Spiritual Parenting - 9

REVIVING SPIRITUAL PARENTING (4)

After going through each of these stages of thinking and processing through these ideas and thoughts regarding reviving spiritual parenting, you are ready for the vital step of bringing this home to where you live: your church family and those under your spiritual care.

It is absolutely vital to do this as a team of leaders - a group of unified spiritual moms and dads - together. If Jesus is the head of the church - not just in doctrine, but in function - then He nurtures, teaches, and equips those in His family along with the help of multiple spiritual adults. He is the only alpha male, and we - together - join Him in His all-important work of raising spiritual children.

Together as a group, a team of spiritual moms and dads:

1. Make a list of each individual under your care.

2. Attempt to label which stage each individual might be in along their path of spiritual growth and development (i.e., pre-believer, baby in Christ, developing saint, maturing saint).

3. List 2-3 ministry tools that might be used to join the Lord in His work with each of these (i.e., care phone call, house call, coaching session, daily CO2, weekly COgroup, foundations Bible study, spiritual formation Bible study, etc etc).

4. Now, take time to let the Lord in on the conversation - take time together to ask Daddy (taking 15 minutes or more to engage in a practice like Virkler's) what He thinks about each individual, their current level of spiritual maturity, and what tools might be right for each. Write down what thoughts, impressions, ideas and so forth come to mind while listening to Jesus.

5. Then come together, discuss what you heard as a group, and ask the Lord together for next steps. Listen to Him again if you feel led to do so, specifically regarding next steps... finally, choose one next step you are ready and willing to take with each individual.

In the last four posts, I have attempted to detail a process of coaching a group of spiritual moms and dads into the spiritual nurturing, teaching and equipping of the saints under their care. There is much more to say and do in this all-important work into which the Lord has called us. This initial process is meant to serve as a jump-start for this understanding and practice - to initiate the conversation and the process of praying, discussing, and listening together on a regular basis as leaders, around the care of church and saints.