Encouraging Spiritual Growth in Kids

Also Available on:

Have you ever wondered how to continue encouraging your child’s spiritual growth when they’re already immersed in Christian education, church programs, and family devotions? One parent recently wrote in with this very question:

"My 10-year-old attends Christian school, participates in church programs, and we read the Bible and pray daily. Yet I want her to grow more. Faith development is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit, but how can I continue to provide appropriate challenges for her to grow?"

This is a wonderful and important question because, as parents and caregivers, we all want to see our children grow in their relationship with God. But how do we intentionally challenge them while recognizing that growth ultimately comes from the Holy Spirit?

Let’s explore this together.

Faith Growth: Our Role and God’s Role

First, it’s important to acknowledge that salvation and sanctification are the work of the Holy Spirit. We cannot save our children or transform them into Christlikeness. However, just like a gardener can’t make a seed grow, we can provide the right conditions for spiritual growth.

I love the analogy shared by my former Bible study leader, Barb Wilson. She explained that while we can’t control the genetic makeup of a seed or guarantee it will grow, we are responsible for planting it in good soil, watering it, ensuring it has sunlight, and protecting it from harmful elements. The same principle applies to our children’s spiritual growth.

We must faithfully provide the "elements" for growth, trusting God to work in His time and His way.

Two Keys to Spiritual Growth

When thinking about spiritual growth, we can borrow a framework from how children grow physically:

1. Positive routines – The healthy habits that provide stability.
2. Appropriate challenges – The opportunities that stretch and strengthen.

Let’s break these down in the context of faith development.

Positive Biblical Routines

This questioner already has several excellent routines in place: daily Bible reading and prayer, Christian education, and participation in church activities. These rhythms are foundational to a child’s faith journey.

At Foundation Worldview, we categorize discipleship into three areas:

1. Heart – Developing relationships with God, parents, and others.
2. Hands – Establishing daily rhythms and routines that reflect a life devoted to Christ.
3. Head – Training children to think critically and biblically.

Positive routines might include:

• Daily Scripture reading: Even a few minutes each day helps develop a love for God’s Word.
• Prayer habits: Encourage heartfelt prayer, praising God, confessing sins, and asking for His help.
• Regular worship: Attend church together to prioritize corporate worship and community.
• Service opportunities: Involve your child in serving others, modeling the love of Christ in action.

These routines create the structure for faith to grow, but routines alone aren’t enough. Growth also requires appropriate challenges.

Appropriate Spiritual Challenges

Just like physical challenges strengthen a child’s body, spiritual challenges help develop a child’s faith. But these challenges need to be age-appropriate and intentional.

Here are a few practical ways to provide spiritual challenges:

1. Relationships with Non-Christians

Help your child build relationships with people who don’t share their faith. This teaches them how to lovingly and respectfully interact with others while staying grounded in biblical truth. If your child is in Christian school, homeschool, or primarily around Christians, you may need to be intentional about this. Encourage connections through sports, music lessons, or neighborhood activities.

2. Exposure to Secular Ideas

It’s crucial to equip kids to evaluate non-biblical ideas critically. Two mistakes parents often make are:

• Overprotection: Shielding kids completely from secular ideas, leaving them unprepared for the world.
• Unfiltered exposure: Allowing kids to consume content without teaching them how to discern truth from lies.

Instead, guide your child through intentional exposure to secular ideas. For example:

• Use secular books: Read novels together and discuss how their themes align with or contradict Scripture. (The Foundation Worldview Book Club offers great resources for this!)
• Watch movies thoughtfully: Afterward, ask questions like, “What does this story promote as good? What does it see as evil? How does that compare with God’s Word?”
• Teach worldview discernment: If your child is in public school or regularly exposed to secular ideas, consider our Comparative Worldview Curriculum. It helps children evaluate competing worldviews in light of Scripture.

3. Gradual Responsibility

Gradually release responsibility to your child as they mature. For example:

• Teach them to lead family prayer time occasionally.
• Encourage them to invite a friend to church or youth group.
• Challenge them to save part of their allowance for giving.

These small steps encourage ownership of their faith while still under your guidance.

The Importance of Intentional Training

Spiritual growth doesn’t happen by accident. Just like we teach kids to cross the street safely or use good manners, we need to intentionally train them to evaluate ideas, live rightly, and love God and others.

If we shield them from challenges or fail to prepare them for life outside the Christian bubble, we risk leaving them spiritually unprepared. But if we give them appropriate exposure to challenges and equip them with biblical discernment, we strengthen their spiritual “immune system” to navigate the world.

Trusting God with the Results

As parents, our job is to plant, water, and nurture, but we can’t make the seed grow. Only God can. Trust Him with the results. Whether your child’s spiritual growth seems rapid or slow, know that God is at work.

Final Thoughts

Salvation and sanctification are ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit, but we play an important role in creating the conditions for spiritual growth. By building positive routines and providing appropriate challenges, we can help our children grow in their faith and prepare them to stand firm in a world full of competing ideas.

What routines or challenges have you found helpful for your child’s faith? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Looking for resources to equip your child with a biblical worldview?
Check out the Comparative Worldview Curriculum or join the Foundation Worldview Book Club to get started!