Before He left this earth behind, Jesus met with His disciples and gave them the Great Commission–an admonition to share the faith with any and everyone. While each of us is grateful for the disciples’ faithfulness and obedience, we often find sharing our faith a daunting task. So, let’s talk about it.
What Does Sharing Your Faith Mean?
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In a nutshell, sharing your faith means telling people what you believe. It can be as simple as telling someone that Jesus loves them. Or as complicated as preaching a sermon or going on a mission trip. When many of us think about sharing our faith, we tend to think that we have to go to a faraway foreign land to accomplish it.
While getting the gospel into every corner of the earth is part of our commission, let’s focus on the mission field closer at hand: our families.
Why is it Important to Share Our Faith With Our Family?
For those persons who grew up in a household of faith, this may seem like an easy question. We share the gospel with our families because we want to share Jesus with the next generation. We want to create a culture of worship and praise that extends far into the future.
But if that was not your experience, it may be a little harder to come up with a reason to share your faith, so let’s talk about it. Can you imagine what would happen if each of us was able to successfully pass on our faith to our children? It would cause a ripple effect.
I believe one reason for some of the issues we’re seeing in society is that we have not successfully discipled the next generation. If we could make it our duty to spread the Word of God, we could change the world.
How to Share the Faith with Your Family
Here are some ways we could share the faith with our families. The first thing required is a mindset shift.
When we hear the phrase “share the gospel”, we tend to think of formal instruction. The kind where someone needs to have pen and paper or maybe a board and something to write with. But we’re always teaching somebody something. Especially the people we share a space with, our families.
One of the most important things we can teach our families is how to walk with God. Yet, it’s one of the areas most of us shy away from because we think it’s too hard.
Here are four key things we can do to teach our families how to walk with God.
1. Encourage them to form good habits.
We may not realize it but, our faith, and whether we practice it or not, becomes a habit. As Christians, there are some things we can do to increase our faith.
• Pray
• Read and study the Bible–yes, these are separate things. (Check out this short video for four quick Bible study tips).
• Fast
• Serve others
• Listen to biblical content such as sermons and scripture-based songs
• Meet with other believers
• Practice gratitude
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV
2. Identify and break poor habits.
Forming good habits is one thing, but you also have to identify those habits that have the potential to draw you away from God. You may need to change the types of movies you watch, the music you listen to, or the books you read. You may even have to disassociate yourself from certain people.
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:17-24 ESV)
3. Make walking with God enticing and relatable.
Many people have the impression that religion is boring and by extension so is walking with God. This is because sometimes as Christians, we remove the fun from serving God. If you look at nature, you’ll realize that God is not boring. Did you know that every leaf has a different design? Even if they’re on the same plant? This creativity is also true of our fingerprints, tongue prints, eye scans, and skin impressions. Why then do we think God is boring? If God is not boring, then we don’t have to be. We can find creative ways to worship God.
As a caveat, creative does not mean secular or unholy. However, we can use things like games, books, art, or other creative pursuits to make walking with God interesting. Here are some ideas:
• Listen to the Bible in a dramatized version. Read different translations.
• Choose a verse and create an artistic design. Write a poem, a story, or a song that gives glory to God.
• Watch Bible-based cartoons with younger children (Gracelink, VeggieTales, or Superbook are great options).
• Watch Christian movies with older children so they can see other people living out their faith.
Use the stories and events as teachable moments that tie back to the Bible and our Heavenly Father.
“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.
Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-8 NLT)
4. Model the behavior you want to see.
You’re not a perfect Christian. None of us are, but we can continue to pursue our Savior with enthusiasm and integrity. Let our family members see us reading and studying the Bible.
Let them see us praying. Pray with them and for them. Serve others. Attend church. You will not meet the mark you set for yourself every time. Let your family see that and let them see that you keep trying.
The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked (Proverbs 24:16 NLT).
Teaching our families how to walk with God is not only a worthy endeavor, it is something we’re called to do. This idea of passing on our faith to the next generation is one I thought about a lot as I read Believe For It by CeCe Winans. Her passion for sharing the gospel with the next generation reignited my passion to do the same.
Believe For It Review
What responsibility do you have for the faith of the generation that follows you? This was the question Ms. Winans attempted to answer for her readers. Believe For It is a comprehensive look at the reasons each individual should make a conscious effort to share their faith with people younger than themselves. Sharing one’s faith begins in the home but extends to any person who comes into your sphere of influence.
Ms. Winans uses Scripture, as well as, her own experiences to drive the point home. We need to live in a way that honors God so we can inspire more people to believe in Him. Believe For It was written in a conversational manner that made this serious topic easy to relate to. Each chapter ends with questions that prompt you to act on the steps covered in the chapter.
If you’ve ever wondered how you can share your faith, Believe For It will give you suggestions on how you can do so. I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher through NetGalley; a positive review was not required.
About Believe For It: Passing on Faith to the Next Generation
From the best-selling female gospel artist of all time CeCe Winans comes a heartfelt guide full of spirit, music, and faith. CeCe’s first book in over 10 years, Believe for It explores what it means to pass along wisdom and faith to generations to come.
Believe for It: Passing on Faith to the Next Generation beautifully recounts the pivotal experiences in CeCe’s life that have shaped her faith. From her childhood in Detroit and the miracle of motherhood to her award-winning music career, CeCe brings readers along for a story full of heart, passion, and wisdom acquired from her walk with God.
The Grammy award-winning artist shares stories of her life and career and lessons she’s learned along the way, including:
• Growing up in a musical family with 9 siblings
• Starting a church with her husband
• Planting faith through the Word of God
• Pushing through obstacles that prevent faith from being passed down
• Fostering emotional health―mind, body, and spirit―in order to pour into others
• What it means to be engaged in a community of faith
• How to nurture the faith of younger generations
Inspired by Generations―her popular show and conference―CeCe includes thoughtful questions at the end of each chapter to help readers foster their own intergenerational conversations.
Full of heartfelt and profound teachings, Believe for It offers readers a glimpse into the life of legendary gospel singer CeCe Winans as well as an opportunity to grow in their own faith and wisdom as they pursue a closer relationship with the Lord.
Purchase Believe For It on Amazon | K-Love Books
About CeCe Winans
CeCe Winans is the best-selling and most-awarded female gospel artist of all time. On her way to countless GRAMMY, Dove, and Stellar awards, CeCe has influenced a generation of gospel and secular vocalists. She has co-pastored Nashville Life Church with her husband, Alvin, since 2012.
In 1999, CeCe began to make her mark with the written word when she published her first book, On A Positive Note. CeCe has authored or co-authored four books, including a Moonbeam Gold Medal Award-winner, a Mom’s Choice Awards Gold recipient, and a Teacher’s Choice Award-winner. She lives in Nashville, TN with her husband. Believe for It is her first book in over 14 years.
Sharing Our Faith
Sharing the gospel with our families is not only our right, but it’s also a privilege. Tell your family about Jesus because you love Him and them and want to spend eternity with them. What are some of the ways we can pass on our faith to the next generation? Share them with me in the comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
