Your focus on serving the church will impact all of the other areas of your family life. Listen, being involved in church activities does not make you a Christian. But, you can’t be a godly dad and not be involved in church.
When it comes to church, we often become unfocused fathers. God calls us to be intentional at church. The priority you give to church attendance, worship, and service all need to be intentional and focused. That intentionality is your example to your wife and kids. The focused father is intentional about church.
Serving the church and why it matters as a dad.
Focused fatherhood looks for opportunities to serve at church. The power of a praying, worshipping, Christ-following husband and father can have a major impact on your family. Consider the following popular ideas about being an example:
- The leader is the lesson.
- More is caught than taught.
- Children see. Children do.
- Children are great imitators—give them something good to imitate.
I love that last statement.
Serving the church: what are you giving your kids to imitate?
Do you want your kids to love Jesus? Then they need to see and hear you love Jesus. Do you want your kids to grow up to be involved in church and engaged in worship? Then they need to see you serving at church and actively engaged in worship. Do you want your kids to grow up with church being a central, important part of their lives? Then that starts with you and your attitude.
So, does this mean you need to be at church every time the door is open? Not necessarily. But you should give thought to the challenge in Hebrews 10:23-25
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (ESV)
Make serving the church a common thing.
There are a couple of things to note in these verses. First, you should not stay away from worship meetings—that means going to the worship services at church. The writer specified, “as is the habit of some.” When I was a kid, youth sports never scheduled games and practices on Wednesday evenings or Sundays. Today, that is a common occurrence. You’ll have to navigate sports and school activities and learn to lead your family to prioritize what’s most important.
Cutting the distractions matters.
And then there are a variety of other things that can take us away and distract us on the weekends. If you aren’t careful, it can be three or four weeks before you realize you haven’t even been at church. So, why is it important for a Christian to be at church? These verses tell us—it’s to encourage one another and inspire one another to good works. I find great encouragement from the fellowship with other believers.
Stop for a moment and consider your responses to the following questions around serving the church:
- Do you consider church attendance an optional activity? Why or why not?
- How would your kids describe your attitude toward the church?
- Are you setting a good example for your kids of how to worship and serve the local church? Why or why not?
- Do you look forward to being at and participating in worship? Why or why not?
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