How Do We Disciple Children?

How Do We Disciple Children?

Helping children and families take first steps of faith is my passion. I long to see families and kids walk with Jesus every day—not just on Sundays. For years I have taught in children’s ministry and led women’s discipleship groups, and again and again I’ve found myself searching for practical tools to help families keep growing spiritually at home.

We have access to so many resources today, but I kept thinking, Where is the tool that’s specifically designed for kids, that truly meets them where they are?

That question became the starting point for Walking With Jesus.

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Discipleship Is More Than Lessons

Discipleship is so much more than Bible studies, small groups, and workbooks. It is a lifestyle we must embrace.

Books and lessons are helpful, but information alone doesn’t produce transformation. We can’t just hear instruction; we must live it in front of our kids, day after day. Our children need to see what it looks like to follow Jesus in real life—through our words, our choices, our schedules, and our priorities.

That’s why Deuteronomy 6:5–7 is so important for families:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (ESV)

Discipleship is woven into the everyday—mealtimes, car rides, bedtime routines, and everything in between.

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Building a Plan to Disciple Kids

At our church, I began creating a ministry plan so that we were not just “doing church,” we were intentionally discipling children from the nursery through sixth grade. I wanted practical tools that families could use daily at home, and then the church could reinforce them weekly. 

We developed a complete plan for:

• Teaching nursery through 6th grade

• Celebrating new life with Welcome Little One for new births and baby dedications

• Guiding questions about salvation and baptism using Baptism: For Kids and Parents

Both of these are part of the Next Steps Collection by D6 Family Ministry, and they help us be intentional about the spiritual milestones in a child’s life.

As I worked through this ministry plan, I started creating simple pages for our church kids—things they could read, answer, and do to spark their spiritual growth. Those early pages eventually grew into Walking With Jesus, written for elementary-aged children.

My heart for this book was to create a practical and engaging resource that would walk children and families through foundational truths of the Christian life—things like:

• Salvation

• Prayer

• Giving

• Scripture memory

• Church membership

• God’s Word

Each chapter includes short lessons, discussion questions, and simple activities designed for kids and easy for families to use together.

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Engaging Kids with All Their Senses

When I teach, I try to engage as many senses as possible. A typical lesson in our children’s ministry might include:

• Reading the Bible passage or lesson

• Acting out part of the story

• Answering questions together

• Singing songs that reinforce the truth

• Watching a short video

• Doing a hands-on activity or craft

I tried to bring a multi-sensory, practical approach into the pages of Walking With Jesus, while staying anchored in sound biblical teaching.

Here’s a short excerpt from Chapter 2, “Talking to God – Prayer”:

“We cannot do a very good job telling our friends and family about how to have a relationship with God if we are not growing and walking with Him daily. One of the ways we can grow is by praying. What is prayer? It is simply talking to God.

You may wonder, how can we talk to God when we cannot see Him or hear His voice? Just because we cannot see God does not mean He cannot hear us or see us.

Here are three really big words for you to learn. They help us understand why we can pray. The first word is omnipresent (OM-ni-pres-ent), which means God is everywhere. Second, God is omniscient (om-NI-scient) or all-knowing. God knows, hears, and sees everything, all the time. The last word is omnipotent (om-NI-po-tent), which means God has unlimited power.

Read these verses in your Bible with your family: Ephesians 5:20, John 14:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, Philippians 4:6–7, James 5:16, and Matthew 6:7–13. What do these verses tell you?”

My hope is that as kids read, discuss, and interact with these lessons, they don’t just learn about God—they learn how to walk with Him.

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Our Role in Discipling the Next Generation

It is my prayer that Walking With Jesus becomes a valuable tool for helping your children and grandchildren, the kids in your church, and the students in your classroom or small group grow in faith as they learn what it means to walk daily with the Lord. My deepest hope is that this resource helps them develop a resilient faith that lasts a lifetime—and that they become disciples who make more disciples.

Our role is not to have all the answers. Our role is to be faithful:

• Faithful to teach the next generation how to walk with Jesus

• Faithful to show them how to study the Bible on their own

• Faithful to spend time together in God’s Word as a family

We are called to be a Deuteronomy 6 family—loving God most of all and diligently teaching our families.

The best time for children to realize their need for a Savior—and to learn how to walk with Jesus—is now.

“The best time for children to realize their need for a Savior and how to walk with Jesus is now!”
—Walking With Jesus

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If you’re looking for a place to start discipling the children in your life, you don’t have to do it perfectly. Take one step. Open God’s Word together. Pray out loud together. Talk about what you’re learning. Use tools that help you—whether that’s Walking With Jesus or another resource the Lord provides.

One faithful step of obedience at a time—that’s how we disciple children.

D6 Family Ministry

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​Is there real value in memorizing Bible verses?

​Is there real value in memorizing Bible verses? Do they play a role in shaping our children’s and grandchildren’s worldview and helping them grow in their relationship with Christ? Do we really need to commit verses to memory when most of us, children included, have the Bible easily accessible on our phones, tablets, and the Internet? Why is Scripture memory so important?

At a conference with our youth group, I vividly remember the speaker challenging us by asking believers to remain standing if they had memorized at least one verse for every year they had followed Christ. Watching the room sit down, quickly, was both eye-opening and humbling. I found myself counting how many I truly knew—and if I could point to where they were located in the Bible.

The speaker was not saying Scripture memory is discipleship or the measure of spiritual maturity. He was reminding us that God’s Word is nourishment for our hearts and minds. We get to soak it up. Scripture memory is one natural by-product of walking closely with Jesus every day.

Flashback with me to a warm afternoon when I was in sixth grade. I had grown up in church, but that day I became angry and made a very poor choice. My parents helped me memorize Psalm 4:4 and Ephesians 4:26: “Be angry and sin not.” They didn’t just make me memorize it—they taught me how to live it. I still got angry at times, but Scripture shaped how I responded. It helped me see that my emotions never give me permission to harm others with my words or actions. God’s Word never returns void. It was teaching me how to walk with Him.

Think for a moment: how many song lyrics do you know by heart? Nursery rhymes? The Pledge of Allegiance? The Preamble to the Constitution? If those words can live in our long-term memory, how much more valuable is it to store to up His Words in our hearts?

Even with Google, Siri, ChatGPT, and Bible apps at our fingertips—our hearts still need Scripture tucked inside them. Here is why.

1. Scripture memorization strengthens the developing worldview of our children. Hiding God’s Word helps develop truth that lasts. Children begin forming their worldview around 15 months of age and it’s almost entirely formed by age 13. For most people, research shows, it is unlikely to change over the remainder of their lives (Barna, 2023).
2. Scripture memory helps us face spiritual battles. We are instructed to “take up the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Ephesians 6:17b. We must be intentional in building a firm foundation for our children. Take time to memorize Scripture as a family; it is good for everyone. Psalm 119 reminds us that storing God’s Word in our hearts helps us not to sin against God.
3. Jesus modeled it to us. Matthew 4:4 informs us that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Christ gave us the perfect example of how to withstand temptation—confront it with Scripture!

How can families naturally and joyfully weave Scripture memory into everyday life and allow it to shape us from the inside out? If babies begin forming their worldview before two years old, and by early teens, it is solidified. We must act early and often, shaping them into who God is calling them to be.

• With your babies, read the Bible to them. Teach them Scripture nuggets, even set to songs. They can learn “God made the World, God made me, God loves me, I can make bad and good choices, etc.” Speak Scripture over them during ordinary moments. Sing short, truth-filled phrases as you buckle car seats, rock them to sleep, or play on the floor.
• As kids grow, continue expanding on those first nuggets and building more Truth. Teach them why we know God made the World—Genesis 1:1. Teach them the meaning and application of verses like John 3:16, Romans 3:23, John 1:1, John 14:6, and other key verses. Don’t just have your kids memorize them, repeat them daily, and talk about what they look like in their real-life application. Read a verse or chapter while eating breakfast as a family and discuss it on your car ride. Talk about them when you are at home, incorporate it into your bedtime prayers; saturate their lives with Scripture. Does that sound a little biblical? This is what Deuteronomy 6:7 instructs us to do. You do not have to rush at memory like it is a checklist; instead, meditate on them and repeat them often.
• As your children grow to early elementary age, continue building an even stronger foundation. Choose verses, as a family, based on what you are experiencing in life. Just dwell on them and let them soak into your being. Linger on them as long as necessary so they can deeply penetrate your hearts and minds. Some verses can be grasped quickly, while others need to marinate for a while. The Romans Road to Salvation is a great set of verses to add to memory and understanding (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9–10, 13). As are The Model Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13), the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10–18), and the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17). Let your kids share how the verses impacted their day. Look for ways to tenderly connect Scripture and daily life. The Word will become a normal part of our daily lives. It happens naturally—not as a checklist we are adding to our day.
• Church Training Service (CTS) Bible Memorization provides a wonderful structure, even if your children do not participate in CTS exhibition. By the end of their high school years, they may have learned as many as 600 passages!
• Make review a normal part of life—not a test you pass or fail. Reviewing verses and being in His Word throughout our lives keeps it fresh and deepens our understanding. Www.biblememory.com is a fun way to learn Scripture and commit it to long-term memory.
• Rob Morgan has a book entitled 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart. He provides 100 verses to begin your journey and offers excellent tips on committing them to memory.

Scripture memory is not about performance, who knows the most, or impressing others. It is about helping us remember what is true, honorable, pure, and lovely. As God’s Word settles into our hearts and minds, it shapes how we see the world, respond to challenges, and love others.

Start small. Be consistent. Let the Word live in your homes and lives.

Then watch how it quietly forms a faith that lasts!

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Cost of Discipleship

Discipleship comes at a "high cost", are you willing to pay it? 

Jesus talked about the differences in the easy way that most of the world wants to take and the hard pathway of following Him. Accepting Jesus and the salvation He provides is easy, but actively growing and following Jesus will impact every part of our lives and takes time and effort.

The choice to follow Jesus may cost us a high price in earthly terms, but when we are determined to follow Him, the Lord will change our desires. Discipleship is a lifelong process! We will never learn all we can about our Precious Jesus! Becoming a disciple is free; there is nothing we can do to buy our salvation. There is nothing we can do to earn it, but we WILL have to make sacrifices in order to follow Jesus. The cost of being a disciple comes from those sacrifices. We may have to stop doing some activities because we know they are not pleasing to God. 

We need to live differently than the world around us. This will not always be easy, but it will always be worth it. Jesus paid the ultimate price for us, and we can honor Him by listening to His Word and following Him.

Is there anything you or your family needs to give up for Christ?
I can promise you, if you totally give up everything for Jesus, you will never regret it.

Make sure HE is in the #1 place in your life and in your kid's lives today. Let HIM be in control of all that your family does! 

 (Today's blog is paraphrased from Elements Kids Worship Discipleship Lesson 2)

 

Sin Separates!

We have been studying Genesis in Sunday School for the past month and one thing that keeps popping in my mind is...Sin separates! It separated Adam and Eve from God walking with them in the cool of the the day and from living in Eden. It separated Jonah from the people of Nineveh to the point of him being in the belly of a giant fish. It separated the whole world from Noah and his family when earth was flooded. My D6 Forward Sunday School teacher's book made some great points this past week:

"One of sins's consequences is isolation. It pulls us away from God and others. It causes us to withdraw because of guilt, shame, and fear of being found out or called out. Sin is a deception that tries to make us think we can lead successful, godly lives on our own, in our own time, and in our own way. However, this lie only separates us from those who love us and who want what is best for us."

Sin hinders relationships with others and with our Holy God. It leads us to lie, deny, and make excuses. Sin can lead to more sin and that causes separation. Are you feeling separated from friends or loved ones? Do you have unconfessed sin that is separating you? Are your friends or family living in unconfessed sin and it's causing separation? If so, repent or pray for your family to repent, daily until they do. Being tempted isn't a sin, it's when we give in to that temptation that sin occurs. To resist, we must follow Christ's example and overcome it with The Word of God. Pray for strength, literally run away from sin if you have to, say no and allow your Christian friends and family to hold you accountable instead of separating yourself from them. Temptation presents us with a choice: will we obey God or succumb to Satan's trickery? As soon as we leave God out of our plans, we place ourselves above Him, thinking we know best, and that's exactly what Satan wants us to do. People usually choose wrong things because they are convinced that those wrong things are good for them. Our own sins don't usually appear ugly to us, and "pleasant or fun sins" are the hardest to avoid. One of the realities of sin is that its effects spreads. Eve sinned and then brought Adam down into sin. We do the same sometimes. When we do wrong, we try to remove our guilt by involving someone else. We need to recognize and confess our sins before we are tempted to pollute and bring others down around us. The effects of sin makes us feel guilty and embarrassed and so sometimes we run from God and those that love us and hold us accountable instead of repenting. A guilty conscience is a warning signal from God placed inside of us through the Holy Spirit to bring us to repentance. The worst thing we can do is get rid of our guilty feelings without eliminating the cause of those feelings. Then we are getting comfortable with the sin, instead of repenting. That is like taking pain pills instead of fixing what's causing the pain. Guilt can make us aware we need to repent and seek forgiveness so we can correct wrongdoings and get back in fellowship with God and those we love. So is sin separating you today? Jesus is the definitive solution to our sin! He paid the price for our forgiveness, we just need to sincerely ask.

Sin will take us farther than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay, and cost us more than we want to pay! We can't prevent temptation from coming, but we can cling to knowing that there is a way of escape. Sin may be crouching at the door but we can always choose to do right.

Genesis 4:7 says "if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

What triggers me to sin? What triggers you to sin?...anger, jealousy, greed, boredom, envy, hatred? It's desire is you and me, we must overcome it! Ask God for strength to overcome temptations today. Gods greatest desire is a restored relationship with us. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

1 John 2:16-17 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

Don't allow sin to separate you today...cling to the promise that God is faithful to not let you be tempted beyond what you can withstand with Christ's Strength and Power!

D6 Sunday School Titus 3

Tomorrow we finish our study of Titus in Sunday School. In chapter 3:1-2, Paul gives Titus and the Cretans 7 guidelines to being good Christians, good citizens, & good neighbors. Can you find them? Do our actions show the world that we are Christians or is there enough evidence in our daily living to prove it? We don't do these good works to "earn" our way into Heaven but to show gratitude for God's grace and to show thanks for Jesus' willingness to die for our sins.  It's a response we should want to have to reflect Christ' Love in us. We should strive to be a fruitful follower of God, producing good fruit and leading others closer to Christ - not devoting ourselves to things of this world but instead devoting ourselves to His Kingdom and doing good for others. 

Let me sum it up...

We are NOTHING without Jesus. 

HE is EVERYTHING. 

HE became NOTHING, so

We could have EVERYTHING!

NOTHING should be more important than us giving HIM our EVERYTHING! 

He deserves our gratitude and a life of total devotion. He came to earth, died, and arose again to give us eternal life. Our good works and obedience show our gratitude to Him.