Family Discipleship at Pathway

The decision to give your child a smartphone is a family decision that should be well thought out and tailored to the maturity of each of our children. However, our kids certainly know how to provide pressure to this decision, don’t they?   

In this video we talk about this and some suggestions you can give your kids to talk to their friends about why maybe they don't have a smartphone yet.

How do we navigate this digital world? You as a parent come to this digital world as a digital immigrant. Your kids are growing up as digital natives. Navigating this world is a challenge, to be certain. As we think critically about navigating this new frontier as digital immigrants, we have to take into account that our kids are trying to make sense of the only world they know.

In this video we'll give some practical tips as well as resources to assist you as parents to help your kids navigate the digital world we live in.

As we ask the question about dating, we have to ask if we have prepared our kid to be a good steward of what God has given.   

We ask a number of questions within this audio. I encourage you to be honest with your answer to these questions, as they’ll help you come to the conclusion on whether your kid is ready to date.  

We don’t arrive at our answer flippantly, but with wisdom and time. Is your kid ready to date? I’m not sure. But it doesn’t hurt to wait and answer these questions before giving them the green light.

God’s design for our bodies is miraculous. In Genesis we see two people, made in God’s image, who unashamedly display God’s glory and creativity. However, we know that with the fall came shame and sin. Sexuality, which was designed as a beautiful gift from God, has now become an area in which there is so much sin.     

We want to give our kids a healthy view of their bodies, yet we also know that there are important boundaries they need in order to protect themselves.   

We invite you to listen in as we dive deeper into the topic of body safety.

You were warned last week, but I will warn you again -- this month we’re tackling topics about sexuality that may be of the more mature variety. If you’re listening with your kid present, you might want to pause and listen later when you are alone.     

When did you first hear the “talk” as a kid? Were you a teen? Did you even receive the talk? Was it a one-time conversation or a series of conversations? What about your kids? What have they heard from you about sex and God’s design for sexuality? We shared last week that our culture is screaming about what it believes about sexuality- so what are you doing in response? How are you shaping your child’s view of biblical sexuality?   

Are you wondering when is a good time? Finish the video for more insight into when and how we think you should have "The Talk."

As we begin this week, I want to make you aware that this month we’re going to be talking a bit about some topics that may be of the more mature variety. If you’re planning to listen with your kid present, we just wanted to give that warning as we begin.

“If the church is sexually avoidant, our culture is sexually obsessive… When the church whispers about sex and the culture yells about it, whose voice is going to be heard? And parents wonder what happened to their children." - David T. Lamb

This quote didn’t even mention home… our homes cannot be a place we avoid this topic. We can’t be silent on something as important and significant, with its beauty but also its consequences, as our bodies and sexuality.

So, we want to encourage you to open your Bibles. Study what the Word of God says about sex and sexuality. And start the conversation.

When our children need discipline, it is the perfect opportunity to retell them the story of God’s grace. It is a time where we can remind them that they are sinners in need of a Savior. We can tell them of God’s love for them and the grace He offers.  

Can you imagine the effect we could have on our kids, if every time we disciplined them, we also reminded them of this beautiful truth?   

Can you imagine the effect on you as a parent if, every time you discipline your kid, you reflect on and are reminded of this same beautiful truth as you share it with your kid?

Parenting is tough. There’s always going to be something new. There’s always going to be something you struggle with, something you’ve never heard of, new territory. It’s hard to feel behind and out of control. Perhaps you feel helpless as a parent, misunderstood, ill-equipped, or unprepared. But if you are a parent, God has shaped the soul that has been birthed or adopted into your family.

Your posture as a parent is a big deal. It makes a big impact in the life of your kid. What kind of posture are you taking toward raising your kid? Fight, flight, or engagement?

3 John 1:4 says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." That is one of our greatest hopes as parents. It is one passage of Scripture we ought to memorize and pour over and pray over. 

The challenge of this verse is the lack of a guarantee. It is the hope and joy of every parent, that their kid will walk in the Truth. But it is not a guarantee. That's a hard truth to swallow. 

The good news is Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) developed some research called Sticky Faith and found a strong, positive connection between the number of caring adults in the life of a kid and the stickiness of their faith. They discovered a 5:1 ratio of caring adults to kid was ideal. 

One of the keys to cultivating sticky faith in the lives of our kids is making sure other adults are building into and mentoring them in the faith. Are there 5 caring adults who are invested and intentional in the spiritual life of your kids on an ongoing basis? Who are those 5?

What you do and how you disciple at home will have a greater, longer-lasting impact than what we do here at church. Both matter, and have significant opportunities for impact. But what you do at home forms and shapes them more than you may realize.

Parents, you are the ones who have the most opportunity for impact.  It is in the everyday, mundane moments of life where your kids see you live out your faith in a tangible way that makes an impact.

We pray you use your time well this year, as the primary discipler of your kid.