Beyond Family Devotions: 5 Faith Practices You Can Try This Week

Imagine with me the lives of busy families today- a dad who is stressed out from work, constantly on his laptop while at home, a mom who is running the household while driving three kids to and from school and afterschool activities, three kids constantly fighting with one another, struggling in school, anxious about sports tryouts, and not wanting to go to church. A single mom working two jobs to provide for her two kids. Grandparents who find themselves raising their grandkids, trying to relate to them and their struggles with grief and anxiety. These scenarios are not too hard to imagine. Amid all of the coming and going, it is hard to find time to sit down for a family meal together, let alone do family devotions.

You probably have seen the statistics and read the articles about young adults walking away from the church. Have you wondered about those who have stayed in the church and asked why? Research shows that practices in the home matter a great deal to a child’s faith formation.

Knowing what this research shows, let’s look at five simple yet impactful faith practices your family can try this week. From prayer and gratitude to service and scripture, these ideas offer practical ways to connect with God and build stronger bonds.

1. Beyond the Prayer at Dinner: Cultivating Gratitude

Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

It is easy to give thanks in the easy, happy things, but Paul teaches us in this verse to give thanks in all circumstances, even the hard ones. Going around the table at dinner time and sharing “highs, lows, and where we saw God that day,” is a simple practice that made a difference in my family’s life. It became such an important part of our family’s life together that we have made efforts to connect on these points even when we’re not together.

Another fun way to cultivate gratitude is creating a gratitude jar on your dining room table. At dinner each night, everyone in the family writes or draws what they are grateful for that day. On New Year’s Eve, as a family, read through the cards and remember the goodness of God throughout the whole year.

2. Acts of Service: Living Out Your Faith

Jesus modeled serving others by washing his disciples’ feet, feeding the hungry, and healing the sick. He taught that the greatest service is to be a servant to all and that service should be motivated by love and action.

Some family-friendly service projects include visiting the elderly at nursing homes and taking them homemade cards with scripture verses in them, volunteering at animal shelters, serving at a food pantry, helping with yard work for the elderly, widows, single parents, creating “blessing bags” for those in need, and serving at church together.

As was stated earlier, not only does serving together as a family help a child have sticky faith, but serving helps children develop compassion in a very me-focused culture. Serving others helps kids take the focus off themselves and develop empathy for others. Serving in the community also helps develop face-to-face connections, social interaction, and connections.

3. Exploring Scripture Together: Making it Meaningful

Engaging with the Bible as a family can help build a spiritual connection, strengthen family bonds, and teach children to think biblically. Exploring Scripture together will help your child know God and develop an understanding of the whole story of Scripture.

Kids have so many different learning styles and expressions of learning. Allow your kids to engage their senses while exploring scripture through drawing, coloring, singing, other artwork, making foods that are found in the Bible, play dress up and act out Bible stores. For kiddos who are audio learners, try listening to audio Bible versions or podcasts together.

Joshua 1:8 says, “The Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night.” The word meditate here in the Hebrew is hagah. Hagah is what happens when a lion eats its prey. We are to devour the Word. Jesus himself said in Matthew 4:4 that we shall not live by bread alone but by the Word of God!

4. Faith-Based Conversations: Sharing and Listening

Great listening allows us to ask great questions. Kids are asking questions earlier than ever.  Kids don’t leave the faith because of doubt and questions but because of unexpressed questions and doubts.  Jesus asked around 340 questions, Paul asked approximately 262 questions. Create space and time for your child to ask you questions about your faith, and about what is happening in the world around them. Guess what? You don’t have to have the answer, but you can look up the answer together, or better yet, pray and ask Jesus for the answer.

Moses said in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.” Moses was not just talking to the parents, he was talking to the grandparents, aunts, and uncles. He was telling the families how important it is to pass on the faith and share our stories with the next generation.

5.Creating Rhythms of Rest and Reflection

Exodus 20:8-10a (CEB): “Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. Six days you may work and do all your tasks, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” Sabbath is God’s good gift to his people (Deuteronomy 5:12, 15). Jesus said in Mark 2:27 – “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.

Our habits shape who we are, and our kids learn by observing and copying us. But the foundational truth of God’s deep love for you and your children remains. Your habits won’t change His love for you.  His love for you must change your habits.

Sabbath doesn’t need to look like meditating and sitting around all day. But it might look like having a tech-free day and getting outside with your kids and delighting in the beautiful creation God has made for us to enjoy.

We run hard all the time, between work, school, extracurricular activities after school, homework, laundry, etc. Give yourself and your kids permission to rest one day a week, and reflect on the goodness of God.

Conclusion

The heart behind all these faith practices is engaging with Jesus, growing deeper in your relationship with Him, and teaching your kids what it means to have a faith rooted in scripture. Slowing down to rest, expressing gratitude, serving others, listening and asking questions, and spending time in scripture will strengthen your relationship with Jesus and strengthen your family. We encourage you to experiment and have fun with these practices and find what works best for your family.

Cultivating a vibrant faith within the family is a journey, not a destination, and these practices can help create a stronger foundation for spiritual growth and connection.