An Open Letter to Parents on Family Devotions:

Dear Parents,

I have noticed a problem among our teens and I need your help. I have noticed a lack of basic Bible knowledge among our teenagers. Now, before you become upset and claim that these are teenagers who have never been to church, you must know that I am concerned about the teens who have grown up in our church. They have been through the children’s ministry, sat under hours of preaching from the pulpit and they are still suffering from a lack of basic Bible knowledge.

As the Minister of Students I take responsibility for this failure and I will be working very hard to correct this. We will begin teaching basic Bible knowledge in the children’s, youth and college department. Our children’s director has already started teaching Bible stories and teaching an overview of the Bible in a age appropriate way. CREW is working through a study examining basic Christian Doctrine and the college department is utilizing “The Gospel Project” curriculum put out by Lifeway to help to teach Jesus from every page of Scripture.

We are doing our part to teach our students the Bible; but, our part is not enough to teach the Bible. As a youth pastor, I only see teenagers to teach them the Bible, two hours out of the week. I am asking you as a parent to begin teaching the Bible in your home. Please take five-ten minutes every morning, afternoon or night to teach the Bible to your children and teenagers.

In Deuteronomy 11:19-21 Moses encourages the Israelites to teach the Torah (First 5 books of the OT) to their children to ensure that they are following God’s word and receiving God’s blessing. For the children and all subsequent generations, God’s great acts had not been seen “with their own eyes,” as had been the case with that first generation; therefore, the parents were to teach their children. As parents one of our main responsibilities is to teach our children and teenagers the Bible.

Below is a video by Pastor John Piper talking about how he did family devotions when his children were young…

Video Link if on phone: How to do Family Devotions:

Another video encouraging dad's to step up and lead in family devotions:

Video Link if on phone: Encouragement for Men

In conclusion, the couple of hours teenagers spend in church and youth group is not enough to teach them the Bible. Bible teaching needs to be coming from mom and dad. Every family should have family devotions but every families devotion time will look different. Please take time today to talk with your spouse and your teenagers about how to best implement family devotions. If you would like to start doing family devotions but don't know how to start please email or call and I would love to provide direction.

Reaching, Teaching and Releasing,

Pastor T