Make Your Kids Go to Church

By: Josh Bullock

Their numbers are growing and they are dropping like flies. They are reluctant soldiers slain on a trending cultural battlefield. They are… parents who don’t make their kids go to church.

Parents should make their kids go to church. Timmy turns 16 today. He’s an adult in his own eyes. Today he can drive the car his father bought for him. He can eat the breakfast his mother cooked for him. He can do his homework only after being reminded three times. He has no job, but that doesn’t matter because his parents pay him 10 times what his chores are worth and give him free gas money, clothes money, and food money almost whenever he needs it upon request. This frees him up to spend “his” money on more important things, like the latest video game. His parents provide his medical care, his car insurance, his home, his food, and tons of entertainment. They do all of this and more, sometimes at great cost to themselves.

Yes, Timmy is a 16 year old “adult” today and because he has so clearly established his maturity and independence he decides it is time to start making his own decisions. That list includes not going to church. Sunday rolls around. Mom wakes Timmy up, but Timmy begins complaining. “Mom, I’m not a little kid anymore. You don’t need to make me go to church!” Never minding the fact that this “adult” was up until 2am playing video games, his parents begin to consider his complaint. They don’t go for it at first, but they allow Timmy’s complaining to continue for weeks and the arguments begin to get more heated. The parents now begin to fear. If they continue forcing him, he will always hate church and will quit going altogether when he is on his own. Regretfully, they make their decision. But it is the wrong decision. Timmy can now make his own choice on whether to attend church with his parents or not. Game. Set. Match. Everyone loses.

It is a sad story, but it is becoming an all too common trend today. I have heard countless versions of this story told by concerned parents. It is true that some parents just don’t care. Some just want to end all of the complaining so they can have some peace and quiet. However, there are many wonderful Christian parents who just get confused, fearful, or overwhelmed and just give in to the pressures of their child. Many don’t want to leave a bitter taste for church in their child’s mouth. Others buy into the ridiculous notion that their child is deserving of many of the rights they possess as adults. They forget their child is NOT an adult. He is their dependent. Furthermore, he is still under THEIR authority.

Parental authority is established by God. God commands children to “Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother.” (Ephesians 6:1, 2) Until a child is independent of you, you have a certain authority over their life. Though you are not God, you are acting under the authority and on the authority of God in raising them to be young men and women. The World, the Flesh, and the Devil, are our enemies and are constantly trying to destroy God’s authority and those whom it is invested in.
Christian parents also have the privilege and responsibility of bringing up their children in the nurture and knowledge of God so they can become who God wants them to be. The apostle Paul specifically gave the command to fathers to not provoke their children but “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”. (Ephesians 6:4)

One of the ways a father (and mother) are able to raise their children in such a way is to continually involve them in the church community. They are to put their child among God’s people where God so often makes himself known. This opportunity cannot happen if Timmy is sitting at home. It is foolishness to hope he will change when God alone can provide the change he needs. God may indeed take action in Timmy’s life out of mercy and love, but the parents’ plan to allow him to stay home is not a plan God honors. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24, 25) It might help for parents to cover their Sundays in prayer, love, and special time with their child who is struggling with a bad attitude about church. Maybe some good parenting wisdom from others might be needed. But removing church from the child’s life will never help them no matter how we might try to rationalize it or how much they try to persuade us. The church community is God’s great vehicle for change. We have the responsibility and authority to keep our kids on board…until they really become adults.