What is a Faithful Parent?

"Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."

– I Corinthians 4:2

When Derek and I started our journey as parents, we had no idea the adventure that we would be on! When we first got married and were talking about having kids, we wanted to be the best parents we could be.

We had our first child less than two years after we were married. And, a few years later, before we knew it, we had four kids age 5 and under.

Life was busy, chaotic and crazy! I felt like I was always reacting to what was going on in our family, rather than being proactive.

Derek and I often looked at what our friends or others around us were doing and felt that we were doing the right thing for our kids if it aligned with what they were doing or if it was what our parents had done for us.

We wanted our children to know Jesus, so we sent our kids to a Christian school and Sunday school, and we regularly attended church together as a family. We delegated our children’s Christian education to others who we felt were more qualified. Sometimes we did a family devotion together at home, but it wasn’t always very consistent.

We were coasting along, thinking we were doing what was best for our kids. However, we began to see that something was missing.

We realized that just doing what everyone else does isn't enough. We needed a plan, a real game plan for raising our kids.

We realized we weren't being intentional with our children, these precious gifts that God had entrusted to our care. Our goals weren't clear, and we weren't on the same page. Discipline was inconsistent in our household, and something had to change.

We decided we needed to be more intentional and make our own plan, a Christian parenting plan. We searched high and low for resources, but there weren't many out there. So, we made our own.

And, once we began to be more intentional, things started to change. Our family life was more fun, focused, connected, and closer to God. We felt like a real team, pointing our kids to Jesus every day.

Most importantly, we looked at what God’s Word says about parenting and created a spiritual growth plan for our family.

We started doing more Bible teaching in our home - catechism instruction, family worship, family devotions, Bible stories before bed, and Bible study during our homeschool day. We made it a priority to incorporate spiritual routines in our daily lives, throughout the day.

Now, we want to share what we've learned with other Christian parents. So, we created this ministry and named it Faithful Parent. We’re not perfect parents. In fact, there are no perfect parents on this side of heaven!

Intentional Christian parenting is a process. We want to make the effort to be faithful in our calling as parents, not delegating Christian education solely to others. Instead, we want to do everything in our power to raise children who love and serve the Lord.

If you're ready to take your parenting to the next level, to be deliberate in your choices and intentional in your actions, we're here to help encourage you.

Faithful Parents, let's embark on this journey together, raising children who shine with the light of Christ in a world that so desperately needs it.