Passing on a legacy of faith in Jesus is the most important job of Christian parents. It may also be the most important job of grandparents! The following is taken from an article “Twenty Ideas for Grandparents,” by Kara Powell, shared by Emily Powers.
As a result of increased life expectancy, new ways to connect through technology, and more grandparents providing child care, researchers at the University of Southern California conclude that kids today “will have greater involvement with their grandparents… than any previous generation of grandchildren in American history.” That involvement translates into religious influence!
Here are 20 ideas to help leave an
inheritance of faith:
1. Invite your grandchildren for individual “sleepovers” at your house. While they are over, do some of their favorite activities together.
2. Pray with your grandkids. As you pray, thank God for the special qualities he has given them.
3. Teach your grandchild a new skill or one of your favorite hobbies.
4. Let your grandchild teach you a new skill or share a hobby with you.
5. Enter a race and run/swim/ride or walk it with your grandchild.
6. Talk with your grandchild about a family tradition that you enjoyed as a child. Then continue that tradition with your grandchild.
7. Bring out photo albums and talk about when your grandchild was born, how you prayed for them before they were born, and how blessed you feel that they are now part of your family.
8. Serve together at a local ministry.
9. Cook with your grandchildren. Play loud music, sing and cook [maybe even dance] together.
10. Have breakfast together once a week using Skype or FaceTime.
11. Share times when you have blown it, or disobeyed what you sensed God was telling you to do. Let them know how glad you are that Jesus is bigger than any mistakes.
12. Choose a book series to read with your grandchildren. Read to them using Skype, or as they get older and the books get longer, read them individually and then discuss highlights by phone.
13. Build something with your grandchildren.
14. Start a collection of something with your grandchild, and continue adding to the collection when you travel or when you are together.
15. Text them on an ordinary day and let them know you’re thinking about them.
16. Call or send a letter when kids have special events or milestones at school or church.
17. At gatherings of extended family, have devotions that include questions for all family members. This way the children hear their parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins share on a deeper level.
18. If financially possible, at the age of 12 or 13, take your grandson/granddaughter on a weekend away. Include time to discuss what it means to be a Christian man/woman. Give them something that will remind them of the weekend.
19. Have “Grand Camp” with your grandkids either at your house or another destination. Do things together that they’d do at camp—crafts, sports, singing, cooking, treasure hunts, etc.
20. Go on a mission trip with your grandchild, either locally or abroad. Consider making this a rite of passage experience at a certain age with each grandchild.
“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”
[Psalm 71:18]
