Some of my earliest memories in life were spent in church. My parents made it a strong priority in our home to be in church every time we had a worship service, which meant we attended each Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. As a busy parent at this stage in my life, I know what a commitment that is, and I will forever be grateful to my mom and dad for raising me in church.

We do not want our kids to grow up in church merely so they will have good sentimental memories like I have—although, the older I get, the more I see the conservative, traditional manner of American life as valuable.

What is the best way to teach our kids the importance of the church? Honestly, this list is so simple that if you are a faithful Christian and a member of a church, I’m sure you are already doing it.

The first thing is that you must understand how important church life is yourself. When I was in college, a professor told us about a student who failed a descriptive paper he was writing on how to change a tire. After perfectly explaining the process of breaking free the lug nuts, properly using a jack, and getting a spare tire, the teacher still failed him. He wrote on top of the paper, “You forgot to stop the car.” Before we get into descriptions of how to talk to our kids about the importance of the church, we need to ask ourselves: is the church important to us?

Why is church important? The Bible tells us church is important because it is in the worship services of the church that Jesus meets with His people (Matthew 18:15–20). When the Word is preached and the sacraments are taken, Christ is with His people (1 Corinthians 10:16–17; 1 Thessalonians 1:5). Likewise, in the church, we find a deep community and people who use their spiritual gifts to make us more like Jesus (Romans 12:3–8; Acts 2:42–47). There are no doubt many other reasons why church is important, but these are just a few.

The second thing we should do is tell them how important church is. As parents, we are oftentimes really bad at telling our kids things and just assume they already know them because we know them. One of the most helpful reminders my wife gives me is that our children do not know what we know. So, we must tell them what we know.

If your kids came to you right now and said, “why is church important?” what would you say? Of course, you can go back to my previous paragraphs, but here are a few other things we can tell our kids about the church.

1. The church is important to us because it is important to Jesus. In Matthew 16:18, the Lord Jesus tells us, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The church was instituted by God Himself, and Jesus has promised to build that church. All over the world, in many different cultures, languages, and countries, the Lord Jesus is building His church through the salvation of one sinner at a time.

Also, we can tell our kids that the church is so important to Jesus that He died for the church. Ephesians 5:25–27 tells us, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Our Savior died to save the church from its sins so that on the final day, we may be presented to God pure and holy.

2. We can teach our kids that at church, we learn about Jesus. Certainly, there are many truths that kids can learn from their parents about Jesus while they are at home. Yet, the single great function of the church is to preach, teach, and exalt Jesus. Each and every week as we come away from our church worship services, we should be learning more about Jesus.

3. A third way to emphasize how important church is is by taking them to corporate worship weekly. Hebrews 10:25 says, “Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Christian friend, this verse should be tattooed onto your eyelids! We are not to forsake church worship. In our busy, hustle-bustle world, the first thing to often go is church attendance. What is amazing about church attendance is that it is one of the easiest commands in the Bible to obey—just show up!

If we do not attend, it reveals more about our priorities, pursuits, and desires than anything else. Of course, this is not to say there is never a reason to miss. There are times when you may be, as my dad used to say, “providentially hindered” through work, sickness, or caring for a loved one. We should be faithful to the church. If you go to church each week, you will tell your kids—by attending—how important it is to you.

4. Finally, demonstrate how important the church is to our children by living out that importance in front of them. This is different from simply taking them to church or telling them how important it is. This is living with the church as a priority in your life.

We demonstrate how important the church is by serving in the church. We give financially. We take seriously the need for community in the church and build our lives alongside the lives of others in the church. We use our spiritual gifts and allow others to use theirs so that we may be built up in Christ.

As I said in my introduction, I assume if you are a faithful Christian, you are already doing these things. Maybe you did not even realize you were teaching your kids how important church is—but now you do. And if you are not teaching your kids how important the church is, then start today—through repentance of your failure and diligence and a renewed priority to teach your kids the importance of life in the church.

Soli Deo Gloria