5 Simple Ways to Model Sharing Your Faith Across Cultures for Your Kids

The Blue Cord, by iHOPE Ministries

About the Guest(s):

• Amy McBrayer: Amy is a busy mom of two sons, a teacher at a local school, and a PhD candidate working on her thesis on the topic of modeling sharing faith across cultures. She is intentional about teaching her children to be authentic witnesses in their daily lives and has practical tips to share with other parents.

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Karen interviews Amy McBrayer, a mom and teacher who is passionate about modeling sharing faith across cultures for her children. Amy shares five simple ways that parents can teach their kids to be authentic witnesses in a multicultural world. The first step is to talk with your kids about your Christian faith and the foundational beliefs of Christianity. The second step is to talk about world religions, helping your children understand the differences between various faiths. The third step is to take family field trips to experience different cultures and cuisines. The fourth step is to tithe your time by serving with organizations that work with refugees or international students. Finally, the fifth step is to model being an authentic witness yourself, showing your children what it looks like to live out your faith in everyday life.

Key Takeaways:

• Talking with your kids about your Christian faith helps them understand the foundational beliefs of Christianity and prepares them to share their faith with others.
• Discussing world religions with your children helps them understand and respect the beliefs of others, while also deepening their own understanding of their faith.
• Taking family field trips to experience different cultures and cuisines helps children appreciate the beauty and diversity of the world and fosters a curiosity about other cultures.
• Tithing your time by serving with organizations that work with refugees or international students provides opportunities for your children to interact with people from different backgrounds and learn about their experiences.
• Modeling being an authentic witness yourself is crucial, as children learn by example and are more likely to embrace their faith and share it with others when they see their parents living it out.

Notable Quotes:

• "Our kids are being their friends and our kids are going to school with them and our kids are wanting to go play outside with them. And it's really important as a follower of Christ, and we're pointing our children to Jesus that they can also do the same thing with their friends, but we have to have conversations with them. We have to be talking about that and making sure that they're ready for that." - Amy McBrayer
• "If you want your kids to love God, then you have to love God. If you want your kids to believe in prayer, you have to believe in prayer. If you want your children to love God's word, then you have to love God's word." - Amy McBrayer

Resources:

• The Blue Cord Podcast

Don't miss this insightful episode where Amy McBrayer shares practical tips for modeling sharing faith across cultures for your children. Listen now to learn how you can prepare your kids to be authentic witnesses in a multicultural world.

Chapters:

00:01:00 Importance of modeling faith across cultures for kids
00:02:00 Kids as missionaries in their elementary schools
00:03:00 Living in a multicultural world and passing on the faith
00:04:00 Talking about Christian faith in daily family conversations
00:05:00 Sharing personal experiences of faith with children
00:06:00 Patience in children's journey of faith
00:07:00 Talking about world religions with kids
00:08:00 Differentiating between different beliefs and faiths
00:09:00 Navigating conversations about Islam and Christianity
00:10:00 Understanding the difference between the God of the Bible and other faiths
00:11:00 Sharing Jesus with friends from different backgrounds
00:12:00 The beauty of God's grace and salvation in Christianity
00:13:00 The Holy Spirit guides children to be bright lights in sharing their faith
00:14:00 Taking kids to experience different cultures through ethnic food and conversations
00:15:00 Tying family time to serving others and engaging with different cultures
00:16:00 Volunteering with refugee families and involving kids in the experience
00:18:00 Serving with international student organizations to engage with different faiths and cultures
00:20:00 Modeling authentic witness by praying with others and sharing stories of conversations about faith
00:22:00 The importance of parents modeling their own faith for their children
00:25:00 Encouragement to love God, believe in prayer, and love God's word to inspire children's faith
00:00 Introduction to the topic of parenting and sharing faith
00:27 Reflecting on preparing kids to be authentic witnesses
00:27:00 Considering the Holy Spirit's guidance and modeling faith sharing
00:27:30 Identifying barriers to sharing faith
00:28 Encouragement to start sharing faith
00:28:30 Suggestion to share the episode with others