Family Discipleship

Weekly Update – January 29th, 2026 

In the animated movie titled, The Incredibles, there is a scene depicting a family meal that has deteriorated into complete chaos. The infant boy is cheering on his two older siblings as they use their superpowers to fight with each other at the dinner table. Helen Parr, the mother in this movie, is trying her best to bring about some order. The father, Bob Parr, is completely absent at this moment. Sure, he is physically there, but he is more concerned about reliving the glory days than he is in caring for his family. Whenever Helen asks for his help, all he says is, “Kids, listen to your mother.” Finally, Helen has had enough and she, in an impassioned plea to her husband, yells, “Bob! It’s time to engage!” The problem now isn’t that Bob doesn’t engage.  No, he does.  He just doesn’t really know what to do. What results in his “engagement” is more chaos, that is, until the doorbell rings and everyone quickly sits down and returns to this picture-perfect family.

Why do I share this illustration? The truth is, when it comes to the family, parents may be seeking to “engage”, but it can be difficult to do it alone. Should they then begin reading books, attending seminars and doing research? Perhaps this could be helpful. At the same time, we should realize that the Word of God already gives us the blueprint for what it looks like for parents to “engage” their children. In Deuteronomy 6:5-6, Moses tells us that we are to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” Normally this would be a great place to stop and simply seek to obey. Yet, Moses continues, saying in verse 7, “You shall teach them diligently to your children…” This provides a bit more to the “engage” desire that should be within every parent towards their children.

Based off what Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, we can say that obedience to this command entails what we might call, “Family Discipleship.” Family Discipleship is defined by Matt Chandler and Adam Griffin as, “leading your home by doing whatever you can whenever you can to help your family become friends and followers of Jesus Christ.” In many ways, this should be a very ordinary rhythm for a family. It is the process of forming habits, devoting time, prioritizing demands and creating a culture that makes the most of every opportunity to exalt Christ and lead the family to worship him. At the same time, if we truly believe that this is a priority for the family, then the church should find a way to be involved as well. This is where the church ought to seek to partner with the home to intentionally acknowledge and equip parents as the primary disciplers in their children’s lives.

What does this look like at First Baptist Church? There are several initiatives that we as a church have undertaken to help further equip parents in the role of family discipleship:

First – The Worship Service. Every Sunday morning, children, ages 4 and up are encouraged to attend service with their parents. We believe that children singing and observing their parents worshiping is one of the best ways parents can begin to disciple their children. To help children engage during this time, there are children’s binders and special children’s bulletins available as you walk into the sanctuary. Additionally, there is a section titled, “The Family Table” in the bulletin that has three questions from Sunday’s sermon to help parents engage their children with what they heard in service together.  

Second – Children/Youth Ministries. Every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening our children and youth meet for intentional instruction from the Scriptures. In Sunday School, our children and youth are going through the Gospel Project, as they walk through the major stories/events/foundations of the Bible. On Wednesday night, children, ages 3-6^th grade meet for Awana and youth, ages 7^th-12^th grades go to our Grandview Student Ministry. To help partner the home with what the church is doing, there are guides available for parents to further engage in what their children and youth are learning. You can find a guide for AWANA, HERE and for our Youth, HERE.

Third – Training. There are multiple opportunities provided for by First Baptist Church for you to grow in your own personal discipleship. These opportunities help provide the foundation to begin engaging children with the truth of Scripture. One consistent opportunity is through Home Groups. Our Home Groups are designed to be family oriented as groups who meet are encouraged to have dinner together with their families and engage one another in fellowship, prayer and in the study of God’s word. Beyond that, there are also specific classes offered to help parents grow in how they can spiritually engage their children. Right now, there is an Equipping Class titled, Habits of the Household that is designed to help families create healthy rhythms that will lead them to love God and love each other. Further, towards the conclusion of this class, a booklet, unique to FBC, will be made available to help guide parents through each stage of their child’s spiritual growth.

Like Bob Parr, parents know that they have a role to spiritually “engage” their children. Yet, this isn’t just an isolated family activity. Instead, this “engagement” should be seen as a whole church endeavor as members, young and old, parents, grandparents, and single adults, all come together to help partner the church with the home in seeking to come alongside parents in the discipling of their children. We do this, ultimately out of obedience to Scripture, but also out of a desire to see the next generation know and love God (Ps. 78:6-7), as they join our church in its mission to proclaim and display the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Serving Him with You,

Pastor Michael Nelson