You've heard of the proverb: "If you aim at nothing you will surely hit it." The same can be said in the most important task we have as parents - the spiritual training of our children. If this is so important then why is it that most of us don't sit down with our spouse (or if we are single parents, we could sit with our church leaders, grandparents) and think through what we want our chidren to know, do and become.
By the age of 18 most of our children will move away. I look at that day (in five years for us) and hope that we have trained them to love God and love others. And it's not just traininng but living an authentic life in devotion to Christ, serving Him, praising Him in all things and pouring out His love to those around us. In the midst of our crazy busy lives as parents we can model and train our children to love God and love others. It's not a program! It's a way of life.
So what's our goal? It's the complete life transformation of the lives of our children in five areas: Christ, Community, Character, Calling, and Competencies. Children can know and love God. By faith they can become united with Him. They can know Christ in a supportive and accountable community (church school teachers, mentors, coaches, youth leaders, grandparents, prayer intercessors). It is within the context of Christ and Community they they learn inegrity (Character) and can begin to discover the purposes of God's will for their lives (Calling). As children grow in character and calling the can learn new skills like leading worship, visiting elderly people, cooking meals for sick friends, biblical knowledge, fixing machines, horticulture, social justice. All of these life skills prepare them for their calling. They can learn what they excel in and what where they are weak. This is the goal in transforming the lives of our children - Christ, Community, Character, Calling and Competencies! (Malcolm Webber, "The ConneXions Model", LeaderSource SGA)
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