By: Laura Bennett
In an era where information overload is a norm, raising children with strong spiritual values can seem daunting amidst various parental responsibilities.
Ainsley Freeman, a dedicated mum, church pastor, and author, sheds light on the subject with her insightful book, Impress, which emphasizes the significance of passing faith onto our children.
Ainsley spoke in our interview about practical approaches, and the broader impact of nurturing a faith-based environment at home.
“Millennial parents are said to be the most informed generation to have ever parented, and I can attest to that,” Ainsley said.
“There is so much wonderful information out there to help us to parent well, to work out how to set boundaries, to work out how to raise great kids today, but I think in this information overload, I think parents are somewhat bombarded.
Parents are increasingly being tempted to outsource the development of their child’s faith, Ainsley says.
“The motivation for writing this book is that I feel like one of the things getting squeezed out of the to-do list, and one of the things that we’re finding challenging to do well is actually to speak about and live our space in the context of our homes with our kids.”
Parents often feel a lot of pressure to be the perfect parent, and to get it right. And amongst the busyness of trying to keep up, parents are sometimes tempted to outsource the development of their child’s faith, whether to a faith-based school or kids’ church.
“We’re very good at kind of going, ‘oh, let’s leave the faith formation up to all those people in the church,’” Ainsley said.
“I think the picture that we have in scripture and the sort of message of the book is actually the impression that you are leaving on your kids is going to be the most significant.”
So where do we begin?
“Step one is to really grasp that it’s important,” Ainsley said. “And then the next step is really, I would really want to encourage everyone to just take the pressure off and do it as a natural overflow of your own faith.”
“Out of the overflow of our own faith, we’ll be able to model this to our kids and then hopefully talk about it with them.”
Ainsley encourages parents to ask themselves, is faith important in your own life? Do you have your own daily practices and habits that draw you to Jesus, that help you reflect on God’s word, that empower you to live in the heartbeat of the Holy Spirit?
“I think if you’re doing those things, then hopefully out of the overflow of that, we’ll be able to model some of this to our kids and then hopefully talk about it with them.”
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
Feature image: Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
About the Author: Laura Bennett is a media professional, broadcaster and writer from Sydney, Australia.