Simple Scripture Habits For Families

Sometimes parents feel overwhelmed by the thought of family devotions or reading the Bible with their kids. But you can remind them that even the simplest habits can help them incorporate Scripture into their daily lives! Here are a few ideas to share with the families in your church:

• Decorate with scripture – Many families have more scripture in their homes than they realize, but it’s also easy to make it an art project or part of a holiday celebration! With an activity like Scripture Stars or even encouraging kids to make their own Bible verse poster, families can hang up scripture around their homes where they’ll see it every day. If they’re decorating for a certain holiday or season, they can find Bible verses that relate to that celebration, add them to some decorations, and hang those up too! Then each time they pass the scripture hanging in their homes, encourage them to read it out loud!
• Listen to it – Diving into Scripture doesn’t mean you have to read it from a page, so find ways to encourage families to HEAR the word too! Catherine, a kidmin leader in California, shared that on the way to school each day, she and her girls listen to a portion of the Bible in the car before they listen to anything else. The Bible App is a great resource for listening to the Bible audibly, and you can also share your favorite scripture-based worship like JumpStart 3 or Seeds Family Worship!
• Focus on memorizing it – Memorizing scripture is an easy way to keep it handy – your brain goes with you wherever you go, after all! Helping kids and families internalize God’s Word can be as simple as providing memory verse cards like these or these that help them focus on one verse each month.
• Add it to a habit they have already – An easy way to start a new habit is to connect it to an old habit. So encourage families to read Scripture (listen to it, look over their memory verse card, etc.) while brushing teeth, when they put on clothes for the day, when they eat a meal together as a family, etc. You could even offer a simple Bible Reading Challenge to help kids and families develop the habit! When families see how easy it is to incorporate Scripture into their daily lives when they get a little more intentional with daily mundane habits, it’ll be more natural for them to learn God’s Word together!
• Try SIMPLE family devotions – Many parents feel ill-equipped, unsure, or just plain tired when it comes to leading their family in a Bible study or devotion. That’s why it’s important to offer simple and flexible family Bible studies that are deep yet approachable for busy families. Some of our favorites include Invitation to Joy: Parables Family Study, Camping with God, Baking Through the Bible, simple Bible Study sheets, and our Buckets of Fun Summer Devotional. When we remove the pressure and fear parents have about leading a family devotion at home, parents are more likely to take advantage of the resources we share with them!

So this summer, choose one (or more) of the ideas above and share it with your families, encouraging them to dig into God’s Word together and form the small habits that help them bring Scripture into their everyday lives.