{"id":31789,"date":"2022-09-10T15:44:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-ways-to-confidently-raise-ministry-kids\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:44:07","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:44:07","slug":"3-ways-to-confidently-raise-ministry-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-ways-to-confidently-raise-ministry-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Confidently Raise Ministry Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"
Photo by Alberto Casetta on Unsplash <\/p>\n

By Maina Mwaura <\/em><\/p>\n

I can still vividly remember the emotions I felt as my wife and I brought our daughter home from the hospital as she was born. There was joy and\u2014and not much sleep.<\/p>\n

The other thing\u2014as a youth pastor\u2014I had to process was the fact that my daughter would be raised as a \u201cpastor\u2019s kid\u201d\u2014a label that often comes with extra challenges and often undeserved baggage.<\/p>\n

As parents, we all have concerns and fears of wondering how we\u2019re going to take on the task of raising our children. For those of us in ministry, who have surrendered to the call of church ministry, raising our children has added weight.<\/p>\n

Not only do we want to fight the association of a ministers child with a rebellious child\u2014we also are keen to the fact that these kids of ours are watching us closely to see how authentic we are.<\/p>\n

Shortly after my daughter\u2019s birth and my realization of fears associated with raising a minister\u2019s child, I confided in a mentor of mine who was also a pastor. The wisdom he shared with me was priceless and helped bring new confidence in my roles as father and youth pastor.<\/p>\n

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Specifically, I\u2019d like to share three pieces of advice that have had stayed with me.<\/p>\n

1. Forget the stereotypes. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

I can remember the first question my mentor asked: \u201cWhere are you getting the idea that pastor\u2019s kids always have issues?\u201d<\/p>\n

I told him about some statistics I heard that supported this idea. When my mentor asked me how I knew those stats were credible, I couldn\u2019t give him a confident answer.<\/p>\n

Once I thought about it, almost every pastor who worked beside me in ministry had raised godly children. And when it really came down to how many \u201cbad\u201d pastor\u2019s kids I knew, it was just a few.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying there aren\u2019t some misguided pastor\u2019s kids. But no matter the profession of the parent, kids, at times, may drift away from their faith. My mentor was clear with me that I should stay away from the stereotypes and focus on the child that God has given our family.<\/p>\n

Another mentor advised we give our daughter value-based limits instead of rules; our kids should walk away knowing when they are step outside of the family values. Coming up with a family-based discipline also keeps it simple in the mind of a child. Having family values also supports your family mission.<\/p>\n

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See also  Why Pastors Must Acknowledge Their Own Needs<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Rules are temporary; values are long lasting.<\/p>\n

2. See the incredible opportunities. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

When I compare my daughter\u2019s childhood with mine, it doesn’t even come close. Let\u2019s face it: Being a pastor\u2019s kid can seem like living in a fishbowl. But the experiences they have and the ministry they observe are beyond those of most children.<\/p>\n

Ministers should highlight the privileges our kids have. Because of our calling, pastor\u2019s kids may have to move around more than other kids which also opens the door to meeting people and encountering culture they wouldn\u2019t have otherwise.<\/p>\n

Also, my daughter has several extended honorary family members because of the calling to ministry.<\/p>\n

3. Remember the One who called you is also the One who loves your child more than you do.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Recently I spent some time with noted author and counselor Sissy Goff who is the author of Raising Worry-Free Girls<\/em>.<\/p>\n

During our time together, she explained that one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is helping them understand that we\u2019ve been given all the tools we need to confront fear.<\/p>\n

I can also remember leaving a visit with my mentor with a renewed confidence that although my concerns were valid, the greatest gift I could give to my daughter is a father who has not only put his trust in God personally, but a father who trusts God in every area\u2014including the outcome of his children.<\/p>\n

MAINA MWAURA<\/strong> is a freelance journalist and minister who lives in the Atlanta area with his wife, Tiffiney, and daughter Zyan.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n
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Homegrown: Cultivating Kids in the Fruit of the Spirit<\/h2>\n

Dr. Josh & Christi Straub<\/p>\n

FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Related posts:<\/h3>\n
Sparked: Firing up Little Hearts With Big Truths What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times? What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation? 3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo by Alberto Casetta on Unsplash By Maina Mwaura I can still vividly remember the emotions I felt as my wife and I brought our daughter home from the hospital as she was born. There was joy and\u2014and not much sleep. The other thing\u2014as a youth pastor\u2014I had to process was the fact that my … Continue reading “3 Ways to Confidently Raise Ministry Kids”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31789\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}