April 19, 2026
Children are a blessing from God! If you’re a parent, what are your hopes and dreams for your child? Here’s a question I want you to think about: how would you define success in raising the next generation? What our society says parenting success is: you raise kids who are well-rounded, they do well, grow up to make it financially, and they’re happy. So, they’re well rounded, meaning they’re good at everything! Society would also say parents are a success if their kids do well and make it in life: getting good grades that leads to a great job and getting a nice house. Society says that success will make them happy. Does that sound like what culture would say? Parents are successful if they raise well-rounded, who grow up to be financially successful, and they’re happy.
What if instead of being well-rounded, a kid is really good at a few things? I’d rather have a kid who knows what they’re good at and what they love to do, than one who’s well-rounded. It’s important to know your strengths and use them!
What if instead of making it in life according to society’s standards, kids grow up faithful to God, compassionate, and do the right thing? I think that would be awesome!
Many people will say they just want their kids to be happy. But happiness is based on what is happening. Hard times and unhappiness will come. So, I’d rather have kids who have the joy of the Lord, who know they can lean on and rely on God, and that he will work things out for the best.
So, here’s a different version of successful parenting: kids who know and use their strengths, who are faithful to God, and who have the joy of the Lord, joy even though, even when life has problems.
Success in raising the next generation is far more than what culture defines as success. One of the most important things we can do as parents is to make it our job to raise spiritual kids. Because if our kids have more than we had, but don’t have a relationship with Christ, having more doesn’t amount to anything.
Imagine that instead of raising a kid for what society says is successful, you raise a spiritual kid. A spiritual kid is more likely to be resilient, caring, drug free, joyful, grateful, generous and non-materialistic! If that sounds amazing to you, consider raising a spiritual kid!
Last week we talked about what a huge impact believing in someone makes. Next week we’ll talk about how we all need someone to believe in us and mentor us, like Paul was to Timothy, and how we also need to believe in and mentor someone else. The last week we’ll think about the many people who believed in us and what it means to leave a legacy. Today we’re talking about how to lead the next generation to live a spiritual life and unleash a single-minded generation that knows what they were created for and changes the world for the better!
Maybe you are thinking I can’t do that! That’s a big challenge! I know that the world is working against you. But I believe in you, and more importantly, God believes in you! You can do it.
Parents are so important for their children’s spiritual life! In Deuteronomy 6:5 Moses tells the people as they are about to enter the promised land, “Love the Lord your God! Take these commandments to heart.” In verse 7 he says, “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Moses is talking about making faith part of your everyday life. When you sit at home, that could be you talk about spiritual things at dinner. When you walk along the road, that could be when you’re driving them to practice, you talk about spiritual things. When you lie down could be you say a prayer at bedtime. And when you wake up, this could be a verse to get you ready for the day, maybe “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”
When your faith is very important and real to you, your kids will see the benefits and the authenticity of your faith. And most often, they will want the closeness you have with God. They will follow God too.
I have an exercise bike at home, that I don’t use. Actually two! They’re just taking up space, not making me fit. Exercise equipment doesn’t do anything for you if you don’t use them. For a lot of people, their faith is like that. There’s God, and there’s church, and we know its special and valuable, but it’s not part of our daily lives. If God is not part of our daily lives, you cannot expect the next generation to follow. Our faith has to be something we live by, in order for kids to see and make it a part of their lives. If you want them to stop pursuing the things of this world and start living for something that matters, stop buying things you don’t need with money you don’t have. Instead, let them catch you praying and talking with God. Kids need to see your pursuit of God and His presence in your life. When they see you seek God’s presence do, they’ll want God too!
You can’t do it alone. A parent’s voice is most important. But you need other people who reinforce what you say. When I was 16, I won an essay contest and went to my town’s sister city in Germany. Growing up I was used to going to church EVERY Sunday. So, I asked to go to church. The Borchert family had something else planned, so they said, “We’ll take you to church next week.” By the next Sunday, the Catholic priest in town found out I was Catholic, visiting from their Sister City, and I didn’t make it to church. He made sure this family brought me! The priest had me sit up the front of church, in a “throne chair”. It was the last place I wanted sit! But I got to church! The priest and the people were glad I did!
Later I met “Uncle Peter”, who was the uncle of the mother of the family I was staying with. He was a retired minister. He heard from the Borcherts how I didn’t get to church, then the next Sunday I did. In Germany, fewer people attended church than did in the U.S. Today only 5% of Germans go to church once a month. In the US, 33% of people go to church once a month. I still remember Uncle Peter saying to me, “Maureen, keep your faith.” He saw a strength. He encouraged me spiritually. That stuck with me and I remember it all these years later.
Sometimes young people hear encouragement from someone who is not their parents, and it makes a bigger impact. They hear it and think, “this person isn’t my parent, but they believe in me!” All of us should remember how important it is to encourage a young person spiritually; it’s a big deal! If you see a strength in a young person, or anyone, tell them! And those four words are so important: “I believe in you!”
Every child has a strength they can use to make a difference in the world! Maybe it’s they show love to others, or they’re generous, or they like to help others, or when there is a job to do, they take charge, they’re good at teaching, they’re patient, or funny, hard working or dependable. It could be they’re a good friend, or honest, or faithful. It’s the job of parents, and the whole congregation to believe in them and encourage them, fan the flames of their greatness, so they become spiritual world changers!
My challenge for you is to ask yourself: do I want my child, or the children in my church, in my community, in my life, do I want them to thrive spiritually? If you do, what will you do to help?
Children and youth can become a generation of spiritual superheroes! It’s up to all of us! Do we believe in children and their spiritual gifts? Do we live our faith with God at the center of our lives? All things are possible with God! By his power we can encourage young people to live lives of spiritual greatness we see in them!
Maureen Duffy-Guy's blog 