Natasha Crain - Talking with Your Kids about Jesus Participants Guide: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have

When I speak at conferences and churches, I often begin by asking the audience two questions. First, I ask, How many of you are here today already knowing that the world is becoming an increasingly secular place, and that it will likely challenge your kids faith in some way? Without fail, all hands go up. Second, I ask, How many of you would then go to the next step of saying that you feel confident you know specifically what todays key faith challenges are, how to talk with your kids effectively about them, and what that means for you as a Christian parent on a day-to-day basis?

Once in a while, a couple of isolated hands go up. But more often than not, the room goes silent without a single hand in the air.

I find this gap between knowing the world will challenge our kids faith in Jesus and knowing what to do about it to be almost universal for Christian parents today. But it doesnt have to be that way.

My passion as a writer and speaker is to provide parents with resources that will give them the confidence they need to have the conversations that matter most. We dont need to be overwhelmed by the world; we just need to prioritize getting equipped to disciple our kids in an impactful way, given what theyll encounter.

In my book Talking with Your Kids about Jesus , I cover thirty of the most important conversations Christian parents should have with their kids today, given the challenges of a secular world. This curriculum is not designed to teach through all the subjects in the book. Rather, its designed to walk you through an essential topic selected from each of the books five parts: The Identity of Jesus, The Teachings of Jesus, The Death of Jesus, The Resurrection of Jesus, and The Difference Jesus Makes. Session 1 kicks off these discussions with a conversation about overarching strategies for having meaningful faith conversations in your home.

My prayer is that this curriculum will ignite your passion for raising kids who are deeply grounded in Gods Word and who will be prepared to stand strong as salt and light in a world thats increasingly hostile to truth (Matt. 5:1316).

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

1. Research consistently shows that at least 60 percent of kids who grow up in a Christian home walk away from Christianity by their early twenties, largely in response to intellectual challenges to their faith. What are some of the greatest faith challenges you believe kids are facing today, based on your experience?
2. What do you think is the right relationship between parents and the church in equipping the next generation to encounter faith challenges? What role do you see as unique to each, and where do those roles overlap?
3. What are some opportunities you see in your current family rhythms for doing low-grade tidying with faith conversations? Consider times when your kids are least distracted and most willing to engage (those times are different for every family!). It may be helpful to think back to meaningful conversations youve had in the past and what opportunities led to having those conversations.
4. There are many kinds of barriers we might encounter when trying to initiate faith conversations in the homeour kids perceived interest levels, busy family schedules, and our own feelings of inadequacy are just a few. What barriers have you personally encountered when trying to talk with your kids about Jesus? What are some ways youve been able to work through those barriers, if any?
5. In this session, we talked about the need to both use moments and create moments. When we use moments, we take advantage of times when opportunities naturally arise to bring up a related faith subject. What are some examples of times when youve used an everyday moment as an opportunity to talk about Jesus with your kids?
6. Looking back, what are some examples of times that you could have used as teachable moments but missed?
7. This session ended with the statement, Homes where deep and meaningful faith conversations happen regularly arent the product of lucky parents. Theyre the product of intentional parents who believe nothing is more important than raising kids to know and love Jesus. Do you feel your parenting currently reflects the priority of raising kids to know and love Jesus? Why or why not? If not, what changes do you need to make in order for that to be the case?