How to introduce God to children when the parents are non believers

[ElsieH]

I first made this post in Non denom.

Hello, my name is Elsie, and I have a question I have been pondering. How do i introduce the idea of God to my Children when I no longer believe in his exsistence?

You may wonder why I would want to do this, and it is because as in any thing in my life, I was giving the choice, My Father is Catholic (no longer practicing, but does still observe Lent), my mother Baptist, I have been to many different denominations, my last Church was Southern Baptist, that was in AR. I am now in LA, and as i said I am no longer a believer. My husband was rasied Seventh Day Adventist, but he to is not practicing, as for his belief i dont really know, but my children deserve the right to make that choice for themselves. As a child my parents attended Catholic services during the "holiday" reasons. I was able to attend i think it was baptist, not really sure (1970's) Youth ministers as I think they are called today, would come by ion Sat. and invite me and fellow neighborhood children to attend sunday school. Which I did absent from my parents. I dont think that is done anymore, I could be wrong, and in todays world, not really sure I would let my 6 yr old go onto a bus with complete strangers, as my parents allowed 30 years ago.

I have called a few local churches, and they all insist that I attend with my children, something I dont want to do. I do not have any family that attends services that I could send my children with.

With that being said, how would I go about allowing them the introduction that I think the deserve, without having to do it myself and appear hypocritical? Neither me nor my husband would make good teachers of this.

I just want to allow my children to make their own decisions.

Thank you in advance for reading, and for any input that you may have.

 

[swingnscream]

Teaching younger kids Bible stories is always a really great way for them to learn about God & Jesus and kind of learn about who they are and what they've done. I guess in that way it's kind of like a historical figure. Bible stories & songs are usually a great key for younger kids, that's one reason children Sunday School is a fairly popular thing. I know some church still do pick up kids on buses or vans, like you were talking about, but I know you're also worried about that. If it makes any difference, I know at my church they have a driver & an adult rider for the sake of accountablity and to help out with the kids. However if that's still something you're not comfortable with you could always take your kids to church and drop them off if you do not want to attend as well.
Also if you're not comfortable with having to take your kids to church on a Sunday some churches have a mid-week activity or class for children. Like my church has a Wed. night thing, that's a little bit like a scouts or brownies program in that we teach them some skill about how to make things or how something like an instrument works, and at the same time there's still some bible stories and songs as well.

Some churches also have a "Vaction Bible School" [VBS] in the summer, which can either be every evening for a week or more like the mid-week activities, depending on the church. These are usually geared just for the kids and they're very kid friendly, so that maybe be an ideal starting point for you.

I hope you find something that works out very well for you and your children.

 

[hugnluvable]

Alot of churches have children and youth ministry. Why not check a church out with a thriving youth ministry so they are able to learn about God and christianity in an encouraging environment with loads of children around learning the same thing.

As for getting them on a bus to get there n stuff, well some churches do that - in my experience leaders are always CRB checked (police checked) before they start working with children. But if you feel more comfortable taking them there then take them there. That way you get to meet the people involved and the environment they are learning in.

Hope it helps

Love, hugs and prayers
Erica