How Grandparents Help Shape a Child’s Faith
My husband and I recently received a wonderful promotion that came with new titles – Grandpa and Mimi! Many of our best days are now filled with baby snuggles, diapers, smiles, coos, and bottles. We are fortunate to live nearby, so we get to spend a lot of time with our grandbaby and help in practical ways. We pray we grandparent with spiritual intention as often as possible.
Grandparents do provide practical help, advice, and support, but Christian grandparents offer something even more valuable: a spiritual legacy. Scripture emphasizes the importance of passing faith from one generation to the next (Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:2). While parents are children's primary spiritual leaders, grandparents have a unique opportunity to reinforce that foundation and help children grow in their faith. If your parents are uncertain about things they can do, encourage them to invest in the following ways.
Traditions and Stories
Family traditions help create a sense of belonging and connection that spans generations. Whether it's holiday celebrations, birthday rituals, Sunday dinners, or special nights at Grandma and Grandpa's house, these shared experiences become treasured memories. Often, the moments that seem ordinary to us become the memories children love most.
Grandparents can also be wonderful family storytellers. Children enjoy hearing funny stories about their parents when they were young, family adventures from years past, and stories about themselves. These conversations strengthen relationships and connection to the larger family, leading to opportunities for meaningful faith conversations.
Faith Leaders
In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul highlights the influence of Timothy's grandmother Lois and mother Eunice. Their faith helped shape the man Timothy would become. Grandparents never retire from discipling their grandchildren. They can share their personal experiences with God's faithfulness, lessons learned through life's challenges, and model what it means to trust Christ in every season of life. Invite your children’s grandparents to participate in important spiritual milestones such as baby dedications, baptisms, salvation celebrations, and other faith-forming moments as well as everyday activities. Their encouragement and regular presence are impactful.
Prayer Warriors
Parenting is both amazing and challenging. We want our children to love God and follow His truth, but raising kids in a broken world can feel overwhelming at times. One of the greatest gifts grandparents can offer is faithful prayer. Their years of wisdom, spiritual maturity, and deep love for their families often shape a powerful prayer ministry. While we navigate daily challenges, our children’s grandparents can provide steadfast, eyes on today and tomorrow support through consistently bringing them before the throne of God. A praying grandparent is a tremendous blessing in the lives of their grandchildren.
Not every family has the blessing of Christian grandparents, and some have grandparents who are no longer living. If that's your situation, consider inviting an older believer into your family's life. Many churches are filled with faithful men and women who would love to encourage younger families as a grandparent would.
Whether connected by blood or through the family of God, older generations play an important role in helping children grow in relationship with the Lord. Through their presence, wisdom, example, and prayers, grandparents help strengthen the faith of your children as they grow.
