What are you passing down to the next generation

Take the following inventory to see what your spiritual background was like. Then ask yourself, “What am I passing on to the next generation?” Are you giving them the whole counsel of God or just the “fun” stuff? Take this “Spiritual Inventory” from Focus on the Family to see how you were taught as a child.

1. To what degree were spiritual principles incorporated into daily family life?
1. Never 2. Rarely 3. Sometimes 4. Frequently 5. Almost always 6. Consistently
2. Which word captures the tone of how you learned to view/relate to God?
1. Absent 2. Adversarial 3. Fearful 4. Casual 5. Solemn 6. Intimate
3. How would you summarize your family’s level of participation in spiritual activities?
1. Nonexistent 2. Rare 3. Occasional 4. Regimental 5. Active 6. Enthusiastic
4. How were spiritual discussions applied in your home?
1. They weren’t 2. To control 3. To manipulate 4. To teach 5. To influence 6. To reinforce
5. What was the perspective in your home regarding moral absolutes?
1. If it feels good, do it! 2. There are no absolutes. 3. Let your heart guide you. 4. Dogmatic legalism
5. Moderate conservatism 6. Clear boundaries
Results:
Above 24 = Strong spiritual legacy; 19 – 24 = Healthy legacy; 14 – 18 = Mixed legacy — good and bad elements; 10 – 13 = Weak spiritual legacy; Below 10 = Damaged spiritual legacy

If your children or students were given this evaluation, what would be the spiritual temperature of your home or

ministry? Let’s look at some practical ways to make your home or youth room a place where godly disciplines, godly ways and doctrine could be taught.

Deuteronomy 6:6-8 (NKJV), “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them

diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”

Studies show that once our students graduate from high school only 2 out of 10 will continue to attend church. How can we change this trend? How can we leave our students and children with a strong, healthy spiritual legacy?

Here are two practical truths to put into practice.

► If you are a parent, remember and live out Deuteronomy 6:6-8. Use every opportunity to teach your children about God, His Word, and how it applies to us. To teach others we must be students ourselves. Be in the Word. Why not

use the Word of Life Quiet Time? Discuss with your kids what you got out of today’s Quiet Time. Ask them what the day’s scripture means to them. Guide them!

► If you are a leader, use this opportunity to share the truth of Deuteronomy with other parents. Encourage them to be in the Word, make a Quiet Time Diary available to them, and pray for them. Have a parent meeting within the first

month of your ministry. Lovingly, and with excitement, share what your plans are for the year and the expectations you have for their children and / or students. Take a few minutes to share with parents the importance of knowing and teaching the whole counsel of God.

May Deuteronomy 6:6-8 be a reminder to us as parents and as leaders that we have been given the responsibility to train up and teach our children the ways of the Lord. We must continue to grow ourselves by being in the Word daily.

Then share what we have learned and pass these truths to others—the next generation.

[Earlene Livingston and her husband, David, are Word of Life missionaries in Atlanta, GA. They make their home in Woodstock, GA. You may reach Earlene with questions and com]

Helping Early Learners Memorize Scripture

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11 The words of God have the power to keep us from sin when they are hidden in our hearts. But how do we help our Gopher Buddies accomplish this? Working with children between the ages of four and six brings unique challenges. First, most will not be reading yet. That makes it harder for them to study their verses on their own. This puts more burden on you as a leader, and on their parents or older siblings. In this age when parents are showing less and less of an interest in the spiritual growth of their children, the burden will fall more and more upon you. Secondly, and related to their inability to read, you will have to use creative teaching techniques to help them memorize Scripture. Here are some practical techniques:

• Use Visuals: Make a poster for each verse. Find pictures that can represent each word in the verse. Glue them to the poster in the correct order. This can also be done on your computer using clip art and/or graphics found on the Internet. The graphics will help them to associate the words of the verses with the pictures that they see. Be sure to clearly describe and define difficult words so the children understand the words they are memorizing.

• Use Movement: This idea works well for Gopher Buddies. They already like to move and their movements can help them to memorize. I suggest that you develop movements for the different key words in the verse. Don’t worry about words like: of, for, the, that, etc.

• Use Repetition: Repetition is crucial. The more they hear the verse, the easier it will be for them to memorize it.

• Use Games: There are 36 creative game ideas found in the Gopher Buddies Lesson book each year. Children love games, and tying together scripture memory and games will help keep their interest up.

• Use Creativity and Efficiency: What can you do if you don’t have any parental involvement? First, be sure to use your time well for scripture memory before, during, and after the club meeting. Secondly, if you have permission from the parents, you can call the child and work on a verse over the phone. Scripture is what should always be on our minds and hearts (Joshua 1:8). We have a great responsibility to help our Gopher Buddies not let the “book of the law…depart out of thy mouth.”

[Jordan Wertz is the eastern Michigan Word of Life missionary specializing in children’s ministry. Jordan and wife, Bonnie, make their home in Corunna, MI. You may reach Jordan with questions or comments about his article at jordanwertz@ wol.org.]

Christian Service Ideas For Children

Christian service is such an important part of a child’s spiritual growth. Too many of the children in our world today are growing up with a “me” focus. As we promote Christian service within Olympians and Gopher Buddies ministries, we are trying to teach the children to have an “other’s focus.”The Olympian Christian Service Manual and the ideas given to Gopher Buddies for Christian Service are a great place to help the children focus on the needs of others. As you enter the spring season, here are some examples of ways the children can serve:

Tree Planting – Find out when your state celebrates Arbor Day and then plan to participate for a Group Christian Service. Check with your parks department and schedule a time to plant trees with the children at one of the local parks. As you and the children come in contact with others at the park, invite them to attend your church.

Pack It Up – Visit www.childrentochildren.org and then contact the social service agency in your community to see if you can work out details for your Olympians and Gopher Buddies to participate in a project similar to the “children‐to‐children”project. Ask if you can place a Bible in the duffel bags as well as a stuffed animal.

Food Drive – Have the children bring in canned or boxed foods for a homeless shelter, rescue mission, or Baptist Children’s Home. After the food has been collected, get the children involved in helping to pack up the boxes for delivery to the organization.

Fun Flowers – There are so many ways to create beautiful faux flowers from tissue paper and chenille stems. Have the children each make a flower and create a cheery card to attach to it. Plan a field trip to a local nursing home and allow the children to help distribute the flowers.

Flower Garden – Collect money from the children for a few weeks and then go and buy flowering plants for a senior citizen or for a nursing home. Take some of the children with you so they can participate in picking out the flowers. If possible, allow some of the children to participate in helping to plant the flowers.

Give a smile! – Cut round circles from construction paper and have the children creatively make smiley face cards to distribute to children who are in the hospital. Purchase some little stuffed animals that can be given along with the cards.

Spring Cleaning – Check with your Pastor and see if there are some senior citizens who could use some extra help with cleaning and yard work. Make sure you recruit additional adults to help, assign the tasks, and then “divide and conquer.”This is a great way to be a testimony in your community!

Parents: Preparing for a New School Year

For many parents and kids, the summer is winding down and preparations for school are being made. Are you and your kids moaning over the fact that the summer is drawing near the end and school will be starting soon? Perhaps last year was a trying or difficult year for your child. As parents, how can we help our children do their best? Here are a few suggestions to help your child have a good start to the new school year.

Preparation
Begin to get your child back in a routine at least one weekbefore school begins. Start going to bed earlier, begin waking up earlier, eat balanced meals, exercise, etc. Exercise? Kids and adults tend to be healthier and think more clearly when they include some form of physical activity in their schedule. Pick out clothes the night before school and prepare lunches. The day gets off to a better start when things go smoothly and

we aren’t running behind.

Promote excellence

Discuss meeting his new teacher and meeting a few of his classmates. Talk with your child about this school year with anticipation. It is a clean slate. Lovingly encourage your child to begin by doing his best in all areas by showing kindness to others, by obeying the rules,

etc. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not unto men.” Colossians 3:23 Party Throw a back-to-school celebration. Stop by a local fast food place or eat at one of your family’s favorite restaurants. Plan this time together after meeting the teacher at Open House or Orientation. Build enthusiasm as you talk about the potential in your child

and the upcoming year.

Pray
Pray about the school year with your child. Pray for the teacher and the other students. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James

5:16b Peace Slow down. Limit your child to one or two extracurricular activities during the school year. Plan time for your kids to unwind after school. Play restores the body and helps us think more clearly. Turn the television, computer and music off. “Be still, and I know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 As parents, let’s be intentional about preparing our kids spiritually, emotionally and physically for the new school year.

Regardless of your child’s previous school experiences, with your
help and excitement, you can help promote a new start and a new beginning of

something good and helpful to your child. The opportunities are endless.

By Earlene Livingston, the wife and ministry partner of the Word of Life missionary serving North GA, David Livingston. They make their home in Woodstock, GA.