Simple Ways to Foster Faith in Your Family
Looking for some simple ways to foster faith in your family? If so, stick around for some practical and creative ideas on ways to incorporate your faith into your daily living.
We all have a million things we want to teach my kids, right? From good manners to reading, writing, and arithmetic. We have things we want to equip our kid with before they leave our home; knowledge, wisdom, self regulation, life skills, the list goes on.
The thought of covering everything is often accompanied with a sense of ‘where do I even start’?
Prioritize Faith Building in your family
I was talking with my sister- in-law last week, and she shared that she starts every homeschool day with the things that are most important. The things that she would want her kids to know if today was her last opportunity to teach them.
Thats a great way to get the the point, isn’t it? What is most important?
For me, I want my kids to know God…
To feel anchored in this life…to have a place to go for answers and a safe place to share their hurts. A place of joy and peace. A place of purpose.
I thought it would be a good challenge to come up with some practical ways I could incorporate faith into our day to day. Perhaps your family could benefit as well.
So let’s dive in. Here are 12 simple ways to foster faith in your family:
Simple Ways to Foster Faith in Your Family
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1.Memorize scripture: Pick a verse for the week, and tackle it every morning after breakfast. (Here’s a great list to get you started.) It doesn’t have to take a ton of time, and it puts scripture in your heart not only for the day but for a lifetime. Include everyone, and work on the same verse everyday until every member and say it without looking.
2. Decorate with God’s Word: Put God’s word at eye level by hanging scriptures around your house. If you don’t want to spend the money at Hobby Lobby, find some free printables, or write them out yourself. Having a constant reminder of God’s Words is a great way to foster faith in your family.
3. Attend church: Make church a priority for the whole family. I know that weekends can easily get filled with sports and weekend trips, but making church a priority will benefit your family the most in the long run. Weekly church attendance gives you Bible knowledge, fosters faith though the week, gives you a place to serve God, and surrounds you with good people to share life with.
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” -C.S. Lewis
4. Read scripture out loud: Take tome to read God’s words together. Whether it’s a short story, a chapter, or even a verse, having God’s word spoken and read in our homes will help keep our hearts and our minds tuned into what is important in life. (If you’ve got younger kids, do activities or Bible story Crafts that reemphasize the stories they are learning.)
5. Pray together: Find times throughout your day and make them prayer points. Before everyone heads out the door in the morning, mealtimes, before naps, in the car, or before bed establish multiple times of day that you can ground yourselves in prayer to God. Not only does this foster faith, but it will, a lot of time, bring peace to our chaos and gratitude to the forefront.
6. Listen to Christian music: Find music that has a strong faith message and a style you enjoy and listen. Make it a habit to sing and praise God throughout your day. It’s ok if you don’t think you sing well, God doesn’t mind, but I guarantee He certainly enjoys your praise. (Note: singing songs is also a great way to memorize scripture.)
7. Make your faith visible: Be an example for your kids to see. You don’t have to be a know it all. In fact, being a fellow-learner is the best. Let your kids see you reading the Bible, seeking the Lord in prayer, asking for forgiveness, singing out loud, and talking about God. Your example will more than likely be the most influential way to foster faith in your family.
“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
8. Provide wholesome entertainment: From the internet to video games our families have a ton of input. To foster faith, put a filter on what you are letting into your home and into your minds. Find shows, books, and movies that emphasize the Bible or development of Godly character.
9. Give them opportunity to apply their faith: We were made to love and serve others, but we need to practice it. With that being said, take advantage of opportunities to serve others and be the hands and feet of Jesus. These opportunities can be through the church, in your neighborhood, or around your community.
10. Family devotions: Doing family devotions is a great way to foster faith and learn life application of the things we are reading. So, choose a devotional or Bible study you can work through as a family. Do it once a day or once a week, whatever works best for you and get started today. (Here are a list of our favorite Devotional Books)
11. Create conversation starters: Find creative ways to have conversations about God and the Bible. One idea is to jot down a list of questions or ideas to present to your kids while you go about your day. (The goal is not to tell them what to believe but to get them thinking and speaking critically about what they are learning about faith, God, and His Word.)
12. Explore God in Nature: Use nature as a way to discover and learn more about our detailed and loving God. Talk about God as creator, as see first hand his work and his wonders. (For more about how to do this, check out this post about 10 ways easy activities to learn about God through nature OR get my book God is in Nature for 100 devotionals that teach kids about God through His Word and His world.)
More Resources to Foster Faith in Your Kids
- Kid-Friendly Family Devotional Books
- Simple Ways to Foster Faith in Your Kids
- Printable Memory Verse List
- 10 Ways to Teach Kids About God Through Nature
- Fruit of the Spirit Copywork
- 5 David and Goliath Craft Ideas
*This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.
Love this! Thank you for the reminders 🙂
absolutely! 🙂
Those are all great ideas. Every single one of them. Your list is complete and offers variety and different ideas. Amazing post!! 🙂
Thanks Cheila! <3 It was great for me to sit down and think through them.
This is very beautiful Jessica. Your sister in-law is absolutely right. With homeschooling our munchkins, I find it important to start with a devotional and prayer. In the end our souls matter beyond the numbers and words we teach them. Thank you again for sharing ❤
Thanks Susan! Your kiddos are older than ours and we are just starting this educating at home phase and this is so good to keep this in mind as we make choices about what to teach our children. Thank you for the encouragement! <3
these are useful. simple but useful.
we have a 13 year old who is challenging his faith or questioning it. a couple of weeks ago we sat down for the first time in our 2 years of marriage and read a bible story as a family. he got mad. he got so mad and said we do it too often. On Christmas morning, my husband reads from scripture and shares it with the kids. Once per year. We take them to church with us each weekend they are at our house, so once every other weekend. We pray at dinner. We don’t really have Godly discussions unless it’s to remind someone of how their actions don’t line up with the way God wants them to act- we are struggling to find the best way to study.
our 13 year old told us we study too much and we do too much bible reading. and my mind was blown! it was the first time in our entire marriage that we had chosen a story together and had everyone get their bibles out to participate. and it was JONAH. like…one of the shortest books!
teens, man. teens are so hard.
I don’t envy the teen challenges! Mine are still little, but I know our days are coming. Sounds like you guys are laying a good foundation, every little Bible story, church experience, prayer adds to it. Thanks for sharing this, it encourages me to stick with it, as well! <3
we need to do more, it doesnt feel like its anything. though- the kids pray for dinner most of the time and they are getting GOOD and its so cool to see
I think its great. All the little things add up! 🙂
Those are all great ideas.
Thank you!