Conclusion—Leading Your Little Ones to Christ: The Salvation Series (Part 6)

If you missed the earlier posts included in the Salvation Series, find them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5. Also, find the free gospel for children printable here.

One of the key things to understand, is that leading a child to the Savior doesn’t begin when they start asking questions. It begins long before that, when they are just babies and toddlers, by laying a foundation of God’s Word in their little hearts—because remember that verse in 2 Timothy…the Scriptures will make them wise unto salvation. And, of course, it takes faith on the parents’ part—so much faith. Because we WANT them to be saved. We WANT them to go to heaven when they die, so it’s easy for us to rush it. It makes so much sense for us, when they come to us the first time to say, “Ok, yes, let’s pray!” Be so so careful. We do not want to push them into a false profession of faith because we want them to get saved SO badly. God says, “Give them Scripture, and let ME do the work in their hearts.”

On Waiting until They Need a Savior

So the next question is, what do I do when they come to me about salvation? Because I cannot tell you how many times I went through the plan of salvation with our daughter, and then I thought, “Ok, what next?” She would sometimes listen and sometimes be very distracted. She obviously wasn’t convicted or anything, so it was just weird and confusing for me in dealing with her. And SO MANY TIMES, actually EVERY SINGLE TIME I felt like I had no clue what I was doing. (Be sure to read the post, How to Know Your Child is NOT Ready to get Saved.)

The best advice I ever got from a friend who was years ahead of me was to wait until they HAD to get saved…wait until they realize THEIR need for salvation ON THEIR OWN. Look, kids know they need a Savior because they hear us harp on it over and over and over again. Of course they want to get saved! Of course they want to go to heaven! Of course they want to please mom and dad. But have they come to a point where they need saving FOR THEMSELVES? Or is it just another religious ritual hanging on to mama’s apron strings…is it just another one of those “church-y things” we do in our family?

That waiting period is so extremely scary. Sometimes, you might wonder, “Lord, am I doing the right thing?” I cannot emphasize enough that you MUST rely on the Holy Spirit through this whole process. He will let you know when they are ready…when they’ve had that change of heart. They have to get to the point where they realize that their sin is SO wicked, and their sin is sending them to hell, and there’s only ONE way for them to get to heaven.

Yes, they have believed in God for their whole entire lives; yes, they could probably tell you the whole plan of salvation by heart; yes, they’ve probably told their neighborhood friends about Jesus many times, but that’s not getting them anywhere. They must come to a place where they need a Savior for themselves! It reminds me of the verses in Matthew 7 where it says, “Lord, Lord, have I not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Can you imagine watching your child stand before God saying, “I went to church! I knew who you were. I even witnessed to people! I sang all of those hymns! I believed there was a God!” and hearing God say, “I never knew you” to them?!?! Woe unto the parent who does not take this into consideration when dealing with their children about salvation!

On Telling Kids They are Saved

One other thing I would caution you very strongly about is telling your kids in the days and months and years following their profession of faith that they are saved. I’ve heard stories of people whose parents told them for years they “got saved” when they were such and such age, and it confused them for years. They also thought, “Well, they think I’m already saved, so I can’t disappoint them and tell them I’m not really!” So they’d quietly wrestle with the doubt and frustration and the feeling of “no one understands.”

Don’t be the parent who causes that suffering. Don’t be your child’s Holy Spirit even when it’s awfully tempting! Let GOD do the work in their hearts. If they’re doubting their salvation in the future, don’t squash that feeling by telling them they got saved when they were however old. Don’t dismiss that doubt. It’s valid. It’s a big deal to them. And if they aren’t saved, it’s a HUGE deal! Their eternal destiny is on the line! Let them work through the doubt (work through the doubt with them), and let them find Christ to be who He has promised in His Word to be!

Helpful Resources

1. A Book: Training Your Children to Turn Out Right

One book that was extremely helpful to me in clarifying how to deal with children about salvation—it’s actually just a chapter that specifically deals with salvation, but the whole book is excellent—is called Training Your Children to Turn out Right by David Sorenson. The chapter I’m specifically referring to is Chapter 9, called “Fruit Inspection.” He covers so many good things such as why children doubt their salvation, and how to deal with confusion. There are some really solid points that help us as parents get everything straightened out in our own minds. I poured over that chapter when dealing with our daughter. I’d highly recommend you get that book even if it’s just for that one chapter.

2. A Sermon: Leading Children to Christ

Another resource is this message that a friend told me about recently called Leading Children to Christ. It is a great practical sermon explaining how to deal with children about salvation. It was given primarily for Sunday School teachers and anyone who works with children in a church setting, but it is also very applicable to parents as well.

Young adults are leaving the faith of their childhood in massive numbers—more than ever before. They grow up in Christian homes and leave everything that they have ever known. It makes me wonder, “Is it just because it was only head salvation and not heart salvation?”

Raising children to first get saved, and then to live to love and serve Christ with all of their hearts and souls and minds, is our greatest responsibility as Christian parents. So let’s remember Timothy, that as a child he knew the Holy Scriptures, and they made his wise unto salvation. I pray that God would bring our children to salvation and then perfect that work which He started in them.

I hope this series has been helpful to you as you navigate leading your little ones to Christ. I’m looking forward to diving into teaching our children how to walk in the Spirit for our next series.

Sarah