About the Children’s Department: Help the Grandparents

How are you supporting, encouraging, and equipping grandparents now we have a bit of distance from the shut-downs brought by covid? Most churches are offering Children’s Ministry opportunities, but many grandparents find it difficult to get their grands to return, so what are you doing to support them? I’m asking because if you have grandparents in your church who are the only ones who are handing confident faith to their grandchildren and who are the ones who bring their grandchildren to your church, it is very possible their grandchildren do not want to return to church and they have fewer opportunities to connect and hand down confident faith. They need your help, because while time and distance may make the heart grow fonder, it is also able to cause a break which may leave the children feeling less attached to your church. If this happens, the grandparents may be feeling even more alone when it comes to handing down confident faith.If you have not been in touch with the grandparents – make it a priority to do so this week. Encourage them. Pray with them. Let them know you are praying for them. Ask how their grandchildren are doing. Ask how their grown children are doing. Ask how they are doing.

And provide resources. Give them ideas for ways they are able to connect with their grandchildren – through distance if necessary – to continue to hand down confident faith. Consider using some of these ideas . . .

• Start Thankful Journals. Get small journals – for you and for each of your grandchildren. Each day enter by writing, drawing, or writing and drawing something for which you are thankful. Connect at least twice a week over the phone or through tech if you are unable to do so in person to talk about the things you each have entered into your journals and be thankful together.
• Send a box of fun to your grandchildren – gather supplies for a simple science project (a bar of Ivory soap – MUST be Ivory) and directions – unwrap soap, place the soap on paper towel in your microwave, and heat on high for one to two minutes. Watch what happens! Talk about how the heat in the microwave caused the soap to change from a bar into “clouds” of soap. Talk about how when our lives experience the “heat” of difficult times we are able to choose to follow God as He uses those times to make something amazing and beautiful from our lives.
• Include your grandchildren’s favorite snack in your box of fun – to show you are thinking of them.
• Encourage them to subscribe to Generations Quest and use the activities to study God’s Word and pray together whether you are near or far.

These are just a few ideas for ways you are able to equip the grandparents in your church to connect with and hand down confident faith to their grandchildren.