"He established ... a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments" (Psalm 78:5-7)

In 2007, the largest protestant seminary in the world conducted a massive research project, called the Family Needs Survey, to understand just how involved Christian parents are in the discipleship of their children. The project was completed in 2008, and the results may surprise you.

1. More than 50% the parents said their family never or rarely engaged in any sort of devotional time.
2. Approximately 40% of parents never, rarely, or only occasionally discussed spiritual matters.
3. Nearly 25% of parents rarely or never prayed with their children, and another 25% only prayed with their children occasionally.

Later, another study conducted by the same faculty revealed that:
1. More than 33% of parents with school aged children had never engaged in any form of family worship or devotion times in the several few months.
2. Of the 66% that did engaged some discussion about the Bible with their children, the frequency was once a month or less.
3. 20% parents never read, studied, or discussed the Bible with their children.

Even children who are active in the church receive about 40 hours of biblical teaching each year from their church. Parents, on the other hand, have more than 3,000 hours a year in which they are constantly teaching their children in some way.

Can I ask you that sobering question again? When you stand before God on judgement day, who is God going to hold responsible for discipling your children? What does God's word say about who is responsible for the discipleship of  children? The church? The Youth Pastor? The Children's Ministry Director? The pastor?

God himself, through the Scriptures, clearly and consistently state that the parents of children are responsible for the discipleship of children. 

Can I ask you that sobering question again? When you stand before God on judgement day, who is God going to hold responsible for discipling your children? What does God's word say about who is responsible for the discipleship of  children? The church? The Youth Pastor? The Children's Ministry Director? The pastor?

The answer is clear:  throughout the Scriptures, God clearly and consistently places the responsibility upon the parents, or guardians, to disciple their children (Deut 6:6-9; Ps 78:1-8; Eph 6:1-4).

The biblical answer to the question of children's ministry is the parents of those children. However, many people have grown up in a home where they have not been discipled, so they might feel unprepared, ill-equipped, or intimated to teach the Bible. At Fireside, we have the discipleship track to simultaneously equip and train parents so that they can fulfill their sacred responsibility to disciple their children. 

The discipleship track is a perpetual children's ministry that lasts 10 years. The first phase consists of years 1-3, and it lays the foundations of the Christian life: reading the Bible well, doing the basic of spiritual disciplines, and sharing the gospel with a lost and dying world. The second phase consists of biblical literacy. This is where disciples get a feel of how the entire Bible fits together, the overall story line of the Bible, and bring able to trace where Jesus is in all of redemptive history. The final phase consists of how to live the Christian life in a practical and daily manner: speech, leadership, manhood and womanhood, and sexuality and relationships. After the discipleship track is complete, it resumes again; ready for the next disciples.

With the Discipleship Track, the parents are present with their children. Each lesson is taught by a parent, and the material provided is an introduction to the subject being taught. The elders have taken the time to equip, encourage, and pray for the parent teaching that week. After each session, parents are then exhorted to continue the teachings in their family devotions with their children at home.