.
Passing
On Your Faith to Your
Children's Children
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by Pili Galván Abouchaar
“Take heed and
be diligent not to forget the
things which your own eyes have
seen. As long as you live, do not
let them pass from your memory but
teach them to your children and to
your grandchildren” (Deuteronomy
4:9).
Faith - Part 1:
Experience of God
Grandparents
have a responsibility to teach their
faith, not only to their children, but
to their children’s children. However,
what exactly is this faith which
grandparents are commissioned to pass
on?
Faith is comprised of three
distinguishable elements: the experience
of God, the content of belief, and the
way of life we lead. To fully
demonstrate our faith, we must engage
our grandchildren on all three. This
article looks at the first of those
topics: the experience of God.
You declare your faith by bringing your
grandchildren into your own experience
of God. Sharing your personal story of
conversion, explaining your church
service, giving thanks before meals, and
praying with your grandchildren are all
excellent ways to begin this process.
Ultimately, you want to help them
understand what is behind the awe and
wonder they already perceive in this
world.
Almost all human beings can describe an
experience of wonder and awe from their
childhood, whether it was the first time
they swam in an ocean, climbed a
mountain, or gazed on the beauty of a
waterfall. Awe is the doorway to faith.
Scripture says, “The beginning of wisdom
(understanding the most important
things) is the fear of the Lord.” In
other words: awe of the Lord. God makes
himself known as the almighty,
invisible, wonderful, and good God he is
to all children through the wonders of
His creation before they can ever
describe or define what they
experience.
One of the most enjoyable things you can
do is help your grandchildren see what
is behind their sense of wonder. It is
something, someone, truly wonderful.
When you help a child “connect the dots”
between his sense of awe and the being
who causes it, you enable them to put it
all together and realize: “this is
because of that!” It is an “Aha!” moment
for them. They learn the truth that “the
heavens declare the glory of God.”
You give them the words to make sense of
what they experienced: “You were made to
know the One Who Is Wonderful.”
For discussion: What has been the
deepest experience of God you’ve had in
your life?
For action:
Young grandchildren: Plan an
activity with one of your grandchildren
in which they will experience God’s love
through nature. Plan on talking to them
about who created all these.
Older grandchildren: Write down
your conversion story and plan on when
and how to share it with one of your
grandchildren.
Faith
- Part 2:
The
Content of Belief
You, as grandparents, pass on what you
believe. What you believe has been
handed on to you from those who taught
you.
What they taught you about faith is
often called the “doctrine” of the
church. It is the content of your
belief. What you might not know is that
“doctrine” was what a “doctor” taught.
Originally, a doctor was simply someone
who knew how to think and teach well.
His role was to care for the mind and
the soul more than the body.
Church doctrine was considered the
medicine of the mind and soul because
right thinking made right living
possible. That meant passing on right
thinking was important! The core
doctrine of Christianity was summarized
in the Apostles’ Creed and most Western
Christians knew it “by heart”; in Latin:
Credo…“I believe…”
The Creed was used both liturgically and
for teaching the faith to newcomers.
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The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his
only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius
Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was
buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand
of the Father.
He will come again to judge the
living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of the saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
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It was only a beginning. Catechesis was
the next step. (Katechesis means
“oral teaching” in Greek). Today, the
oral teaching is written down in the
form of a “catechism”. It is a way of
organizing what the church believes
systematically.
Most churches have some form of
catechism. It is likely that you were
taught from one at some point. However,
it is also likely that you haven’t ever
had your hands on an adult catechism!
You may remember some of the content of
your religion or Sunday school classes,
but you have probably forgotten a lot of
it. Most Christians could certainly
benefit by finding a catechism of their
faith and reading it as a simple
refresher.
Let’s finish by stating the obvious:
much of the content of your faith is
based on the Bible. Reading the source
material is always a good thing to do!
Your grandchildren will benefit from you
knowing your doctrine, your catechism,
and thus the content of your faith. When
you speak of your faith they might just
realize that you have a consistent way
of viewing the world that makes sense.
For discussion:
How did you receive the content of your
faith originally? From your parents,
religion teachers, Sunday school, church
services? Bible reading?
For action:
What can you use most effectively in
passing on your faith to your
grandchildren?
How can you do it?
Copyright ©
2020 Grandly: The Strategic
Grandparents Club
Pili Galván-Abouchaar is the
Program Director of Grandly: The
Strategic Grandparents Club. Pili is
from Xalapa, Mexico, has a degree in
Industrial Engineering, and began her
professional career as a quality control
coordinator. She has done missionary work
in seven countries across three
continents. She became the first program
director for Grandly-The Strategic
Grandparents Club in February, 2016.
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About Grandly: The Strategic
Grandparents Club
Grandly: The Strategic
Grandparents Club is
a program of the Sword of the
Spirit. This program was founded
in 2016 by Mike Shaughnessy as a
resource to equip grandparents
to share their faith with their
grandchildren. Grandly teaches
grandparents to “Think, Pray,
and Act Strategically” in the
lives of their grandkids. It
recognizes that grandparents
occupy a special role in the
lives of their grandchildren,
and if properly trained, can
make an outsized impact on their
spiritual lives.
As a youth minister, Mike knew
the difference grandparents
could make in the lives of their
grandchildren. He wondered if it
could happen more often. It
wasn’t that they lacked the
faith. What they lacked was a
strategy. If grandparents
learned how to think, pray, and
act strategically, the way youth
workers did, something marvelous
would happen. It has. Strategic
grandparents have become
missionaries to their own
grandchildren.
We equip grandparents to be
“youth workers” to their own
grandchildren. When we ask
grandparents, “What is your
biggest concern?” Most answer
“our grandchildren,” not their
retirement or the next vacation.
Many see that their
grandchildren are not getting
the spiritual and moral
formation they need, and feel
equally unable to address that
need. We currently equip
grandparents to be youth workers
through two venues: our website
(grandly.org) and our “Do It
Grandly” Seminars.
Our website reaches a network of
grandparents who are interested
in learning how to think, pray,
and act strategically. We
publish bi-weekly online
articles that provide
encouragement, motivation, and
practical tools on how to pass
on their faith to grandchildren.
Through our “Do It Grandly”
seminars, we help grandparents
to grow in their relational
skills while providing insight
into contemporary youth culture,
giving them valuable tools for
building impactful,
Christ-centered relationships
with their grandchildren. These
seminars provide a way for Sword
of the Spirit grandparents to
re-enter internal (their own
grandchildren) and external
(their own peers) mission. By
now we have hosted 7 seminars: 3
in Michigan (Lansing, Ann Arbor,
Jackson) and then Minnesota,
Maryland and Ireland.
For access to inspirational articles, sign up for a free membership at www.grandly.org.
Interested
in hosting a seminar
in your local community or
learning more? Please
email Pili Galvan
Abouchaar at grandlydirector@gmail.com.
Grandly
is recruiting 10,000 youth
workers, all of whom are
over the age of 55!
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top photo credit:
bigstock.com Photo ID: 92579417
Copyright: monkeybusinessimages
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