Faith inheritance is a major concern for the church and individual Christians, as well as a responsibility they should fulfill. If every believer successfully passes their faith to their family, it could prevent gaps within the church.
Recently, two pastors shared their experiences passing on faith to their families, offering valuable insights.
Pastor Xu is a fourth-generation Christian from the Chaoshan area, Guangzhou province, where the people hold a variety of religions and value inheritance. Once a family adopts a particular belief, that belief typically remains unchanged across generations. Therefore, when encountering a Chaoshan Christian, it is common to find that he/she is usually a multiple-generation Christian.
Xu's father was a preacher, and before his birth, the family dedicated him to the Lord in prayer. His father did not impose the expectation that "you have been dedicated, and you must service." Until Xu got the calling to serve and expressed such a desire, he knew that he was dedicated. Xu affirmed his calling as a natural process.
His path to serve was greatly influenced by his parents, and he tried to influence his family in the same way. Xu and his wife also dedicated their daughter to God in prayer. His daughter is attending college. Xu is uncertain about God's will for her, but he trusts God's guidance, stating they would respect their daughter's choices. They would inform her that she had been dedicated to God long ago only after she expressed her commitment to serving.
In his faith journey, Xu has numerous experiences that have deepened his relationship with God. His family helped him foster the habit of spiritual devotion. When studying theology, he often got up at 4 a.m. to read the Bible, pray, and meditate. Now in middle age, he maintains this early morning practice. Xu emphasizes that having time alone with God is essential to one's faith.
Therefore, he guided his daughter to participate in family worship from a young age. Their worship is simple, involving Bible reading, prayer, and occasional sharing of Scriptures. During their family worship, his daughter was filled with the Holy Spirit several times when she was a kid.
As a third-generation Christian, Pastor Chi's faith was influenced by his grandmother. He witnessed the devoutness of the older generation. So when guiding his children, he stresses teaching by example. He leads his two children to sing hymns, read the Bible, and pray together every day. When his children face challenges in life, he encourages them to pray and entrust their lives to God, helping them to experience God's presence and fostering their relationship with Him.
Chi expressed that many believers did not do a good job of passing down the faith. He noted that, particularly in urban areas, individualistic faith remains prevalent. Parents fail to guide their children to grow in faith. While they may wish to bring their families into the church, they do not live out faith in their lives. Since the lack of good testimony, children and spouses may misunderstand faith, let alone learn and accept faith.
