Listen: Ainsley encourages parents to "talk about and live our faith in a way that leaves a real impression on the next generation.”

New book ‘Impress’ by Ainsley Freeman explores sharing faith with our children in the context of busy, modern households.

Key Points

• Ainsley encourages parents to be “living our faith out loud” in front of their kids.
• “Amidst the whirlwind that surrounds us, the hard and holy work of passing on faith risks being overshadowed in our homes.”
• Hear the full conversation in the listener above.

The mother of three sons, author, media professional and church pastor caught up with Salt 106.5’s Jordana to discuss the age old question: how do I introduce my kids to Jesus?

Parents are struggling more and more to find the time, energy and tools to talk about and demonstrate faith to their kids. Ainsley found herself asking the same questions other parents are asking – how do I share faith with my kids?

What’s the secret?

“I think it’s keeping it small and keeping it frequent,” Ainsley said.

“If you can find times every day, such as bedtime, meal times…  to pray or to bring in scripture or to ask really intriguing questions that open up our kids minds and asks them about, you know, “where did you see God today?” or noticing things in nature.

“Also living our faith out loud in front of them.

Ainsley encourages parents to be “living our faith out loud” in front of their kids.

“The whole quiet time we do, locked away in our room… there’s something to be said for that but if our kids never see us reading our Bible, praying, worshipping, if all they see is “Oh, we go to church on a Sunday,” I think kids have a great radar for hypocrisy and I think at some point they’re going to go, “Hang on, if Jesus is the way, truth and the life, why doesn’t it impact more than an hour on Sunday?””

‘Impress’ is for parents in the ‘drowning years’ of raising children and is part encouragement and part how-to when it comes to sharing faith to the next generation in the context of our modern households.

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Why is the book called ‘Impress’?

“It strikes me that we live in a world that we are trying to impress,” Ainsley said.

“With our shiny social media feeds, curated content, impressive travel diaries and lavish LinkedIn profiles – many of us spend a good deal of time trying to be impressive to ourselves and our audience of choice.

“But there is another role that we have been gifted and another impression we are encouraged to leave.

“Amidst the whirlwind that surrounds us, the hard and holy work of passing on faith risks being overshadowed in our homes.”

“In Deuteronomy 6 the people of Israel are given an encouragement to pass on faith – to ‘impress’ it upon their children.

“How does this ancient commandment translate into our contemporary context?

“Amidst the whirlwind of busyness and abundance that surrounds us, the hard and holy work of passing on faith risks being overshadowed in our homes.

“It is imperative that we talk about and live our faith in a way that leaves a real impression on the next generation and this book will help and inspire parents to do just that.”

Hear the full conversation in the listener above.

All images supplied.