“Let’s make sure that the hard and holy work of passing on our faith doesn’t get squeezed out of the schedule or land at the end of the to-do list.”
Ainsley Freeman used to work as a Children’s Pastor, so has spent many years thinking about how to share the Gospel with children. She understood that the time she had with kids on a Sunday morning was an invaluable time to communicate the Good News with the next generation.
So, when she became a mum, she was drawn to wanting to share the Gospel with her kids at home, but she found a gap. “No one equipped me as a mum to pass on faith to my kids,” reflects Ainsley, “I wasn’t talked to or with as a parent about this really important role we have with our kids.”
Speaking with her peers and other parents, Ainsley found a lot of them also struggled with a lack of confidence or shared understanding of what their role was as Christian parents when it came to sharing the Gospel at home.
So, two years ago Ainsley decided to write a book. With three kids at home and a packed schedule, Ainsley wrote impress at 5am each morning, before the day began.
Ainsley hopes her book will be a resource and encouragement to parents. “I think that the most important thing is that parents should have intention and effort in this whole area,” explains Ainsley, “It doesn’t need to be a giant mountain. With a bit of intention, we can make a huge difference.”
“Families have the greatest influence on a child’s faith,” agrees Louise Bartlett, Children and Family Ministries at the Baptist Association, “study after study shows that intentional faith sharing and modeling, in a relationally warm family sees more children carry a resilient faith through life. Ainsley’s book is helpful guide and encouragement to parents who want to write the things of God onto the hearts of their children.”
Interviewing Dana Robert for her role at Olive Tree Media, one thing really stood out to Ainsley. Dana spoke of our call to take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. Dana translated this to mean taking the Gospel to wherever the Gospel is not yet.
“We often talk about it geographically, but we don’t often hear it talked about generationally,” reflects Ainsley. But the Bible calls us to pass faith on to the next generation. In Deuteronomy 6, the Israelites are told to;
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.
This core commandment of what it meant to be the people of God included, at its heart, passing on the truths to the next generation.
“It strikes me that we live in a world that we are trying to impress others,” says Ainsley, “but there is another role that we have been gifted and another impression we are encouraged to leave. We are called to pass on faith – to impress it upon our children. 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.”
Ainsley hopes that her book is encouraging to Christian parents, whatever the size of their church or strength of their church’s kids’ ministry. “Intentional faith formation isn’t a guarantee and is hard to do in our homes,” explains Ainsley, “we might like to outsource it to the ‘professionals’, but instead, we need to rediscover its importance within our families and the significant role we have as parents to pass on faith. I want parents to understand that passing the gospel on to their kids is primarily their responsibility. And whilst their church plays a wonderful supportive role for me and my kids, it’s not the be all and end all.”
Reflecting on her new book Ainsley says, “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.”
Alongside the book, Ainsley has also made available free resources to support parents to put the Gospel first in their homes. The @impress.daily Instagram page contains daily encouragement and reminders. And Ainsley’s 52-week email devotional to accompany the book can be found out www.olivetreemedia.com.au/impress
impress is available through the Olive Tree Media online store and instore or online from Koorong bookstores.
