This wasn't really news to me, but I am constantly surprised by how many parents either don't realize this or underestimate their role in modeling a walk with Jesus. I periodically have parents who can't understand why their student isn't more involved with church or youth group. If they were to look at their own attendance patterns they would find (with some rare exceptions) that their student's attendance and involvement mirrors their own. Students typically model their own devotional life after their parents', as well.Poll Confirms Parents' Influence on Teens' Religious Activities
When it comes to attending church, praying, and reading the Bible, the apple does not fall far from the tree, according to Religion News Service release. A recent poll of teens and their parents overwhelmingly confirms that parents have the most influence on their children's religious activity. The survey, commissioned by the American Bible Society and conducted by Weekly Reader Research, found that almost 80 percent of America's 30.2 million 12-18 year olds think the Bible is important and 87 percent of parents think the Bible is important. However, the results show that parents still have work to do; of the 47 percent of teens who think the Bible is very important, only 11 percent read it daily. Only ten percent of America's 12-18 year-olds participate in daily Bible reading, but that's still higher than the results of June 2006 survey done by ABS.
That is not to lay a guilt trip on parents, but simply to highlight the impact our own walk has on our kids. I know this is convicting to me and is a reminder of the fact that if I want my kids to value faith community involvement and time in God's Word I need to model that myself. It's also encouraging because I know that I can make an positive impact on my kids!
Parents: When is the last time your kids saw you reading the Bible? How often are you willing to miss Sunday celebration gatherings for something else? How involved are you in a small group? These are values we are passing along (or not) to the next generation. What is a next step you can take?
