A common question I receive from parents is, How old should my children be before I begin holding family devotions?
I’ve met eager moms and dads that are ready to launch into a complete Bible study curriculum with their son or daughter who is only sixteen months old. On the other hand, other parents who desire to pass on their faith put devotions off because they don’t know when or how to begin. Sadly, parents who put off getting started miss key formative years of discipleship. And discipleship from parents is essential since the culture around us is like a TV set that is never turned off—ready to disciple our children in step with their comprehension.
So what does the Bible say is the ideal starting point? While the Scriptures don’t give a definitive age to begin the discipleship of our children, it is clear that spiritual formation should begin while our children are still children. Consider these verses:
- Deuteronomy 6:6–7 (The word translated “children” is the Hebrew ben, which means “children, sons, young.”)
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
- Proverbs 22:6 (The word translated “child” is the Hebrew naar, which means “boy, lad, youth.”)
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
- Psalm 78:4 (“Coming generation” is a translation of the Hebrew phrase acharon dor, which means “the next or following generation.”)
“We will not hide them [the things we have been taught] from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”
- Ephesians 6:4 (The word translated “children” is a Greek word meaning “child, daughter, or son.”)
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
While these verses make it clear that parents are to pass on their faith to their children, they don’t give us a definitive age at which to start. There is, however, one interesting verse that gives us the testimony of when one family began. Here is what Paul shares about Timothy, his son in the faith:
- 2 Timothy 3:14–15 (The word translated “childhood” is the Greek brephos, which means “infant, baby, young child.”)
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Here the wording suggests that in Timothy’s home the Scriptures were read aloud from a very young age—probably by Timothy’s mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, whom Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 1:5.
Long before any formal discipleship took place in Timothy’s life, he heard the Scriptures read in his home, which provided the foundation for his later discipleship and mentoring by the apostle Paul.
Using Timothy’s story as a springboard, here is a guide for the discipleship of your children from birth through adulthood.
Infancy
Begin a practice of reading Scripture aloud in your family even before your children are old enough to understand. If you begin reading Scripture (even using a verse-of-the-day calendar), you will develop a practice that will ensure that your children are “acquainted with the sacred writings” from infancy.
Toddlerhood
Continue reading Scripture daily. Read Bible stories to your toddlers from an age-appropriate children’s Bible, such as The Beginners Gospel Story Bible. Toddlers are usually too young for discussion, but it is fine to ask a few questions. In our home the answer “Jesus” was always a correct answer, no matter the question.
Preschool
Continue reading Scripture daily. Graduate to a more advanced children’s Bible like The Jesus Storybook Bible and begin interacting more with your children. Ask simple questions that require one-word answers like, Who created all the animals and everything we see? What did Noah build? Who calmed the storm? Praise them for their correct answers.
Early Elementary
Continue reading Scripture daily, using a more advanced children’s Bible like The Gospel Story Bible. Ask the included study questions or your own questions that require deeper thinking like, How are people different from the animals God created? Why did God bring the flood? Why did the wind and the waves obey Jesus’s command? As your children learn to read, give them their own Bible and encourage them to read it each day. You might choose simple stories like the parables found in the gospel of Luke and have your early elementary children share in the daily reading from the Bible.
Upper Elementary
Continue reading Scripture daily, but connect it to a home Bible study resource like Long Story Short or Old Story New that provides commentary and discussion questions to help your growing children comprehend the gospel connections in the passages they’re reading.
Read aloud books that promote a Christian worldview, like the Chronicles of Narnia, Pilgrim’s Progress, and The Ology.
Middle School
Continue reading Scripture and using a home Bible study resource daily. Encourage your middle school students to read through the Bible along with you and start them with a plan. Try taking two years to read through the Bible, using a resource like For the Love of God.
Introduce good adult Christian books like Transforming Grace and Knowing God.
High School
Continue reading Scripture daily. Walk your children through an easy-to-use systematic theology like Bible Doctrine.
Encourage your teens’ reading discipline by giving them a book allowance to spend on both fiction and nonfiction titles. Encourage them to read books that will challenge their thinking, like Mere Christianity, The Holiness of God, and Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.
Adulthood
Continue to pass books on to your children that can help them through the various seasons of life. Share summaries of the books you are reading. If you underline key ideas and jot notes in the margins, you can pass on a book you’ve read to one of your adult children and ask them to just review your underlines. Your children are likely to be interested in what affected you as you read.
What do you do if you have older children and have missed earlier opportunities? First, recognize the condemning voice of the enemy that wants to keep you discouraged and hinder you from getting started. It’s never too late! Start by reading the Bible aloud with your family after sharing your meals together. Jump in with the age-appropriate resources above. If that seems like too much, try reading a chapter from the Gospels. If that seems long, start with the Gospel of John and use the heading breaks to mark what you read for a day. The truth is, your children are never too young to begin reading the Bible and never too old either. In the end, God will ensure that every word accomplishes what he desires (Isaiah 55:11).
The Light and the Life
The Light and the Life by bestselling author Marty Machowski follows the adventures of the animals who could have witnessed the events of Jesus’s life. Join the lamb and wolf as they head to Bethlehem, lizards living in the temple, camels traveling with the wise men, turtles in the Sea of Galilee, hyrax at the Mount of Transfiguration, squirrels at Lazarus’s tomb, and the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
