This Sunday begins sign ups for GSM Groups. Students will have the chance to sign up to be apart of a group for the next three weeks. Groups will then launch in early October. All groups will meet on campus for the first meeting time. Parents, you will then receive a letter in the mail, letting you know who your student’s group leader is and their group plan for the semester.

GSM Groups are an amazing way for your student to get connected with other students their age and build relationships. It’s also a great way for our amazing leaders to connect with and invest in your children.

Below is an article from Doug Fields on a parent’s perspective on small groups.

Here are ten specific rewards that teenagers receive from the ministry of small group leaders:

1. Another significant adult is caring for them and cheering them on.
2. They are encouraged to grow spiritually on their own by someone other than mom/dad.
3. They find support during turbulent times in their life.
4. Presence at their sporting events or key activities.
5. Someone who is excited to see them at church.
6. Someone actually notices and misses them when they’re not at church or small group.
7. A caring friend leaves them voice messages “just because I was thinking of you.”
8. They have a neutral adult who doesn’t freak-out over bad grades.
9. They develop a “safe” person to talk to.
10. The small group leader becomes a tender, yet truthful voice when they need a little correcting.

We showed some videos on sunday night to showcase all the big events GSM had this summer!

GSM Middle School Summer Recap from Jeffrey Myers on Vimeo.

GSM High School Summer Recap from Jeffrey Myers on Vimeo.

This summer has been an amazing whirlwind with two weeks of middle school camp, a week in Chicago on a middle school mission trip, a week on the MOVE trip serving locally for both middle and high school students, and a week in Nashville on a high school mission trip. In addition to this, with several Bible studies and day trips squeezed in there, this summer has been truly remarkable.

With that said, I cannot tell you just how excited we are to launch the school year. We have great plans in store for your students over the next few months and are looking forward to kick off the fall semester THIS SUNDAY!

Middle School: 4:00-5:00 pm (students start arriving around 3:30 and are welcome to hang out until 5:30)

High School: 7:00-8:00 pm (students start arriving at 6:30 and are welcome to hang out until 8:30)

Looking forward to seeing your students there!!!

Author: Jim Liebelt
Taken from: www.HomeWord.com

As summer wanes, the annual focus on back-to-school is again in high gear. At this time of year, we hear a lot about back-to-school issues: where to hit the best sales for good deals on supplies and clothing, and lots of tips for parents about helping kids make the transition back into a new school year. All of this focus is well and good. But, an important factor often flies below the radar of most parent and student back-to-school checklists: the need for teens to get adequate sleep and adjust their sleep cycles to fit the school year schedule.

Summer is a season when teens often experience more freedom in their daily schedules. As such, they often regularly stay up later and sleep later than they do during the school year. The reality is that during summer vacation, many teens actually get more sleep (a good thing!) than they do during the school year. But, because kids have gotten out of their typical school routines, it becomes as if they are living their lives in another time zone. Getting kids back onto a schedule that matches the earlier time that the school day starts, while including adequate sleep can be challenging.

Parents shouldn’t wait until the new school year starts to begin helping their teens make the transition back to SST (Standard School Time). Why? Because if teens are not already adjusted before the school year starts, it’s pretty likely that they won’t begin with the focus and energy they need to get the school year off to a good start. Adequate sleep is often sacrificed. “Re-establishing a regular school-time sleep schedule can take several weeks. So, it’s important to start resetting that internal clock early,” said Kris Sekar, medical director of the pediatric sleep lab at The Children’s Hospital at Oklahoma University Medical Center. “A series of small adjustments in the sleep and wake-up times is best and should start right away.”*

According to Sekar, teen physiology is wired differently than adults, with teens’ sleep cycles normally occurring later. In other words, it’s more normal for kids to go to bed later and sleep later. When the more natural teen sleeping habit forms during the summer, making the change to getting up early for school requires some effort and time to reprogram their sleep cycles.

Teens are already fairly notorious for not getting the sleep they need. And no doubt, they’ll want to get every last drop out of their remaining summer freedom. So, utilizing your parental authority to begin the transition from summer vacation to the new school year is bound to be easier said than done. Still, parents must have the big picture in mind. The well being of your kids—physically, intellectually, emotionally, and yes, even spiritually—is important! So, as the new school year approaches this year, you just might want to bring the “teen sleep factor” into view and make it a goal to get your teen off to a great start.

For those parents who might be unfamiliar with the importance of teens and sleep, here are some brief summaries of current research that might just come in handy when “wrestling the bear” of making the effort with your kids to help see that they are getting adequate sleep:

• Experts recommend adolescents get between eight and nine hours of sleep per night.

• Reduced sleep on school nights begins in early adolescence. One study, authored by Stephanie Apollon, Amy Wolfson and colleagues of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., found that 37 percent of the seventh graders were falling asleep after 11 p.m. with 66 percent getting less than nine hours on school nights. Source: Science Daily.

• Many teens aren’t getting adequate sleep. In a Drexel University study, researchers polled teens and found that fifteen percent said they only slept three to five hours per night, while 62 percent reported getting six to eight hours nightly. Just 20 percent slept 8 or more hours each night. Source: U.S. News & World Report.

• One-third of teens report falling asleep in school—twice a day. In the Drexel University study, researchers found that one-third of teens polled reported falling asleep in school at least twice each day. Several students even confessed to falling asleep at the wheel while driving. Source: U.S. News & World Report.

• Technology and caffeine are keeping teens awake. Just one in five teens is getting the recommended eight hours of sleep each night. The rest may be texting the night away with the help of highly-caffeinated energy drinks, according to research. “We found that as these adolescents multitask into the night, they also caffeinate, and it affects their sleep dramatically,” said Christina Calamaro, the Drexel University’s study lead author. While sleep duration decreased, the amount of technology in adolescents’ bedrooms increased. Almost all teens have at least one electronic device in their room — TV, cell phone, computer, telephone or music device. The average sixth-grader has two of these devices in the bedroom, according to the study. By 12th grade, there are often four electronic devices in the bedroom. Source: U.S. News & World Report.

• Poor sleep is linked to high blood pressure in teens. A study found that teens who don’t get enough sleep or have poor-quality sleep run the risk of elevated blood pressure. The study conducted by the University Hospitals Sleep Center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland determined that 11 percent of teens studied slept less than 6.5 hours a night, and 26 percent had poor “sleep efficiency,” with frequent awakenings at night. One of every seven teens in the study had either hypertension, or borderline high blood pressure called pre-hypertension. Teens with less than 85 percent sleep efficiency had nearly three times the odds of high blood pressure. Source: U.S. News & World Report.

• Teens with later bedtimes are more likely to become depressed. Research presented at a national sleep conference indicated that middle- and high-schoolers whose parents don’t require them to be in bed before midnight on school nights are 42% more likely to be depressed than teens whose parents require a 10 p.m. or earlier bedtime. And teens who are allowed to stay up late are 30% more likely to have had suicidal thoughts in the past year. Source: USA Today.

*Source: Ada Evening News (Oklahoma); 7/31/09

Jim Liebelt is Senior Writer, Editor and Researcher for the Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University.

Author: HomeWord

Getting your kids ready for a successful return to school doesn’t require a background in rocket science. It does, however, take some intentional planning and focus on the part of parents. If you are looking for some practical ideas to prepare your family, the American Academy of Pediatrics has put together some great tips to get you started.

MAKING THE FIRST DAY EASIER
Remind your child that she is not the only student who is a bit uneasy about the first day of school. Teachers know that students are anxious and will make an extra effort to make sure everyone feels as comfortable as possible.
Point out the positive aspects of starting school: It will be fun. She’ll see old friends and meet new ones. Refresh her memory about previous years, when she may have returned home after the first day with high spirits because she had a good time.
Find another child in the neighborhood with whom your youngster can walk to school or ride with on the bus. If you feel it is appropriate, drive your child (or walk with her) to school and pick her up on the first day.

BACKPACK SAFETY
Choose a backpack with wide, padded shoulder straps and a padded back.
Pack light. Organize the backpack to use all of its compartments. Pack heavier items closest to the center of the back. The backpack should never weigh more than 10 to 20 percent of the student’s body weight.

Always use both shoulder straps. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles. Wearing a backpack on one shoulder may also increase curvature of the spine.
Consider a rolling backpack. This type of backpack may be a good choice for students who must tote a heavy load. Remember that rolling backpacks still must be carried up stairs, and they may be difficult to roll in snow.

TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL
Review the basic rules with your youngster:

School Bus
Wait for the bus to stop before approaching it from the curb.
Do not move around on the bus.
Check to see that no other traffic is coming before crossing.
Make sure to always remain in clear view of the bus driver.

Car
All passengers should wear a seat belt and/or an age- and size-appropriate car safety seat or booster seat.
Your child should ride in a car safety seat with a harness as long as possible and then ride in a belt-positioning booster seat. Your child is ready for a booster seat when she has reached the top weight or height allowed for her seat, her shoulders are above the top harness slots, or her ears have reached the top of the seat.
Your child should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belt fits properly (usually when the child reaches about 4′ 9″ in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age). This means the shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat; the lap belt is low and snug across the thighs, not the stomach; and the child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with her legs bent at the knees and feet hanging down.

All children under 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles.
Remember that many crashes occur while novice teen drivers are going to and from school. You may want to limit the number of teen passengers to prevent driver distraction. Do not allow your teen to drive while eating, drinking, or talking on a cell phone.

Bike
Always wear a bicycle helmet, no matter how short or long the ride.
Ride on the right, in the same direction as auto traffic.
Use appropriate hand signals.
Respect traffic lights and stop signs.
Wear bright color clothing to increase visibility.
Know the “rules of the road.” http://www.aap.org/family/bicycle.htm
Walking to School
Make sure your child’s walk to a school is a safe route with well-trained adult crossing guards at every intersection.
Be realistic about your child’s pedestrian skills. Because small children are impulsive and less cautious around traffic, carefully consider whether or not your child is ready to walk to school without adult supervision.
Bright colored clothing will make your child more visible to drivers.

EATING DURING THE SCHOOL DAY
Most schools regularly send schedules of cafeteria menus home. With this advance information, you can plan on packing lunch on the days when the main course is one your child prefers not to eat.
Try to get your child’s school to stock healthy choices such as fresh fruit, low-fat dairy products, water and 100 percent fruit juice in the vending machines.
Each 12-ounce soft drink contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories. Drinking just one can of soda a day increases a child’s risk of obesity by 60%. Restrict your child’s soft drink consumption.

BULLYING
Bullying is when one child picks on another child repeatedly. Usually children being bullied are either weaker or smaller, shy, and generally feel helpless. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social. It can happen at school, on the playground, on the school bus, in the neighborhood, or over the Internet.
When Your Child Is Bullied
Help your child learn how to respond by teaching your child how to:
1. Look the bully in the eye.
2. Stand tall and stay calm in a difficult situation.
3. Walk away.
Teach your child how to say in a firm voice.
1. “I don’t like what you are doing.”
2. “Please do NOT talk to me like that.”
3. “Why would you say that?”
Teach your child when and how to ask for help.
Encourage your child to make friends with other children.
Support activities that interest your child.
Alert school officials to the problems and work with them on solutions.
Make sure an adult who knows about the bullying can watch out for your child’s safety and well-being when you cannot be there.
When Your Child Is the Bully
Be sure your child knows that bullying is never OK.
Set firm and consistent limits on your child’s aggressive behavior.
Be a positive role mode. Show children they can get what they want without teasing, threatening or hurting someone.
Use effective, non-physical discipline, such as loss of privileges.
Develop practical solutions with the school principal, teachers, counselors, and parents of the children your child has bullied.
When Your Child Is a Bystander
Tell your child not to cheer on or even quietly watch bullying.
Encourage your child to tell a trusted adult about the bullying.
Help your child support other children who may be bullied. Encourage your child to include these children in activities.
Encourage your child to join with others in telling bullies to stop.

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CHILD CARE
During middle childhood, youngsters need supervision. A responsible adult should be available to get them ready and off to school in the morning and watch over them after school until you return home from work.
Children approaching adolescence (11- and 12-year-olds) should not come home to an empty house in the afternoon unless they show unusual maturity for their age.
If alternate adult supervision is not available, parents should make special efforts to supervise their children from a distance. Children should have a set time when they are expected to arrive at home and should check in with a neighbor or with a parent by telephone.
If you choose a commercial after-school program, inquire about the training of the staff. There should be a high staff-to-child ratio, and the rooms and the playground should be safe.

DEVELOPING GOOD HOMEWORK AND STUDY HABITS
Create an environment that is conducive to doing homework. Youngsters need a permanent work space in their bedroom or another part of the home that offers privacy.
Set aside ample time for homework.
Establish a household rule that the TV set stays off during homework time.
Be available to answer questions and offer assistance, but never do a child’s homework for her.
To help alleviate eye fatigue, neck fatigue and brain fatigue while studying, it’s recommended that youngsters close the books for 10 minutes every hour and go do something else.
If your child is struggling with a particular subject, and you aren’t able to help her yourself, a tutor can be a good solution. Talk it over with your child’s teacher first.

Author: Jim Burns
Published on www.homeword.com

The issue of homework is a hot button for many parents today. In our culture, particularly for mothers, a lot of parental self-worth is wrapped up in how their kids are doing in school. When kids won’t do their homework, or the quality of a child’s homework is poor, the hassles begin. For many families, homework is the number one source of conflict between parents and their kids.

In an interview for our radio broadcast HomeWord with Jim Burns, I had the opportunity to discuss the issue of homework with acclaimed parenting expert and columnist John Rosemond. John’s parenting columns appear in some 200 newspapers and are read by 50 million people. During our time together, John outlined his “ABC’s of Ending the Homework Hassle with Your Kids.” These ABC’s are nothing more than the approach to homework that parents used 50 years ago. Let me pass them on to you.

A. All By Myself. Children ought to do their homework in a private, personal area – not a high-traffic or family area like the kitchen. Insisting on a private area for homework tells your children that homework is their responsibility. We need to help our kids move from dependence on us to becoming independent – where they are able to function and complete tasks all by themselves.

B. Back Off. What may be the most difficult step for many parents, “backing off” means refusing to give children help with homework unless absolutely necessary. Parents need to realize that when children say, “I need help,” it does not necessarily mean that they actually need help. According to Rosemond, about 80% of the time when kids say, “I need help,” they are looking for someone to fix a problem or bail them out of a situation that has frustrated them. If parents jump in to fix or bail out, they confirm for their children, unintentionally, that their belief that they were unable to solve the problem was correct. Instead, parents should back off from helping their children while supporting and encouraging them along the way. Even if kids fail, they will learn important life lessons from the experience.

C. Call It Quits. Many parents set a time when kids must begin their homework. To put an end to homework hassles in the home, Rosemond suggests that parents set deadlines when homework must be completed instead. Kids won’t learn time management skills when there are no deadlines. So, if parents say, for example, that all homework must be put away for the evening at 8:00 p.m. whether or not assignments are finished, kids will begin to learn to manage their time more effectively.

Although John’s advice might go against some popular thinking today, I like his emphasis on teaching kids to become responsible. Our role as parents is to help kids learn the importance of self-discipline and to become resourceful. These ABC’s seem so simple, but it won’t mean they are easy to use. In fact, for some parents, it will be harder to employ these steps than it will be for kids to adapt to them. Still, our goal is to help our kids become self-reliant, so I believe that using these ABC’s will be well worth the effort.

Author: Jim Burns, Ph.D.
Published on www.homeword.com

Moving into a new school year is a time of stress for all families. For kids, stress accompanies new classes, new teachers, new friends and new academic challenges. There’s even more stress for kids who are changing schools! But, there is also stress for parents as we get our kids back into school year routines, and as we help our kids deal with their stress. As parents, our goal ought to be to intentionally work to keep the stress levels down in our homes. Lowering the stress levels will not only help your family, but will also do a lot to make sure your kids experience a successful school year. Here are seven tips to help you along in the process:

1. Create a Peaceful Home Environment
Your kids don’t need a perfect home, but to thrive, they need a peaceful one. Kids are at battle all day long at school. They battle peer pressure, body image, academic pressures, relational issues with peers, and some struggle with being bullied. They need to come home to a place where they can retreat, drop their battle gear at the door and be in a shelter where they can just be themselves. Your home ought to be the one place your kids feel truly safe, where they can be loved and known and cared for. So, even though there will be stress and conflict at home from time to time, do your best not to let the “stuff” of everyday life turn your home into a tense, stressful environment. Make your home a safe, calm haven of escape from the madness going on in the outside world. Perhaps this means starting with the noise level in your home. Turning down the volume of television and music can help. Try not to overreact to circumstances of home life. Sure, many issues need to be addressed, but when you get angry or frustrated, overreactions are common and family stress levels rise. Look to cool down before you respond to such situations. Your family will thank you for it. When your home is peaceful, chances are, your kids will do better in school.

2. Encourage Your Kids to Make Time for God Everyday
In 1 Timothy 4:8, we read, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Encourage your kids to have a daily devotional time each and every day. Having a daily time with God is a great way for them to refresh their spirit in the presence of God. Your modeling this discipline can go a long way in setting the example that your kids will follow. As kids get caught up in all the demands of school and other activities, it’s key for them to understand the truth that “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). Further, consider a regular family devotional time. Take advantage of opportunities for worship that your church offers.

3. Make Physical Needs a Priority
1 Timothy 4:8 is also a good reminder to us that “physical training is of some value.” To keep kids healthy and functioning at their peak, as well as to keep the stress monster at bay, we need to help ensure that they maintain a balanced physical lifestyle. This means that they need to get regular exercise, plenty of rest (9 to 9.5 hours per night for teens!), and eat a healthy diet! Making sure that your kids’ physical needs are being met takes a lot of effort, but again, kids tend to do better in school when their bodies are well-cared for.

4. Keep the Safety Net Strong
I mean your family, of course. Within your family, your kids find the important relational connections that will sustain them through the good times, as well as the bad. Strained or broken family relationships affect other areas of your kids’ lives – like their school performance. So, take the lead in your family to make sure your relationships become and stay healthy. Start by evaluating whether or not you are currently “enjoying” or “annoying” your family… then make the changes necessary to strengthen those family ties.

5. Protect the Balance of Scheduling
Parents will help their kids have a successful school year by protecting a balanced lifestyle, in terms of scheduling. Look at the big picture. School, homework, athletics, hobbies, church activities all add up to a significant amount of your son’s or daughter’s time. Help evaluate the effects that these various activities have on their lives. Don’t be afraid to initiate a cutback in order to protect their most important involvements. Help your kids to learn that no one can do everything! Watch for emerging signs of stress. If your kids are demonstrating stress, be sure to reevaluate their schedules.

6. Keep an Eye on Academics
There’s no doubt that your kids’ schoolwork is important! It’s wise to take an active role in regularly checking on how your children are doing academically. Don’t just look for the bottom line (grades), but keep an eye on whether or not they are learning disciplined study habits, if they are turning in assignments on time and what areas they might need additional help with. Having said this, let me also say, as parents we need to maintain balance in this area! Too many parents hover over their kids like helicopters, making sure every assignment is completed, on time and done correctly. This actually serves to hinder our kids’ development toward independent adulthood. Kids need to learn to become responsible in this area of their lives. Many parents today wrap their own self-worth in how their kids are doing in school. I’ve known parents who actually do their kids’ homework for them! “Just say no” to this type of behavior!

7. Roll With the Punches!
No young person is exempt from facing at least occasional difficulties associated with school. Some are just brief “moments” while others are “seasons.” How they respond to the hard times is a key determining factor in whether or not anxiety will wreak havoc in their lives; anxiety that soon begins to affect their school performance. The people who enjoy the highest level of contentment in life are the ones who can stay flexible when the tough times happen – and they are the ones who end up standing when those times have passed. So, teach your kids to roll with the punches: To face difficulties with faith and courage, to get up off the carpet when they fall, to dust themselves off, work to constructively resolve their problems and to move on is a key life lesson they’ll thank you for – for years to come!

Dear parents,

Today we did a Bible Study examining the topic of integrity. News headlines are filled with stories about noteworthy people who have failed to maintain personal integrity. But our teenagers don’t have to make choices that lead them down the wrong path; they can make a commitment to pursue, develop, and maintain personal integrity.

Today, our teenagers saw how Daniel 6:1-5 offers a roadmap for becoming people of integrity. We discovered that because of Daniel’s work ethic he was promoted and found favor with the king. We encouraged students to realize that they too can make choices and live with the same integrity that Daniel demonstrated. But it isn’t always easy to live with integrity; Daniel’s co-workers conspired against him and even attacked his faith.

During the week, as the opportunity arises, discuss with your teenager what it might have been like to have been Daniel. Here are some questions that could help launch your discussion:

In what areas of your life do you struggle the most in maintaining your integrity?

What are some ways you’ve grown in integrity? What choices or decisions or habits have helped you?

What’s something you could start doing differently at your job, on a sports team, or at school that would communicate your integrity?

Talk with your teenager about how making a decision to be a person of integrity now will have a huge impact for a lifetime. Have a blessed week!

This article was first published on Crosswalk.com.

Many parents today want their kids to grow up possessing a vibrant faith in God. They hope that this faith, in turn, will impact their kids’ lives in such a way that they become strongly moral people, embracing values that can carry them through their adult lives. But, this is not an easy goal to achieve. Today’s culture, and in some cases, today’s parenting approaches both conspire to make raising kids to embrace Biblical, healthy morals and values a huge challenge.

A recent sports-related interview reflects the current state of moral standards in our culture. Reporter Dan Patrick interviewed driver Danica Patrick in the days before the 2009 Indianapolis 500 race. Dan asked Danica “If you could take a performance-enhancing drug and not get caught, would you do it if it allowed you to win Indy?” Danica replied, “Well, then it’s not cheating, is it? If nobody finds out?” Dan then asked a follow-up question, “So would you do it?” Danica answered, “Yeah, it would be like finding a gray area. In motorsports we work in the gray areas a lot. You’re trying to find where the holes are in the rule book.”

Many people today have simply abandoned the notion of “moral absolutes,” that there are definite standards of what is right or wrong. This notion has become obsolete in our culture.  We live in a postmodern world where truth has become relative.

George Barna noted in his book, Generation Next, that about 75% of all adults reject the idea of absolute moral truth. So, three-quarters of adults in our country embrace some form of amorality, which the dictionary defines as lacking a moral sense and being unconcerned about the rightness or wrongness of something. With amorality, no behavior is immoral or off-limits, in and of itself. Everything, within a certain context, might be permissible. Society places limits on what is permissible and not permissible, as a social compact of sorts. And, society can and does redefine morality as it sees fit.

This amorality throws the long held concept of God as supreme lawgiver and judge into question. Christian Smith, lead researcher for the landmark, National Study of Youth and Religion commented in his book, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers that most American adults and teenagers adhere to an eclectic, quasi-religion he called, “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” It is a religion that piggybacks upon existing Christian beliefs but ultimately changes them so that historic orthodox Christian beliefs become largely unrecognizable.

Briefly, here’s what Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD) looks like:

Moralistic refers to the concept that most Americans believe in right and wrong.  In MTD, people get to decide for themselves what those things are. For example, a person might believe that there is nothing wrong with telling “white-lies” (like “Sarah’s not home right now,” or “I can’t come to work today because I’m sick.”) So, as long as people live consistently according to their own list of rights and wrongs, they can call themselves moral people.

Therapeutic refers to the fact that most Americans believe that God exists for our happiness, satisfaction and fulfillment.  God’s job, according to MTD, is to solve people’s problems and to help them get what they want out of life. God is reduced to the proverbial “genie,” who grants wishes to people.

Deism refers to the idea that most Americans believe in God, but that He cannot really be known. In MTD, God watches people play the game of life and doesn’t get involved much, unless of course, when people need Him to fix a problem or help them get what they want.

For these reasons, kids today are less likely to have a high view of authority—whether it’s the authority of God, the Bible, church, the government, or the school.

This is consistent with the postmodern view that holds “truths” are simply the means to control or oppress others. According to this view, whether the “truths” come from the Bible or a history textbook, they are to be treated with suspicion and questioned. It’s okay for something to be true for you, but this doesn’t mean that it also has to be true for me. Any attempt to impose “truths” upon others is viewed as one of the highest forms of intolerance.

Consequently, today’s parents who desire to raise their kids against the grain of the culture face what amounts to a new challenge. Previous generations of American parents did not have to face this challenge when the culture largely embraced historic Judeo-Christian values.

Complicating matters today is the role, or lack thereof, that parents are playing when it comes to being proactive in teaching their kids values.

A study from LifeWay Research found that:

• While nine of 10 parents say they need encouragement in their parenting roles, 61% said that they completely ignore parenting seminars, and 53% “have no use for books by religious parenting experts.”

• Less than a third (31%) of families surveyed have devotions or studies together at least once a month.

• Over 80% of parents say they have an excellent family life, but a third rate their family’s spiritual life as only fair or poor.

• Spiritual growth is often trumped by other priorities when it comes to parenting.

Having been involved in presenting parenting seminars over the years, the research has been borne out by my own experience. Churches have often reported disappointment at the numbers of parents attending parenting seminars. A common reflection from pastors has been that the parents they serve say they want help and are happy that the church is offering seminars, but in the end, many choose not to attend.

It’s also been my experience that when families are well-connected in their local church and when these churches have solid children and youth ministry programs, many parents wrongly believe that the work of building strong, spiritually-minded kids is being handled by the church “professionals.” But, church ministries should never be viewed as the primary means where kids’ spirituality is nurtured and where healthy morals and values are established. Instead, church ministries should be viewed as partners to assist in this process.

It’s not that parents should bear the entire blame for passing the buck to church professionals. Many churches have contributed to the problem by positioning themselves as the primary source of Christian and moral education. Too often, churches have provided little or nothing in the way of equipping parents to become primary spiritual and moral leaders in their homes.

Still there’s good news afoot. A fresh breeze of comprehensive family ministry is blowing through the Christian community today, based upon the concept that churches must make partnering with parents a priority, providing specific and comprehensive skills which encourage, empower and equip parents to fulfill their roles as the spiritual leaders in their homes.

Despite the challenges today of raising kids to embrace a Christian worldview, there are steps that parents can take to instill healthy understandings of God, authority, and values.

Teach kids Biblical truths while they are young. In Deuteronomy 6:4-7 we read, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you lie down and when you get up.” Further, Proverbs 22:6 tells us to train children in the way they should go, and when they are older, they will not turn from it. Scripture passages such as these provide parents with clear marching orders.

The younger kids are when parents start this process, the better. When begun early in life, kids grow up understanding that learning about God and the Bible are simply part of the family’s home life. Getting started later in a child’s life, can be challenging, but it’s really never too late to start.

Make God’s Word the ultimate authority in the home. Parents can uphold the authority of the Scriptures for faith and life in their own lives and within their homes. As they consistently demonstrate that the Bible is relevant and trustworthy to provide direction in everyday situations, kids will learn to do likewise.

Demonstrate a healthy respect for authority in general. Parents should understand the power they have to influence their children’s perception of authority through their role modeling. When parents live with a general disrespect of authority, their kids are likely to follow suit. On the other hand, kids who see their parents living out a healthy sense of authority are more likely to learn to embrace the concept of authority themselves.

As kids get older, parents should practice more and preach less. As kids enter into the adolescent years, they listen to parents less but watch them more.  In these years, parents begin to trade authority for influence. Parents can strive to live lives of integrity and authenticity. Kids don’t have to see parents as perfect, but as Christ-followers who are authentic and demonstrate a life of faith, even in failure, and in times of crisis.

Introduce kids to older, wiser adults, mentors and role models. While parents hold the most influence upon their kids’ lives, other adults who interact with kids have influence as well. Parents can seek to foster healthy relationships between their kids and respected adults, who kids can look up to and pattern their lives after.

While the challenge of passing on faith and values to today’s kids in a culture can be daunting, parents should remain hopeful. Don’t allow fears of not being able to make a difference in the lives of kids turn into self-fulfilling prophecies. Be encouraged by the Biblical examples of those who overcame despite the challenges they faced (Joseph, Caleb and Joshua, David, and Daniel, to name a few.) Be proactive. Doing something is always better than doing nothing. And, keep in mind the words of the Apostle John, “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) There is hope!

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Jim Liebelt is Senior Editor of Publications for HomeWord, and the Senior Writer, Editor and Researcher at the Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University.