THE GOAL:
Our desire is to help YOU, the parent, instill and build spiritual practices in the life of your child.
Building in spiritual practices in the life of a child will
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Give them tools to have a daily rhythm of meeting with God.
Help them discover they are created and loved by God.
Help them become more like Jesus.
Help them develop practices that will allow them to be set apart from the world
Help them to make the wise choice.
Help them discover their identity and purpose.
Embrace Preschoolers
New Baby: The “I need you now” phase
DAILY
Pray & read over your baby
WEEKLY
Bring your baby to church to be cared for by trusted adults.
1- and 2-Year-Olds: The “I can do it” Phase
DAILY
Pray over & read Bible stories with your toddler.
WEEKLY
Bring your toddler to church for their worship and small group time, building consistent community.
MONTHLY
Begin to teach your toddler what it looks like to give.
Serve together as a family.
3-Year-Olds Through Pre-K: The “Why?” Phase
DAILY
Pray with and over your child.
Read Bible stories with your preschooler.
WEEKLY
Bring your toddler to church for their worship and small group time, building consistent community.
MONTHLY
Begin to teach your toddler what it looks like to give.
Serve together as a family.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR PARENTS OF PRESCHOOLERS
You can find more information about these Preschool phases and Bible suggestions for preschoolers on our Parent Resource Page.
PRESCHOOL CONVERSATION GUIDESBIBLE APP FOR KIDSPARENT CUE APPRIGHT NOW MEDIA | KIDSIDEAS FOR TIME AT HOME
Visit our campus pages to learn more about our preschool ministries: Franklin | Nolensville | Nashville
Engage Kids
Kindergarten and 1st Grade: The “Look at Me” Phase
DAILY
Pray with & pray over your child.
Read God’s Word with your child.
WEEKLY
Bring your child to church for their worship and small group, allowing them to build community with peers and trusted small group leaders.
MONTHLY
Teach and allow your child to give back to God’s church through tithing.
Serve together as a family.
2nd and 3rd Grade: The “Sounds Like Fun” Phase
DAILY
Pray with and pray over your child
Read God’s Word with your child
Your child will also begin to do these things more on their own.
WEEKLY
Bring your child to church for their worship and small group, allowing them to build community with peers and trusted small group leaders.
MONTHLY
Teach and allow your child to give back to God’s church through tithing.
Serve together as a family.
4th and 5th Grade: The “I’ve Got This” Phase
DAILY
Encourage your child to pray and read God's Word on their own.
Pray with and pray over your child.
WEEKLY
Bring your child to church for their worship and small group, allowing them to build community with peers and trusted small group leaders.
MONTHLY
Encourage your child to give through tithing. Help them be creative in how they raise money to give back to God’s church.
Serve together as a family. Be creative! Allow your children to help plan how you want to serve.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR PARENTS OF KIDS
You can find more information about these elementary-aged phases and Bible suggestions for kids on our Parent Resource Page.
ELEMENTARY CONVERSATION GUIDESBIBLE APP FOR KIDSPARENT CUE APPRIGHT NOW MEDIA | KIDSCOMMON SENSE MEDIABARKCIRCLE
Visit our campus pages to learn more about our kids ministries: Franklin | Nolensville | Nashville
Affirm Middle School Students
6TH GRADE | The “Who Cares” Phase
7TH GRADE | The “Who’s Going?” Phase
8TH GRADE | The “Yeah… I know” Phase
The middle school phase has a reputation for a lot of things—body and hormonal changes, awkward social interactions, and a strong desire to know “who am I?” and “where do I fit in?”—but at the core of this phase is a student who wants to feel secure, valued, and known in the midst of all these changes and questions. Middle school students are, ultimately, searching for their identity and they need you, parents, to help point them to the One who holds their identity through your words, actions, prayers, and example. In a season where it might feel more natural to step aside, we encourage you to lean in! Your middle schooler needs you now more than ever and the impact of having an invested parent who points them to Jesus will be life-changing!
DAILY
Choose one or two practices from each column each day.
PRAY
Pray with your middle schooler
Pray for your middle schooler
Encourage your middle schooler to pray independently
Encourage your middle schooler to pray out loud in groups. Start at home with family where it feels “safe”–it will be so helpful for you to model this!
READ GOD’S WORD
Read the Bible with your middle schooler
Help your middle schooler establish a plan to read the Bible every day
Don’t forget to have your own time in God’s Word!
WEEKLY
SMALL GROUP | It is SO IMPORTANT for middle school students to have community. Not just community, but relationships that are safe, inclusive, and which have Jesus as the foundation. Having your middle schooler in a Jesus-focused small group might be the most important thing in this phase. Middle schoolers, under the leadership of caring adults, will read and discuss the Bible together, pray for one another, and be able to ask questions, grow, challenge, and encourage each other in their faith!
WORSHIP | Middle school students need to worship each week! Being a part of church-wide worship shows students that they are an important part of God’s church and reminds them that they don’t need to wait until they are an adult to be all-in with their faith. Middle schoolers also need the opportunity to worship alongside their peers in an age-specific environment that meets them where they are in this stage.
MONTHLY
SERVING – 6th, 7th and 8th graders grow when they put their faith into action! Finding ways for your middle schooler to SERVE each month reminds them to ultimately “Love God and Love Others.” Spending time caring for and giving to others helps middle schoolers to have a better ability of seeing and meeting the needs of others – it takes the focus off of “ME.”
TITHING – Do this by example, but also bring your middle schooler “along” to help them understand WHY we give back to God. Encourage your student to find ways to earn money or give back … whether this is through a job, an allowance, gifts they’ve received, etc.
YEARLY
MISSIONS – We don’t have to leave our country, our state, or even our city to be on mission. A great “first step” into missions is taking or participating in a mission trip as a family. In middle school ministry we have an annual local mission trip that helps students understand the needs right here in our own community. Mission work, even locally, provides middle schoolers tangible ways to share the truth of Jesus with others.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR PARENTS OF MIDDLE SCHOOLERS
You can find more information about these middle school phases and Bible suggestions for students on our Parent Resource Page.
MIDDLE SCHOOL CONVERSATION GUIDESright now mediaTHE CULTURE TRANSLATORCOMMON SENSE MEDIABARKCIRCLECOVENANT EYES
Visit our campus pages to learn more about our middle school ministries: Franklin | Nolensville | Nashville
Mobilize High School Students
9th GRADE |The “This Is Me Now” Phase 10th GRADE | The “Why Not” Phase 11th GRADE | The “Just Trust Me” Phase 12th GRADE | The “What’s Next?” Phase
Your high school student is going to be searching for freedom in these years. While we want to encourage students to take responsibility for themselves, as a parent, this is NOT the time to disengage. Too many parents are letting their teens dictate their priorities, decide if they should go to church or not, and allow extracurricular activities to be first priority in their lives. Parents, there is not a more important time for your student to be fed God’s word, be around godly community, and learn to serve God’s people than in their high school years. If your student is a brand new 9th grade student, you only have 208 weeks left before your student leaves for college.
DAILY
PRAY
Student prays ACTS on their own: Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication
READ GOD’S WORD
Student reads the Bible on their own. Parent holds them accountable.
WEEKLY
WORSHIP | Make sure your student is worshipping with their peers and hearing a message that relates to their age and stage. Something supernatural happens when we take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on Jesus!
SMALL GROUP | Students need community, and they need Godly community. Make sure your student is surrounded by peers and loving adults that will point your student to Jesus and encourage them in their faith every week. There's a saying that goes, “show me who your friends are and I’ll show you who you will become.” This could not be more true than in the high school years.
SERVE | It is incredibly important that your student is serving each weekl. Study after study has proven that the key to a teenager keeping their faith and being involved in a church in college, is that they became a valuable part of the church body by serving in high school.
MONTHLY
SERVE | In addition to serving weekly in the church, we encourage you to find a way as a family to serve your community outside of the church. Do something for your neighbors, feed the homeless, find a local missions agency to partner with, or identify a person in your community who could use a hand with yard work. All service opportunties are equally valuable!
GIVE | Teach your student about tithing. Many students will be getting their first jobs in high school. Now is the time to build on the foundations you established in earlier phases, and firm up the framework of and importance of Biblical tithing.
YEARLY
Send your high school student on mission, domestically or internationally. Recognize that your student is privileged for growing up in Middle Tennessee—it is vitally important for students to see that the whole world doesn’t live like they are able. When a student travels to a third world country or an impoverished community, their perspectives are changed and their worldview is broadened.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR PARENTS OF HIGH SCHOOLERS
You can find more information about these high school phases and Bible suggestions for students on our Parent Resource Page.
HIGH SCHOOL CONVERSATION GUIDESright now mediaTHE CULTURE TRANSLATORCOMMON SENSE MEDIABARKCIRCLECOVENANT EYES
Visit our campus pages to learn more about our high school ministries: Franklin | Nolensville | Nashville
