"And everyone who calls on 
the name of the Lord will be saved."
Acts 2:21
  

 

"These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

 

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

 

The most important decision your child can make is to put Jesus in control of his/her life and ask Him to come into his/her heart. While Sunday School lessons, devotional books, and corporate church worship all play a major role in your child's spiritual journey and development, the family, and more specifically, the parents, are called to be their child's spiritual leader.
Your child's spiritual leadership cannot be outsourced to an App, a blog, a group of friends, or a Children's Ministry--those are meant to be supplementary to your leadership. As a parent, you are your child's primary spiritual leader, and it is the conversations that happen at home that make the most impact in a child's journey towards Christ. 

Barna Group reports that 9 of 10 parents surveyed believe that they are their child's spiritual leader, but the majority of that group indicated that they do not spend any time during a typical week discussing religious matters.

Though spiritual conversations can sometimes be awkward 
and intimidating ("What if I don't know the answer to 
their hard questions??"), make sure your child knows
 that he/she can come to you with questions and 
concerns about God, salvation, baptism, etc. 

The information below is intended to help prepare you 
for when your child begins to ask questions about salvation 
and baptism. We have many more resources not mentioned in this email. It is our desire to partner with and journey alongside of you as your child grows and matures in his/her faith. 
We are happy to help you fulfill your role as spiritual leader
 in any way that we can.

In Him,
Cliff Cary & Sarah Stevens



"Families and Faith"
   

Here are some questions 
parents frequently ask: 
How do I know when my child is ready to talk about salvation and baptism? 
Let your child bring up the subject. You can 
tell that the Holy Spirit is at work in your child's heart when they keep asking you questions with more intensity and frequency without your prompting. There is no magic age when a child becomes ready to accept Christ; take advantage of every opportunity you have to point your child back to Christ-no matter how old or young they are. Trust that God is working in your child's heart and pray for the day when he/she comes to know Christ as Lord.

What if my child is nervous about baptism, 
is afraid of water, or doesn't want to be 
in front of a large group of people? 
It is completely normal for your child to have questions and fears about baptism! 
Assure them that the pastor is in full control and will not let anything happen to him/her. We are happy to schedule a time for you and your child to come walk through the baptistery without water to see what it looks like and learn what to expect during baptism. Assure your child that he/she won't even have to look at the people during his/her baptism! You can stay with your child throughout his/her entire baptism, so they will never lose sight of you. 
Ultimately, your child's salvation is not dependent on his/her baptism.


What if my child asks a question that I don't know the answer to? 
Asking questions is great! Make sure that your child knows that you are open to his/her questions--even the hard ones. We are always happy to help you find answers to your child's questions! We have many resources for you to use, and we are always ready to talk with you and your child about his/her question.

My child is asking questions about salvation, and I think that he/she is ready to 
commit to Christ. What do I do now? 
We would love for you to schedule an appointment with one of us (Pastor Howie, Cliff, or Sarah)! During that time, we will start by talking with your child and asking him/her questions about Jesus, sin, baptism, etc. Then, we will ask you to join us and will spend some time talking about your child's understanding of Christ's love and sacrifice for us and how God is working in his/her life. As your child's spiritual leader, we will not take away the blessing of leading your child to Christ. After our meeting, we encourage you to find a special time to pray together as a family and make his/her decision to follow Christ a memorable experience.

 

Talk as a family about what it means to follow Christ. Share your testimony with your child: What was life like before Christ? How old were you when you asked Jesus to be the leader of your life? 
As a family, 
work together to memorize John 3:16.
 Who can learn 
the verse first? 
Talk about each 
part of the verse 
and what each
phrase means.

This Sunday, ask one of
teachers about when
How old were they
Jesus to be the leader

your Sunday School
they accepted Christ.
when they first asked
of his/her life?
   



   
"When Can I?"
by Thomas Sanders
Children & Salvation
RightNow 
Media
This book is helpful 
in providing answers to questions your child might ask about baptism, 
the Lord's Supper,
 or becoming 
a Christian. Presented as a child's storybook, this is a great resource to read together with your child!
Available in 
Cliff's Office!   
This handout provides great help in knowing how to lead your child to accept salvation and how to effectively answer any questions they might have along the way.
by Tim Kimmel 
is a great starting place for learning what it means to guide your child toward a relationship with Christ. 

RightNow Media offers access to hundreds of parenting videos and devotionals to equip
 you to be your child's spiritual leader. 
FBC has already paid
 for your subscription. Sign up here!

   

"Learning As They Grow"

Prayer 
Guides
200 Questions Children Ask About the Bible
This pamphlet is a great tool to use to know how your child's spiritual life will typically develop as they grow. There are 10 concepts covered in this handout (God, Creation, Salvation, Holy Spirit, etc.) and tips to let you know how your child will typically understand each topic based on his/her age.
Available in 
Cliff's Office!   
Praying for your family is one of the most important things you can do! These guides lead you to pray for specific parts of your child's and family's spiritual journey.
Available at the Family Resource Center!
Prayer card 2
Prayer card 1
"31 Biblical Virtues to 
Pray For Your Kids"   &
"Praying For Your Family"
This book helps parents know how to answer many common questions their child might ask about God and the Bible such as, "How do Christians hear God talking to them?", "Why do we go to 
church if God is everywhere?", 
or "How did Jesus do miracles?"
Available in 
Cliff's Office!
 
We are here for you!
Please call or email us if you have any questions, 
would like additional resources, etc.

             Cliff Cary                                 Sarah Stevens
    Minister to Children        Associate Minister to Children    cliff@firstamarillo.org          sarah@firstamarillo.org

FBC Amarillo
1208 S. Tyler
(806) 373-2891
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