I have the awesome opportunity to talk with lots of families—both connected to the church and not. Some are believers who don’t attend church. Some have a church they’d tell you they go to, but maybe have attended once in the past year. Some aren’t opposed to church but simply don’t choose to go. Others are believers who actively attend church but find themselves in seasons where they just don’t go very much.
I love these conversations, and I love these families.
Let Me Be Honest
I won’t pretend to be unbiased. I absolutely believe that church should be a prioritized, consistent part of a child’s life. I don’t believe this just for job security—I truly believe this is healthy for kids.
Here’s why:
1. Spiritual Development Matters Just as Much as Everything Else
We tend to focus on the development we can see. Are our kids learning to walk on time? Are they reading at the same rate as their peers? We care so much (maybe too much?) about their success in sports and other interests. We hire tutors and worry about future grades when they’re still in preschool. We’re the generation that flooded our little ones with Baby Einstein because we thought it might make them smarter.
I could quote dozens of statistics about why childhood is an essential timeframe for spiritual development. This is a huge developmental window in kids’ lives, and as parents, we owe it to them to focus on spiritual development just like we focus on academic and athletic growth.
2. Your Kids Need Trusted Voices That Aren’t Yours
Maybe your kids are different than mine, but often my words, advice, or “great wisdom” go in one ear and out the other. But if another significant adult in their lives says the EXACT SAME WORDS, they totally hear it.
Our kids need meaningful relationships with adults and other kids who are pointing them toward the same values we are. No one is better structured to do this consistently and healthily than the church. Good children’s and youth ministries work hard to have safe, quality, incredible people who can be role models and additional voices in your kids’ lives.
3. Life Is Hard—No One Should Do It Alone
Everyone needs community. Everyone needs people. Everyone needs a place where they belong and fit in.
When life falls apart (and it will in some form or another), your kid and your family need people. I cannot imagine my children going through what they have over the past couple of years without a faith family to love and support them. Just the consistency of going to church each week with people they know and love provided so much stability when everything around them felt shaky.
