Care for the Family and HOPE launched a report on 31 March that gives fresh insights into encouraging Christian parents to nurture their children’s faith at home.
The research revealed that, despite 95% of parents acknowledging it was largely their responsibility to teach their children Christianity, 92% admitted they could do more. Less than three-quarters of parents said they shared Bible stories with their children and only 27% found it helpful talking about faith with them.
Care for the Family claims that their research demonstrates that parents are the biggest influencers when it comes to encouraging faith in their children. However, many feel they don’t know where to start.
Challenge to parents
Roy Crowne, HOPE’s Executive Director, said that children spend much more time with their parents than in church. He commented: ‘… that creates a challenge when we consider the balance of resources going into nurturing children directly through the church compared to helping parents nurture their children’s faith at home.’ Katharine Hill, Care for the Family’s UK Director, said that, by working with churches to give families new resources, they hope to see increasing numbers of children from Christian families growing up to have a personal relationship with God as adults.
