation for becoming a Christian as a young man or woman! However, let\u2019s make sure our children understand that they will still face many temptations and make mistakes\u2014and when that happens, we can help them understand how powerful God\u2019s grace is! <\/span><\/p><p><span> When we become Christians, we are called to repent of our sins and also to become disciples of Christ who intimately love and follow him by obeying his commands. Jesus teaches us to do this in the passages below: <\/span><\/p><p><span><span> \u201cTherefore go and <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: bold\"> make disciples <\/span><span><span> of all nations, <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: bold\"> baptizing them <\/span><span><span> in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: bold\"> and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. <\/span><span> \u201d Matthew 28:19-20 (emphasis added) <\/span><\/p><p><span> \u201cThen Jesus said to his disciples, \u2018If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.\u2019\u201d (Matthew 16:24) <\/span><\/p><p><span> Let\u2019s teach our children that when they are baptized, they put off their \u201cold self,\u201d the person they are apart from Christ. As they grow in their faith and discipleship, they will put on the great \u201cnew self\u201d God has created them to be: <\/span><\/p><p><span><span> \u201cSurely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: bold\"> put off your old self<\/span><span>, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.\u201d (Ephesians 4:21-24, emphasis added) <\/span><\/p><p><span> Their \u201cnew self,\u201d given to them by God, is to be loving, giving and kind. It will enable them to draw close to their brothers and sisters in Christ and to share Jesus with people who don\u2019t yet know Him. <\/span><\/p><p><span> God\u2019s grace is truly amazing\u2014what a joy it is to share it with our children! Children who are motivated by grace\u2014not guilt, shame, or pressure\u2014will find great joy in their walk with God, and will see God continue to bless and guide them through all of their years to come. <\/span><\/p><p><span> As we seek to help our children become disciples, let\u2019s be assured that God is the one who will ultimately bring them to Christ. Let\u2019s be confident, prayerful and humble, knowing that He will graciously guide us (and others) to help our children along the way! <\/span><\/p><p style=\"line-height: 1.5\"><span style=\"font-style: italic\"> Come on over to our YouTube channel for more on this topic in the Sittin\u2019 With Sam series! Shared from Sam Laing&#8217;s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/warriorforthelord.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Warrior for the Lord<\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic\">. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We all dream of the day our children become disciples of Christ and are born again. As parents, we can&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":3723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"post_folder":[151],"class_list":["post-3722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-families"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Helping-Your-Children-to-Become-Disciples-of-Christ.png?fit=446%2C294&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"dtadmin","author_link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/author\/dtadmin\/"},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phsvEw-Y2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31485,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/istanbul-church-celebrates-30th-anniversary\/","url_meta":{"origin":3722,"position":0},"title":"Istanbul 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WAM 2015 witnessed visitors from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2015_West African Missions Conference","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015_WAM_Conference.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015_WAM_Conference.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015_WAM_Conference.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015_WAM_Conference.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5054,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/from-disciples-today-to-a-bowling-green-miracle\/","url_meta":{"origin":3722,"position":4},"title":"From Disciples Today to a Bowling Green Miracle!","author":"dtadmin","date":"September 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In May of this year, an article was published by Disciples Today announcing a new church planting in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Shortly after the big announcement, I received a message from a sister named Dianna Harbin-Wilson from the Denver Church of Christ. 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