In the sermon this morning we were looking at the book of Judges.  One of the points came from Judges 2:10.  Joshua’s generation passed away, and “there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”  What a tragedy!  Somehow Joshua’s generation failed to pass on their faith.  God’s commandments were lost.  Despite all of Moses’ instructions to teach the next generation (see for instance Deut 6), they failed to do it.  The results were the time of the Judges, a corrupt depraved time summarized by the last line of the book: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”  That last line sounds incredibly similar to the approach to morality in our country today.  And the failure to pass on their faith parallels our day too as some statistics say up to 88% of evangelical youth will abandon their faith by the time they finish college.  For further statistics and an interesting analysis, see link

What to do?  Three suggestions: First, parents need to recognize that they have the primary responsibility to teach their children (see Deut 6:5-9 and Ephesians 6:4).  They cannot expect the church to do this for them – it is their responsibility. Many families have a daily family worship time with their children to teach the Bible and pray together.  (See the Center For Biblical Spirituality link in the Recommended Sites list for a great intro book on this idea.)

Second, the church must partner with the parents to help them to teach their children.  Children and youth ministries are important to reinforce what the children are learning at home.  The positive example of other Christians in the church fleshs out what the Christian life looks like.  The church must teach parents the Bible with some depth so the parents can then teach their children.  The church needs to offer parents practical suggestions, ideas, and resources to equip parents to fulfill their role.

Third, parents and churches need to pray, pray, and pray some more.  All of the above will not guarantee that children will follow the Lord.  Ultimately the decision is between the grown child and the Lord.  So we need to pray.

If we have a passion for God and compassion for children, we must teach the next generation for their joy and God’s glory!