Spiritual Parenting, what is it? Should you have spiritual parents? Does it replace your biological parent? What’s the purpose? Is it even biblical? What do spiritual parents do? What do spiritual children do? And what that relationship looks like long-term?

Scott and Amy Wunderlich have been serving in ministry for 15 years and currently serve as the youth pastors as Overcomers Church International. Together, they lead and challenge teens, young adults and really anyone they’re around to rise above cultural pressures and stay determined and excited about living for Christ regardless of their circumstances. Their love for Christ is truly contagious. They really are the essence of a good Godly couple, one that I admire and look up to. They push each other to Jesus and chasing the heart of God together is truly the core and foundation of their relationship and I am so blessed to be one of their spiritual children.

There’s a lot of confusion around the term “spiritual parents” and today we hope to clear that up and share with you the beauty behind a relationship like this! I want to start off by saying that spiritual parents in no way replace or compete against biological parents. In fact, they compliment your biological parents. I whole heartedly believe I have such a health relationship with my parents because Scott and Amy have pushed me to honor and respect them, to listen, to obey, to be slow to speak, slow to get angry and encouraged me to trust their judgement.

Christian Leaders as Spiritual Parents:
The love between spiritual parents and spiritual children approximate a biological family but is deeply intimate because that relationship is fused not by blood, but by choice and covenant.

Your biological parents can absolutely be spiritual and great Godly leaders. However, sometimes it takes a village and spiritual guidance is crucial to a Christian’s walk. Mentors touch only certain areas of your life where they are experts. Parents walk with you through life, guide you with love and encourage you according to the callings and giftings God has placed on you. It is not a dictatorship, they don’t tell you what to do. They give guidance, offer help and encourage you to chase God. There have been plenty of times I chose to not take their advice (against my better judgement) but that’s all part of the relationship and growing together and just doing life together.

We get this concept from Paul and his letters to Timothy, Titus and even Onesimus. He writes to Timothy in Timothy 1 and 2 as well as 1 Corinthians, calling him his son in the faith and in each of these instances, as well as the other places where Paul calls someone his "son," he uses the Greek word "teknon" rather than the much more commonly used word for "son" in the New Testament "huios." It appears that "teknon" is often used in a more figurative sense than "huios."

Teknon is a term of affection that is used by Paul as a teacher to his disciples. He calls them, “My little children or little darlings”. Using this term, Paul is saying he is the one who birthed them (a group of people) and raised them up spiritually through the gospel that he preached to them. This solidifies their intimate relationship and vulnerability with one another.