Raising Disciples: Interview with Teresa Roberts

Teresa Roberts, author of Raising Disciples: Guiding Your Kids into a Faith of Their Own, shares her heart for cultivating a spiritual community for your kids and tips for helping them grow spiritually at all ages and stages.

What inspired you to write the book Raising Disciples: Guiding Your Kids into a Faith of Their Own?

Over the last decade, I realized that while there are plenty of great books on Christian parenting, none really map out the stages of discipleship from infancy to adolescence. That’s why I wrote this book — to give parents a clear pathway to help their kids grow spiritually at every age and stage.

Drawing from 30 years of walking alongside parents and 15 years as a professor, this pathway weaves together scripture and childhood development to identify key discipleship markers. My hope is that this book becomes a practical resource for parents and anyone who works with kids, making it easier to nurture spiritual growth each year.

Could you share about who discipled you growing up?

I’m very fortunate that I was raised by Christian parents. My father is a mathematics professor and my mom is an accountant, so there’s nothing highly spiritual about them. But my parents were intentional to put us into a Christian community from the time we were infants. I was raised in a church of about 200 people in a small town in Illinois, so I had spiritual aunts and uncles and grandparents that were part of that church community. I believe this is why my two brothers and I are all serving in ministry today.

How would you encourage parents looking for a spiritual family for their kids?

Some of the best ways to create a spiritual family is to have people from your church community over to your home or accept invitations into their homes. Allow your families to get to know each other and be intentional about this time.

There is also another way to approach finding those spiritual family members for your kids: ask. When you find someone you trust, make the invitation: Would you come to my son’s soccer game; or my daughter’s musical performance; or would you mind reaching out to my daughter or son who is struggling right now? I think there are a lot of godly people who would love the opportunity to invest in and disciple children.

For example during my years on staff as a children’s minister, I was single. It was natural for families to invite me over to their homes. Also, I had time to show up for soccer games and dance recitals and loved those opportunities.

I encourage families to not forget about two potential groups that can come alongside your child in their discipleship. Single adults (and also couples without children), can become spiritual aunts and uncles to your children. Second, retired men and women, especially those who may not have family nearby, have so much to offer as spiritual grandparents.

Years ago, my parents became spiritual grandparents to a family in the church. This semester, one of those children is now a student in my classroom, studying for ministry. These are the kinds of relationships God intended.

This year at Ozark, I will have a young woman in my class who my parents adopted as a spiritual granddaughter through my home church. These are the kinds of relationships God intended.

Could you give the audience a taste of your book?

The primary premise is that every child is being discipled. However, the question is, who or what is discipling your child? To help parents think about that, I’ve identified seven stages of a child’s spiritual development, from infancy to adolescence. For each of the seven stages, I provide a variety of suggestions of how a parent can encourage a child’s spiritual growth along this pathway.

The pathway begins with laying a foundation of trust during infancy – trust with you and trust with others in your church community. Then children can be surrounded with God’s love, introduced to God’s story, and recognize they are a part of God’s community, the church. As they grow in understanding, they can be led to believe in God’s truth found in scripture and guided toward obedience of God and following Jesus. Our hope is that by the time they reach the age of 13, a child would understand who God created them to be, who they are in God, and that they belong to the community of faith. If we can build a framework of faith centered on Christ, Scripture, and community before the age of 13, then they will be more likely to live according to that framework their whole lives.

How would you encourage parents today who are seeking to disciple their kids?

Your discipleship of your children should flow naturally out of the overflow of your own continued growth as a disciple of Jesus. But also, choose something to be intentional about with your kids and their spiritual development – whether that be nighttime prayers or praying on the way to school, or perhaps a specific focus of Bible reading for a period of time. Choose something for this season and dedicate yourself and your family to it.

We started a practice in our home a couple years ago, that in the month of November, before we eat dinner together, we each write down one thing we’re thankful for that day, and we add it to a bowl. It’s a simple practice that has a lot of meaning for my family.

What is one simple next step parents could take to encourage their kids in their journey with God?

Something helpful is asking your kids open-ended questions — those that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer. Then find which of those questions your kids really respond to. Here are a couple examples: What did you feel like God encouraged you to do today? What was something that was really good about your day?

I’ve found that when you cultivate these types of conversations with your kids with simple questions, it creates a seed bed for when the harder questions come along.

Teresa Roberts is a Professor of Ministry and Christian Formation, Program Director of Children’s Ministry, and a vice president at Ozark Christian College. She is an expert in children’s spiritual formation training with more than 25 years of ministry experience. Dr. Roberts holds a Master of Arts in Family and Youth Ministry, a Master of Divinity, and a Doctor of Ministry. She serves in children’s ministry at Carterville Christian Church where she attends with her husband and step-daughter. Learn more at discipleshipguides.com.