I have been amazed at the way God moves! Even more, I am amazed at how God has transformed communities and even our nation throughout history. With this in mind, I look to a brief overview of spiritual awakenings.

Spiritual awakenings, whether in biblical or Church history, manifest patterns that are similar, often strikingly so. While all of the following elements may not be present in each instance, for the most part awakenings progress through a cycle whose phases include these various aspects of God’s working. 1) Awakenings are usually preceded by a time of spiritual depression, apathy and gross sin, in which a majority of nominal Christians are hardly different from the members of secular society, and the churches seem to be asleep. … 2) An individual or small group of God’s people becomes conscious of their sins and backslidden condition, and vows to forsake all that is displeasing to God. … 3) As some Christians begin to yearn for a manifestation of God’s power, a leader or leaders arise with prophetic insights into the causes and remedies of the problems, and a new awareness of the holy and pure character of the Lord is present. … 4) The awakening of Christians occurs: many understand and take part in a higher spiritual life. … 5) An awakening may be God’s means of preparing and strengthening His people for future challenges or trials.”Spiritual Awakenings in North America,” Christian History

What do spiritual awakenings have to do with a parenting ministry? Plenty! In my family, just the introduction of Growing Kids God’s Way set my wife and I on a journey that has lasted for 8 years! We were, in our parenting, in a state of need. Maybe not parenting “depression, apathy or gross sin” as the commentary above suggests. But we were in need of learning and applying the practical implications of God’s Word for our family.

That’s when we entered our first class. And slowly, through a small group of God’s people who led us, we yearned for the peace that would come in our children being a blessing to others and a testimony of God’s grace. The spiritual dimension of parenting involves parents proactively, consistently, and graciously engaging their time with their children, training them in the way they should go.

My prayer is for our nation to go through a spiritual awakening. It can begin anywhere. Why not let it begin with the family? Why not let it begin with our role as parents proactively engaging in our roles of teaching our children the things of God?