How to Disciple Your Kids Through Every Stage of Parenting

Rich Griffith is a single Dad of three teenage sons, all of whom he adopted. He soon realized that despite ministering to teenagers for many years, he didn’t know how to disciple his children as a parent.

Neither do a lot of parents. Many leave discipleship of their children to the church. But it’s best for parents to be intentional about discipling their children at home. Young children learn by watching and copying their parents. Modeling your faith at home is important because discipleship happens daily as you go through life together as a family.

Rich is joining me on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly to share how you can disciple your children at a level appropriate to their developmental stage. He describes three steps to forming integrated faith:

1. Young people must be allowed to wrestle with difficult questions.

2. Young people must be free to explore faith according to their stage of development.

3. Young people must learn how to apply their faith to real life needs.

He also shares key ways to intentionally pass on your faith to your children, including:

• Ten characteristics of servant leaders.

• Discipling toddlers.

• Discipling children through transactional leadership.

• Shaping discipleship as your child matriculates through the grade school years.

• Discipling teenagers.

• How to avoid becoming a “bulldozer parent.”

Hear our full conversation on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, or on our free phone app. Rich Griffith is the associate professor of Youth and Multi-generational Ministry at Toccoa Falls College. His book, Discipleship is Leadership: Stages of Generational Development, is available through our ministry. If you become a special partner with us through our monthly “Friends of Focus on the Family” program, I’ll send you a copy as a way of saying thank you for touching others with the love of Christ. You’ll also receive member-exclusive benefits. To make your pledge, or for more information, click here or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).