In 3 John verse 4 the apostle John writes, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” As Christian women, I’m confident that we share this sentiment. As mothers, grandmas, aunts and sisters I have no doubt that our greatest hope for our “children” is that they walk in the truth. That being said, the heartbreaking reality is that we are failing. Multigenerational faithfulness is becoming more and more rare in our congregations. 

It seems that the more distant we are from the “initial conversion,” the less likely we are to truly own our faith. In fact, statistically, it is very rare for a third generation Christian to remain faithful. It happens, as I myself am evidence of, but is often the exception rather than the rule. I’m very blessed in that my grandfather was an elder in the Lord’s church for many years, and at 74 years old my father is still a faithful minister of the Gospel. My brother is a deacon, my brother in law is a deacon, and my husband is a youth and family minister. Our family has overcome the odds: so far. But what haunts me is this: if the odds are against the third generation being faithful, what does that mean for my children? 

For my husband and I, this means that we must be very intentional on a daily basis to help our children establish their own faith. There are many ways we strive to do this; from being intentional about our language (we don’t “have” to go to worship, we “get” to go to worship), to guiding our children to Scripture when they have questions rather than spoon-feeding them our own beliefs. However one of the primary ways we strive to be intentional about developing the faith of our children is through our daily family Bible study. 

To be completely transparent, throughout the 20 years we have been parents we have failed in this as often as we have succeeded. Especially when our oldest was young we were extremely hit and miss with family Bible time. I had this grand idea in my brain of what family Bible time should be: everyone calm and gathered together, the precious little soul we were raising completely enamored as her daddy read God’s word to her. Yeah, guess how well that came to fruition with a toddler and a husband who was working full-time and going to college full-time. Yet despite the frustrations, discouragements, and inconsistencies we really did try.

Finally, when our second daughter was an infant I had an incredible lightbulb moment. My husband and I were attending a marriage seminar taught by Glenn and Cindy Colley, and during the women’s segment Cindy made what was, for me, a profound statement. She said, “Family Bible study doesn’t have to be a formal, sit down mini worship service. Make it fit the needs of your family.” She went on to describe their own family Bible studies, and how at times they took place in the vehicle at the end of a busy day, or even on the sidelines of a game during halftime, and at times consisted of their littles acting out the lessons found in Scripture. 

What?!?! Family Bible study in the car?! Letting the kiddos be goofy and act things out?! You can do that?! This was equally mindblowing and liberating for me, and it completely changed our approach to family Bible time. 

When our kiddos were little bitty we did exactly as Cindy suggested and we let them be super active and have fun. We would read from God’s word and let our littles act out what God had said in his word. We sang songs to help them memorize facts such as the books of the Bible, the 12 apostles, the judges and the sons of Jacob. Every night we would close with a prayer, and my husband would use this time to train our children about this special avenue of talking to the Creator of the universe. (A brief word of caution regarding children’s Bible story books, be cautious of books that take a cartoon/fictitious approach to Scripture. Make sure any resources you use convey that Scripture is historical and really happened, and is different than fictional stories you read.) 

As they aged we slowly transitioned into letting the kids take turns reading from the Bible (a win-win as this really helped their reading comprehension also). We have read through the Bible in a year multiple times, focused on the Old Testament and the New Testament individually, and since our littles aren’t so little anymore this year we are focusing on the Gospels and Acts, teaching them basic exegetical skills as we go. We always have discussion afterwards to help make sure that everyone is understanding and applying what we have read, and this year we have begun incorporating family memory work as well. 

Over the years we have indeed had Bible study in the van, in tents, in hotel rooms, at sporting events, and even over the phone when the family was not all together. Our family are all night owls and would much rather stay up late than get up early, so for us having Bible study right before bed works really well. We have had family Bible study with our immediate family, with extended family, and with numerous friends over the years. Throughout the years our family Bible study has happened in many different forms, locations, and with different focuses. It took us years of hit and miss, and it has happened with various degrees of regularity until we finally built a firm habit of making sure that we spend time in God’s word together every single day, no matter what. 

Sisters, Satan wants our babies. He wants our siblings, our grandchildren, and our nieces and nephews. The truth is that if we truly want multigenerational faithfulness, four hours a week in God’s word (if you attend every service and Bible class) is simply not sufficient to fill our children’s hearts with love for our God. Not when the world is constantly pushing in on them to conform to their standards. Yes, it’s a sacrifice. Daily family Bible study will require us to establish some sort of routine, to put down our phones and turn off our tvs, and to actually spend time engaging eye-to-eye with each other. But it is so worth it! 

When my children leave home and look back on their childhood, my goal is for our family Bible time to be the first thing that comes to their mind when they think of our home. We spend the majority of our time together in our living room, and two of my most prized possessions are on the wall in easy sight: my grandfather’s Bible with his handwritten study notes, and a photo frame. This frame has a picture of my grandpa reading the Bible to my oldest, my dad reading the Bible to my son, and my husband reading the Bible to all four of our children. 3 John verse 4 is written on the frame. 

It is a beautiful reminder that imparting a love for our Creator and His word is wonderful and possible no matter which generation you are in! My children’s favorite memories of my grandparents involve the Bible story books we would read before bed every time we stayed with them. My cousins and I read those books every night we were at Meme & Papaw’s, and now my children have read them every night at Meme and Papaw’s. What a beautiful legacy! We can play a vital role in molding the hearts of the little ones in our lives whether we are a grandma, a mama, an auntie or a sister, and regardless of whether or not they are in our home every day. 

It is my prayer that decades from now my great-grandchildren will have similar photos on their wall, but I know that there is no way this will happen by accident. The hard truth is that our actions reflect our hearts. Based on our daily priorities, what would the young ones in our lives say would be our greatest joy? Spiritual growth, material wealth, or our phones? Sisters, let’s break the mold! Let’s shatter the statistics by raising up an army of believers who will stand in the truth, no matter what the world throws at them! And let’s do it one day, one Bible study, at a time. 

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Lacy Crowell

Lacy Crowell is the Associate Editor for Come Fill Your Cup. She and her husband, Jonathan, worship with the Garriott Road church of Christ in Enid, Oklahoma where Jonathan serves as the Youth/Family Minister. They are blessed with four precious children which Lacy has the privilege of homeschooling. Lacy has an Associate’s Degree in Biblical Studies from the Bear Valley Bible Institute, and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Candidate. She has been published in Christian Woman Magazine, Think Magazine, Queenly Quest and KAIO Publications, and has spoken for various ladies’ days, girl’s youth rallies and camps both domestic and foreign.

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