There are SO many important things pulling at our limited time availability. When your week (and, let’s be honest – your weekends as well) are packed solid with activities, it’s easy to drop church attendance. After all, it’s just 1-2 hours, right? And let’s be real – when you already send your kids to a Christian school, it’s even easier to feel like church and Sunday School don’t need to be a priority. Today we are going to look at why bringing your family to church and Sunday School need to be a family focus, even if your child already attends a Christian school.
Not Letting “Things” Come Before God
As Christians, our relationship with Jesus Christ needs to come before everything. It’s easy to forget that when we slip into patterns of skipping church, or skipping devotion and prayer time, we are putting other things before our relationship with God. It’s accidental, most of the time, but if we truly call ourselves Christ-followers, we need to put our time with Him first. We are also teaching children that it’s ok to put God after that tournament, or that trip, when we show them those actions in our daily life. It’s hard to stand up and do what is right, but we’re called to do so.
Teaching Faithfulness
We want our children to be faithful in their relationship with Christ. Putting that check in the offering plate is never easy, but we do it out of faithfulness. Getting up earlier to read the Bible is probably not our first choice in the morning, but we do it out of faithfulness. Prioritizing church and Sunday School shows your children that our faith walk comes with sacrifice – but we do it because we love Him. Teaching children that we always go to church and Sunday School helps them build habits of faithfulness that will serve them for life!
A Christian Education – from More than just Parents and Teachers
Even if you send your child to a Christian school, you will NEVER go wrong pouring the Word of God into your child’s heart as often as possible. Your children may already hear God’s Word daily in their classroom, but they can only benefit from hearing God’s Word in multiple places, from multiple people. Sunday School and church help your child (and yourself!) hear God’s Word from individuals with different perspectives or different ways of explaining concepts.
Sunday School is a More Personal Experience
It may seem silly to prioritize Sunday School for your children, especially if your children already go to a Christian school, but Sunday School provides Biblical truths in a more personal setting for your children. It helps them see others in different walks of life going through the same struggles, and helps them understand what life is like outside of their school bubble. Small gatherings in Sunday School help us feel safe to dig deep into God’s Word and ask questions in a safe environment.
Building Relationships
It’s so important to build relationships within your church family, and Sunday School is an amazing way to do that. Your children may have a strong network of friends within their school, but it’s so helpful and important to know your fellow church-goers. Again, this helps children (and adults!) see life outside of their school/work bubble, and helps them build relationships and connections. Being in a Christian school is a huge blessing – but don’t underestimate the huge value that is found in your church relationships!
Our prayer is that your family will do whatever it takes to make God a priority in your home and family. If you are looking for a church family, join Redeemer! Redeemer has a campus in Nixa and Springfield. Both campuses offer services at 8:00 and 10:45 a.m. They both offer children, youth, and adult Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. Join us and be blessed!