As a grandparent, you have a unique opportunity to pass down your faith … and to help equip your grandchildren to make their faith their own. You can model and encourage your grandkids to pray, prioritize reading the Bible, talk with others about God, and develop ways to recognize and record their faith history.

Returning to school opens doors for children to intentionally step out of their comfort zone and grow in their walk with Jesus. Consider these ideas …

• During the two or three weeks leading up to the start of school, pray for God to bring a character trait to mind for each grandchild—one you can pray about together throughout the school year as the child focuses on growing it in his life. It may be wisdom, kindness, compassion, faithfulness, thankfulness, etc. Have your grandchild make a poster with this trait to hang in his room where he will see it and be reminded to pray and ask God to help him grow and develop it this year. Give the child a pad of sticky notes and write the word on several to put where he will see them throughout his day—inside book covers, in his locker, on his bedroom wall, bathroom wall, closet, computer screen, etc. This will also give him the opportunity to step out of his comfort zone when friends at school see the sticky notes and ask what they are all about!

• During the first week of school, make a list of the teachers each child will learn from in the coming year. Add the names of the principal, assistant principal, Sunday school/youth leaders, and friends to the list. Each week, choose a name and contact that person to ask for prayer requests. Pray for that person the following week. If the person is a believer, this is easier to do, but if he or she is not it’s a good way for your grandchildren to step out of their comfort zone.

• Give your grandchildren notebook journals and ask them to record God’s answers to their prayers over the coming year. This is a great way for them to begin developing their own faith histories. Seeing God answer prayer and recording it are great ways to remember, and we want them to remember. When the Israelites forgot all God did for them, they fell into sin and away from God. Help your grandchildren remember! It matters. For grandchildren who live far away, send the supplies and connect online to walk them through how to make prayer a big part of their
lives.

By prayerfully stepping out of their comfort zone in the new school year, your grandchildren will be able to tangibly see that God transforms them when they step out in faith.