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Tell me a little about your family.

Josh and I have been married for 17 years. We have 4 children; Weston who is 14, Braxton is 12, Baylor is 10, and Landon is 8. Josh is a pastor at Crossroads Baptist Church in the Woodlands, and I am a teacher at Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy where all four of our children attend.  We love to be together as a family as well as do life with friends from church and school! 

How do you encourage your kids to know and love the Lord? 

Encouraging our kids to love Jesus first is the most important thing to Josh and me as parents! We are teaching them to have their own relationships with Jesus. They get up and each have different books of the Bible they are in as well as a journal.  They spend about 15 minutes alone and will read their passages and then write down some observations in their journal.  It might be facts from the story they read in the Bible, something God was teaching them, or something they had a question about. They then spend time in prayer with the Lord and write down their prayers. 

We come together after it all on the couch, cuddled up in blankets, and they each share what they read and what they wrote in their journals.  This is actually a really special time because usually another sibling will be able to relate to something their brother or sister read.  We then spend time in prayer together. 

I know this might seem like another task or routine, but my kids have really enjoyed this time and have expressed that on their own to me.  My heart is to teach them to have their own walk with Jesus. It can start simple.  My youngest reads a children’s Bible with pictures and has just as much to share as the older ones. 

We also have a family night most Sunday nights where we have a Bible study and watch The Chosen.  My kids absolutely love this series! It has brought the Bible to life for them. God was convicting me last year of how much fun I make family game night, movie night, college football, NBA finals, or March Madness. (We love sports).  We fill these nights with treats, great food, fun games, and laughter. Why is family Bible study or devotion time boring?  Jesus spent time around tables eating and fellowshipping with his disciples and many others as He taught them. 

Jesus was anything but boring.  So, we make family night fun! 

We start by eating dinner together. We choose something they love and look forward to eating. We laugh together and talk about our week.  We then have a time of worship. It might only be one song, but we let them pick. After that we get our Bibles and read together the passage in the Bible that goes along with The Chosen episode we are watching.  This allows our kids to see what is in scripture and what was added as they watch The Chosen show.  We discuss what we read and they have so many questions as we watch.  It is fun to see them point out scenes of what they just read in the Bible.  Before we start the show, I get them all their favorite ice cream from the store.  This is a big treat for them since we don’t have ice cream often.  We have had so many amazing discussions during this past year.  And to my surprise they hate missing “family night.”   

My kids are also heavily involved in our church.  From youth group, to kids, ministry, to serving with our church in the community.  I know it seems “cliché” for a pastor’s wife to say your kids need to be involved in a church, but this kind of involvement was something I was missing growing up.  I went to church but never was a part of a great kids ministry or youth ministry where I got to study God’s Word with other people my age.  I did not have other Christian adults come alongside my parents and pour into me or Christian friends to speak truth and face the world with. 

I am so thankful my kids have that opportunity to grow, learn, be discipled, serve, and do life with other believers in the body of Christ.  

What resources have been helpful to you in this area?

I love getting my kids in God’s Word first, but devotionals are great to come alongside and help disciple. My daughter and I are about to walk through the devotional Lies Girls Believe, which so many of my friends have done with their daughters and have said it is amazing! My boys play sports, so I love to have them read devotionals or books by Christian athletes.  They really love the devotionals and books Tim Tebow has written such as Mission Possible! 

How do you train your kids in Godly character? 

Training your kids in Godly character is an everyday parenting task.  I have some amazing Godly friends we meet with and talk about this often.  We encourage each other and pray for each other’s kids. Sometimes it can feel exhausting as you watch your children battle with the same bad attitude, or talking back, or whatever sin they are struggling with. You can feel like a failure as a parent who wants so badly for them to have a character that reflects Christ.

But God constantly reminds me that I struggle with sin every day. And He does not grow weary of teaching me, pointing me back to His Word, forgiving me, telling me the same thing over and over again, and loving me. That humbles me and reminds me to do the same for my kids. 

A few scriptures I turn to for this are…

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

“Teach them [my commands] to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 11:19

How do you encourage your kids to share God’s love with others?

As we grow closer to Jesus, we cannot help but want to share Him with others! It is like having the cure to cancer and keeping it a secret.  We have the cure for death which is eternal life in Christ Jesus, so we should be excited to share it! How do I teach my kids this?  Well, one way is we have to model it as adults. This can be hard, but God loves to work through our weaknesses.  Then we give Him complete glory for the salvation of someone and not our “great words.”  I remind my kids first, that we do not save anyone.  Only the blood of Jesus saves someone.  So that takes a lot of pressure off us.  All God has asked us to do is plant seeds and go and make disciples.  We do this by loving others as Christ has loved us, telling others about Jesus and the free gift he has to offer when God opens that door, inviting friends to church, showing the fruits of the spirit to those around us, and being different than the world. God does the growing in His timing!  God does the saving!  He doesn’t even need us, but He chooses to use us! We are to only be obedient and faithful to what He has called us to do. 

A few scriptures I turn to for this are…

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

^“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.”  1 Corinthians 3:6-9

Thank you, Maegan, for sharing these wonderful ideas with us! I love how you make spending time with Jesus fun, how you parent with humility, and how you and your husband model your faith so well with your kids.

For more great ideas to encourage your kids in their faith, check out the Bennett Family Highlight!