How Should Christian Parents Raise Their Children?

The heart of Christian parenting is captured in one ancient command: teach your children the faith, woven into the fabric of ordinary life. “These words… shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). Notice it is not mainly about formal lessons but about a whole life saturated with God’s Word—bedtime prayers, grace at meals, Scripture read together, questions answered, church attended as a family. Paul sums up the parental calling as bringing children up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

This is exactly why Luther wrote the Small Catechism—for fathers to teach their households, walking through the Commandments, Creed, Lord’s Prayer, and Sacraments at home. And it begins where the child’s Christian life began: at the font. Baptized children are already members of Christ’s family, and parents’ work is to keep bringing them the Word that nourishes the faith God planted. Take them to church; let them hear the Gospel preached; teach them to pray. You are, in a real sense, the first pastor your child will ever have.

But hear this clearly if you are weary or discouraged: your child’s salvation does not finally rest on your parenting performance. That is a crushing weight God never asked you to carry, and it is not the promise of Scripture. Proverbs 22:6 is wisdom, not a mechanical guarantee, and even the most faithful parents have watched children wander—as God the perfect Father watched his own children rebel. Do the faithful, ordinary things; entrust the results to God, who loves your children more than you do. Parent from grace, not fear or perfectionism. You will make mistakes; confess them, receive forgiveness, and keep pointing your children to the Savior who covers your failures and theirs alike.