Last Tuesday evening, a number of us ‘bluffing our way through parenthood’ braved the cold and made our way to church to listen to “Faith in Kids” founder Ed Drew impart some of his wisdom on ‘Raising Confident Kids in a Confusing World’.
“Faith in Kids” is an organisation whose sole aim is to help equip and support parents (and church leaders) in raising children with a Christian faith. His opening gambit, which involved sharing research showing that the highest percentage of people come to faith before age five, was (at least to me) both encouraging and frightening in equal measures. Whilst that might seem like a lot of pressure, it does highlight just how important we are as role models and how crucial it is that we have conversations about God at home, and church is not just something we ‘do’ on a Sunday.
Rather than being preachy, Ed’s style mixes relatable, humorous anecdotes from his own parenting journey, alongside biblical illustrations, to show that our identity is firmly rooted in the fact that we are children of God. Whilst it felt as though we barely covered the tip of the iceberg, I think the standout message for me was that our children need to know that to be a Christian is not to know everything. It’s ok to admit that we can’t always fix a situation, but the important thing is that we can always pray. ‘98% of parenting might just be shouting “Where are your pants?!” but the other 2% is a hug and a prayer in their ear’.