Church Matters.
More than you know.
I firmly believe that weekly church attendance is one of the best staples in a Christian family’s ongoing schedule.
Why? Growing together spiritually in a church community of other believers is a key way to grow kids of life-long faith and godliness.
But let’s be honest, church isn’t always convenient. It’s sometimes an inconvenient investment.
It’s an investment of family time, weekend resources, and priority that could be given to other things. But it’s SO worth it.
So if we’re prioritizing church as an investment, here are a few reminders for how to get the best return on your weekly investment. (Because investments were made to get returns, right? 🙂 )
Here are three weekly habits I’d encourage you and your kids to TAKE advantage of every week as you attend church.
TAKE your Bibles with you.
Whether physical or digital, take your copy of God’s Word with you to church.
I strongly encourage kids especially to have a physical Bible that they can learn to navigate and participate with in church.
A physical Bible also has a lot fewer notifications, distractions, or temptations (it’s statistically proven ;).
TAKE notes.
No matter your age, note-taking is a key way to remember more of what you hear.
Statistically, we generally remember only 10% of what we hear. However, repetition reinforces learning.
Some studies even show an increase in retention by as much as 70% when you review your handwritten notes within 24 hours.
In other words, taking notes will not only give you a record of, but an increase on, your investment.
TAKE time to discuss the day’s truth as a family.
Whether you discuss this on the drive home, or at the Sunday dinner table, prioritize spiritual conversation with your family each week following church.
Or consider using church-provided resources like our home church does with sermon-based questions and family drive-it-home questions.
Letting everyone share their key takeaways and how to practically implement them that week can be powerfully reinforcing.
If you’re already making a time investment of a couple of hours each week, why wouldn’t you want to maximize the spiritual investment as much as possible too?
If we wouldn’t waste investments in other areas of life, let’s not be guilty of doing it with church by treating weekly attendance like a chore to check off so we can really enjoy the weekend.
Christ gave himself for the church (Eph. 5:25). Give church the priority it deserves. Because parents who treat the church as occasional risk raising kids who see the church as optional.
This week, don’t just go to church, take church seriously… and chances are that when you do, your kids will too!
“The sign of great parenting is not the child’s behavior. The sign of great parenting is the parent’s behavior.”
