Grandparents—Share Your Faith With Your Grandchildren!

“We will not hide them from their children, we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.” (Ps. 78:4)

Have you ever noticed that grandparents are often the ones that share their faith with grandchildren? Sometimes parents aren’t interested in attending church, reading the Bible, praying, or passing on the faith to the next generation. If you are a grandparent, take heart! You have great influence on the faith life of your grandchildren. Don’t take this responsibility lightly!

Recently I was teaching a Bible study class at a local congregation when I heard the following story. “I’m active in church and a follower of Jesus because of the love and prayers of my grandmother! When I was young, my grandma took me to church and Sunday school. She read me children’s Bible stories. She taught me how to pray. During high school I got involved in drugs and alcohol. I stopped going to church with my grandma. My life went from bad to worst! After I graduated from high school it didn’t get better. I went from one dead-end job to another. Then I met my husband. We got married and soon had three children. Even though I loved my husband and children, I knew I was going nowhere fast. I finally asked God to help me clean up my life. I began going to meetings to deal with my addictions. During all those years, my mom didn’t help. She’d just scream at me and tell me what a mess I was. But I could always talk with my grandma. I knew she loved me, even though she didn’t approve of my lifestyle. Every time I’d visit her she would listen and tell me, ‘Kitty, I’m praying for you!’ God answered her prayers. Today my husband and I are happily married, we have three great children, and we worship the Lord each week at a local congregation. I’m so glad my grandmother shared her faith with me!”

Grandparents, share your faith!

Conversations occur naturally as we read to our grandchildren, travel together, eat and spend time with them. These are excellent opportunities to share Christ with our grandchildren. Here are examples of how this might occur:

Four-year-old Annie heard her Sunday school teachers talking about angels. Later she asked her grandfather, “Grandpa, angels helped Jesus when he needed strength in that garden didn’t they? Does God still send angels today to help us?” Grandpa answered, “Wow, what a good question, Annie. Let’s take a walk and talk about this some more.”

My four-and-one-half year old grandson, Seth, loves to act out Bible stories with me when we visit. We’ve acted out Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, the shepherd’s seeing the star and going to see Jesus, Daniel in the lion’s den, Noah and the animals, and much more. After we act the stories out, we talk about the Lord and His Word. Acting the stories out help Bible stories come alive!

Here are some other suggestions to consider. Read your grandchildren a Bible story that is age appropriate. Arch Books are age appropriate for younger children. Don’t forget to read stories to older grandchildren, too.

Give your grandchildren their first children’s Bible. Make sure you write a message on the cover page.

If your children are not taking their children to church and Sunday school, ask if you can take them. If you live too far away to do this, pray that someone else will invite them to church and Sunday school.

Make your grandchildren part of your daily life. As you bake cookies, ask them to help. As you work in the garden, ask them to help. Take them on nature walks and talk about the Lord and God’s beautiful creation of nature. Take a piece of paper and write ‘A through Z’ down the side of the paper. Then take them to the park and see ask them to find something that begins with each letter. For example, an ‘A’ could be an ant, ‘B’ could be a bug, ‘C’ could be a caterpillar, and so on.

Under adult supervision, invite them to make stamp pad pictures. Begin by having them put their thumbprint on a piece of paper. Then draw a face and stick arms and legs. Explain that God made them unique and special and that their thumbprint is different from every other person in the world. Then create other animals and people with thumbprints.

Another activity is potato printing. Carve shapes into the potatoes that are cut in half. Then give the potatoes to the children. Allow them to dip them into paint. Print shapes on a large piece of paper or a large brown paper bag. After it dries use the paper as wrapping paper.

Make a fish out of a large paper plate. Cut a large triangle out of the plate. This becomes the mouth of the fish. Then put the triangle on the back of the fish as the tail. Then take the fish and sing, “Oh, who can make the fish swim? I’m sure I can’t, can you? Oh, who can make the fish swim? No one but God, it’s true!”

Take them on camping trips and, when possible, go on vacation with them. Teach your grandchild a song or a game you enjoyed as a child. Talk about your love for God and for them. Tell them Jesus is their Savior and Lord! Pray for them and pray with them.

My husband and I have a living trust that includes a testimony about our faith in Christ. We encourage our children and grandchildren to stand firm in faith and rely upon the Lord. It includes Eph. 2:8-9 that helps them understand that faith is a free gift and is not dependent upon our good works.

Grandchildren, especially young grandchildren, frequently make us laugh. Laughter is good for the soul. I thought you might enjoy what eight-year-old children said when they were asked, “What is a grandparent?” Here are some of their responses: “Grandparents give us snack time before bedtime, and say prayers with us. They kiss us even when we’ve acted badly!” “Grandparents are a lady and a man without children of their own. They like other people’s children.” “They like to take walks with us and slow down when we pass flowers, trees, and caterpillars…they never say hurry up!” “Grandparents can answer questions like, “Why isn’t God married?” “Everyone should have a grandmother, especially if you don’t have TV because they are the only adults that like to spend time with us.”

God’s Word tells us to share our faith with the next generation. The following are some of my favorite verses. “We will not hide them from their children, we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.” (Ps. 78:4) “I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.” (2 Tim. 1:5) “...And that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 3:15)

Now say a prayer and ask the Lord to help you find appropriate ways to tell your grandchildren about the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord!

Kay Meyer is the president of Family Shield Ministries based in St. Louis, Missouri. Its mission is to: educate and equip people through the power of the Gospel to know Christ, grow in His Word, and strengthen individuals and their families. You can tune in to Family Shield on Saturday’s from 11 a.m. – 12 noon on AM 850 KFUO. Learn more at Family Shield by visiting www.familyshieldministries.com or calling (314) 772-6070.