Three-quarters of British parents of Under 5s have contact with a church through its toddler group. That is extraordinary. Is there any other ministry in our nation that is reaching three-quarters of a demographic?
The ordinary
Step into a toddler group and you are witnessing the ordinary. I do…
When my child is crying, my prayers are different. They have a problem and I can’t fix it. As I sit with them, I take it to our Father in heaven. He loves my child more than I do. He has all power at his disposal. The words I pray feel like they really matter.
Prayer is a risk
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Surveys consistently find that about three-quarters of UK Christians came to faith before they left secondary school. This is consistent with the Bible story (Proverbs 22:6, Psalm 78:1-6).
Parents matter
While faith transmission is a spiritual work done by the Lord, we would expect t…
It’s that time of year again …. the season for ghosts, ghouls and zombies arriving on your doorstep in search of chocolate! I’m not sure which is worse – the prospect of a ‘trick’ or the social awkwardness of trying to make polite conversation with a 6 year-old monster.
It doesn’t need…
Jake is Sarah’s eldest child. I saw Sarah on the first Sunday after she dropped Jake off at University for his first term. She said to me, “It’s pathetic. I want to get into the car and drive four hours to take him to church! There’s a good local church so close to him. He needs to walk out of his d…
In Uganda, for Christmas, most city dwellers head to the countryside where their families live. Once they arrive, families sit together and tell their stories; laughing, eating and celebrating. We heard about a Ugandan Christmas on our recent Faith in Parents podcast, "Christmas elsewhere." What str…
It was like a wrapping paper blizzard. It already covered the floor. It didn’t stop. Tearing, ripping, throwing and moving on. In that moment I knew our family Christmas had taken a wrong turn. It felt like we were ripping through each present without gratitude or any sense that someone had ge…
We live in an area that loves Halloween. Each year hundreds of kids get dressed up and walk around the street trick or treating. Families decorate their gardens and really embrace this event. Until this year we’ve done the complete opposite. We’ve closed our curtains; told our girls we don’t get inv…
“Saving Lives at Sea” is one of our family’s favourite TV programmes. It shows remarkable rescues performed by the volunteer crews of the RNLI. It’s extraordinary how quickly a lifeboat crew can respond to an emergency call, but even if they run to the lifeboat, launch immedi…
I live in London. I’ve never experienced a significant earthquake, volcanic eruption, tsunami or landslide. My disaster preparedness is limited to taking in the washing before it rains! It’s never seemed particularly important to know what to do when the house starts shaking. But I have …
