TLDR: As parents and ministry leaders, we invest in many good things related to our kids, but the best thing we can invest in is discipling them in a way to flourish.
Imagine that it’s May 1997, and you’re trying to get Hanson’s recent ear worm release, MMMBop, out of your mind, so you decide to look for a stock to invest $1,000 in. You could invest in an index fund in the S&P 500 or in the Nasdaq, but Microsoft sure is enticing. Conversely, there’s Apple, but you’ve heard it is near bankruptcy and you don’t know of many people with Apple computers. You have also heard about the online bookstore, Amazon, going public and selling $18 shares. You like books, but is an online bookstore really worth you investing in?
So, what would you do?
If you had invested in the S&P 500, that $1,000 would be worth about $6,000 today.
If you had invested in the Nasdaq, you’d have about $11,000 today.
Microsoft would have done much better: $24,000 today.
Then there’s Apple. That $1,000 today would be worth over $1.34 million today.
And how about Amazon? You guessed it; had you invested your $1,000 at the closing price on the day of the IPO, you’d have $1.87 million today.
No matter what you had invested in, you’d be better off today. But two of those stocks truly stand out, which is why so many of us who could have invested in either Apple or Amazon around thirty years ago, kick ourselves for not doing that.
A Sure Thing
Of course, the pain of this exercise only comes from our perfect hindsight. It would have been difficult to find reason to invest in either Apple or Amazon in 1997—they were nothing like they are today. But what if we talked about a “sure thing,” but not one that has anything to deal with stocks. I’m talking about our kids.
While God has not promised us that if we teach our kids the gospel, they will 100 percent for sure trust in Jesus for salvation and thrive spiritually, it is a maxim—a truism. God blesses our faithfulness. Conversely, while it’s not absolute that if we fail to disciple our kids that they will never trust in Jesus, we can understand how challenging it would be for them to love and follow Him. So discipling our kids isn’t an absolute sure thing, but in general it’s not far from one.
While God has not promised us that if we teach our kids the gospel, they will 100 percent for sure trust in Jesus for salvation and thrive spiritually, it is a maxim—a truism.
Choosing the Best Investment
This takes us to the question of investing. While there are many good investments we can make with our kids in mind like school, sports, travel, music, and so forth, none of those are best. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying here. I am not saying we shouldn’t invest in these activities; we can and we should. What I want us to consider, though, is a matter of good vs. best, not right vs. wrong. While these areas are good investments, the best one is discipleship. What we don’t want to happen is twenty years from now for us to look back to today and realize we skipped the “Apple stock” or “Amazon stock” in our investment portfolio with our kids.
So, what does this look like? How can we invest in what matters most? Let me parse an answer to that based on whether you are reading this as a parent or a ministry leader.
Investing as a Parent
If you’re a parent, there are three ways that you can make the best investment of the gospel in your kids. These aren’t the only three ways, mind you, but they are three critical ways.
First, invest in discipling your kids to know and trust the Bible. The Bible is foundational for what we believe and how we are to live. I don’t think this is a mystery to most parents; however, I’m not sure we tend to do the best job if instilling this deeply into our kids. We might tell them that this is so, but do we show them that it’s so?
Here’s what I mean by that. Have we explained to our kids how the Bible came into being—it’s writing and canonization when the Old Testament and New Testament were officially recognized. Have we talked with them about how the Bible was transmitted through manuscripts and translated into other languages including English? How about why we have different translations and what we are to do with differences between them and the “problem” passages? How about the one big storyline of the Bible? Key doctrines we draw from it?
These are all important discussions to have with our kids at varying depths depending on their age. But make no mistake: these aren’t conversations the church should lead in having with our kids. God gave us as parents that responsibility and privilege, with the church’s help.
Second, invest in discipling your kids to know and trust in Jesus. This is, of course, what we tend to think of when it comes to discipling, and we cannot neglect it. Discipling our kids to know and trust the Bible leads toward this. After all, Jesus is the focus of the Bible. Can we disciple our kids to know and trust Jesus without discipling about the Bible? Indeed. I think many parents do this in practice. However, I have to wonder if this is why we don’t see the desired fruit of our holistic discipleship at times. We have failed to lay a solid foundation undergirding it.
However, I have to wonder if this is why we don’t see the desired fruit of our holistic discipleship at times. We have failed to lay a solid foundation undergirding it.
Third, invest in discipling your kids to love and follow Jesus. This third area is like the first in that it seems to be neglected quite often. Sure, many parents will teach their kids how they should act, but I’m not sure if it is always tethered to following Jesus, or if it is tied closely enough to that.
Our faith is a performative faith. By that I mean that we are to do something with our faith. It’s not just what we believe for salvation, although that is surely a huge part of it. Rather, we believe so that we are saved and changed, and then we are to live that change. And what is that change? As God’s image-bearers, we are changed to be made new in the image of Christ, the perfect image of God. Put more simply, we’re made new to live like Jesus. Not His divinity, but His perfect humanity.
Our faith is a performative faith. By that I mean that we are to do something with our faith.
When we disciple our kids to identify what Christlike living looks like and to find ways to live that way in the power of the Holy Spirit, we help them develop a vibrant, deep, active faith. It moves our faith from a Sunday faith to an everyday faith. It takes a faith that is intellectual to one that is practical.
Investing as a Ministry Leader
What about if you are a ministry leader. How can we invest in our kids. Well, to a large degree it’s the same as for the parents. Those are all foci that we should build our ministries around. But there is one other critical way we can invest the best in our kids: by investing in their parents.
Here’s an exercise: take some time and tabulate the time, energy, and resources (e.g., budget) that you invest in your kids directly. That would include Sunday school, VBS, camp, and the sort.
Now, do the same for how much you invest in your parents.
What do those numbers look like? If you’re like most ministry leaders, it’s probably heavily tipped toward the kids. Some may not invest in parents at all. I think that has to change.
If God chose parents to be the primary disciplers of their kids and we know that the best opportunity kids have to flourish is when their homes flourish, doesn’t it make sense that we’d do all we can to invest in parents? Every hour we invest in parents can yield exponential fruit. For us, this is like investing in Amazon in 1997!
If God chose parents to be the primary disciplers of their kids and we know that the best opportunity kids have to flourish is when their homes flourish, doesn’t it make sense that we’d do all we can to invest in parents?
So, what does that look like? First, encourage your parents and families. Cast a compelling, Christ-centered, grace-saturated vision of what family discipleship can be. Second, equip your parents and families. Do you think your parents can disciple in the three areas discussed above? If not, train them how. Teach parents about the Bible, about the gospel, and about living like Jesus. Give them the foundation they need to pass that along to their kids.
Now, you might be thinking, “Fine. That’s well and good. But when am I supposed to do this? I’m already overloaded.” Fair. But remember what we’re talking about: good vs. best investments. What do you invest in that’s good that you can stop so you can invest in what’s best? Perhaps your kids would be better off in the long run if you offered them less so you can offer their parents more.
Perhaps your kids would be better off in the long run if you offered them less so you can offer their parents more.
Don’t Delay
If we as parents invest more intentionally and wisely in our kids while we as ministry leaders do the same, I believe we will see family discipleship flourish like never before. And when that happens, I believe we’ll see the church flourish like never before. And when that happens, I believe we’ll see our communities flourish like never before.
Sounds good doesn’t it? Then don’t delay. Start today. What steps can you take—big or small—to invest in kids?
brian dembowczyk 