Six Essential Keys to Help Children Grow in Their Faith After Accepting Jesus
A child has just accepted Jesus as their Savior — this is fantastic news! But what now? Do you just send them on their way with thankful satisfaction knowing that they are “saved and safe?”? No! This child has taken the first step in beginning a relationship with God, and this relationship should continue to grow along with the child for the rest of their life. You should help foster this connection by understanding and teaching these six keys to spiritual growth for kids.
Six things a child can do to grow spiritually:
- Pray.
- Read and obey the Bible.
- Give as God leads.
- Go to church.
- Have friends who are also believers.
- Tell others about Jesus.
1. Pray
The first key to spiritual growth for kids is to pray. Don’t assume children know how to pray, but rather explain what prayer is and how they can pray well. Prayer can be explained to the child as simply talking to God, no matter where they are or what they’re doing. There are several things they can talk to God about. For instance, they can praise God for who He is, and thank Him for what He does, the things that happen in their life, and for saving them through Jesus, or they can confess their sins. No matter what they pray, developing a daily habit of talking to God is an essential key to spiritual growth for kids.
2. Read your Bible
Just like they can talk to God through prayer, let children know God can talk to them through His Word, the Bible. As the second key to spiritual growth for kids, it’s important that you encourage kids to set aside time to read God’s Word every day. You may wish to provide them with a devotional book such as “The Wonder Devotional” book for older children or an “Every Day with God” devotional book for younger children. You may also need to provide Bibles if they don’t already have one. Help them set a realistic goal on how much to read each day, such as reading the same number of verses as they are years old (i.e., an eight-year-old could carefully read eight verses a day). The book of Mark is a great place to suggest they start reading, as it’s full of action and key verses for spiritual growth in kids. Be sure to mention that they can look for things God asks them to do, or even work on memorizing different verses throughout the Bible as they read scripture as well.
3. Give as God leads
Giving is another essential aspect of spiritual growth for kids, helping them draw closer to God as they follow His guidance. While this may include tithing, there are many different ways kids can practice serving and listening to God by giving to others around them. Some of these ways might include helping their parents without being asked, helping a sibling with chores or helping friends and younger siblings with homework. For older children, you might suggest they ask if they can volunteer at their church by working with the younger kids, helping with set-up or clean-up or handing out bulletins. Whether it’s by giving money or by giving time, God loves it when we give to Him and serve His Kingdom. He doesn’t need our money or time, but it is a wonderful gift to do good in His name because we love Him — making it essential for spiritual growth for kids.
4. Go to church
The Bible says that believers should meet together to encourage each other (Hebrews 10:25). Church is a wonderful place where this happens. As the fourth key to spiritual growth for kids, encourage children to regularly attend a church that teaches from the Bible. If a child cannot go to a church, ask their parent or guardian if you may invite the child to ride to church with you, or ask if they can go to a weekday, after-school Bible program for kids, like Good News Club®.
5. Make friends with other believers
If kids are able to attend a church, Bible program, or Good News Club®, it will be much easier for them to find friends who are also believers. If a child has friends who are also seeking to live for God, it will help them to grow and learn how to serve Him throughout their daily lives, making this another essential key to spiritual growth for kids. Through fellowship with each other, a group of children can encourage and be encouraged by each other as they get to know God better.
To explain this to kids, use the illustration described in Ecclesiastes 4:12, which says that a cord of three strands is not easily broken. Just like how one string by itself is weak, but twist three together and they are three times stronger together for it, similar to when you have three Christian friends who support each other.
6. Tell others about Jesus
As a final key to spiritual growth for kids, encourage children to tell others about Jesus and what He has done for them and the world. The Bible tells believers to go and share the Gospel (Mark 16:15), and children who believe in Christ have this responsibility and honor as well. To encourage spiritual growth for kids, you may give the children a tract, such as the “God Loves You!” or the “How to Have a Very Special Friend!” tracts that they can use to share with someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus. Encourage the child to tell their friends and family about Jesus, and how they can believe in Him and have their sins forgiven.
These are just a few of the things a saved child can do to grow spiritually. Instead of just leaving a newly saved child to try and figure out how to get to know God better on their own, take the time to teach them specific ways they can get to know God better, and help them learn these keys to spiritual growth. By accepting Christ as their Savior, a child is saved for eternity. However, it is by growing in their personal relationship with God that a child’s life will be changed for the better.
Spiritual growth is essential for every believer, regardless of how old they are. Teach these keys to spiritual growth in a way that kids will remember for a lifetime. You may find it helpful to cover them one at a time during family devotions or prayer time.
