Many Christians today have a plethora of Bible studies to choose from; and chances are between your church, online groups, and personal studies, you’re likely involved in more than one. This is true if you’re 2 or 92.
However, if you are like most Christians, a family Bible study is likely not one of the studies you are involved in. And many of the Christians I talk to have never been a part of nor have they even seen what a Bible study in a home with the whole family looks like.
This was the case for me. I was not raised in a home with family Bible studies, and I didn’t know of anyone else doing it when I was growing up either. So, when I became a dad and started asking around and digging into resources on the subject it took me a while to develop something that worked for us.
Much of what I could easily find was something that looked like it was a better fit for a Sunday school class than a home. Which made sense as family resources are often written by Sunday school directors and/or Sunday school curricula repackaged for the home. In order to pull off such studies, I felt like I would need to own a glue gun, a blowtorch, have access to a nuclear reactor, and have a year’s supply of toilet paper rolls on hand. And, who owns a glue gun? I mean, really?
That or one spouse needs to be what I call a craft MacGyver. You know the type, give them a stick of gum and a clothes-hanger, and they’ll give you 30 sample craft ideas, on theme, all in under 30 seconds.
Don’t get me wrong, craft MacGyvers are incredibly gifted. I loved having them on the ministry teams I managed but is that level of craftiness needed for a family Bible study? I don’t know very many dads, or moms for that matter, ready to take on that daily commitment. For most families, it’s not practical.
On the flip side, I often come across family resources that are so dry and stuffy that my son, who never wants to sleep, miraculously finds himself “just too sleepy” for nightly Bible studies when we use them. As it turns out the stuff that boomers study at the typical 5 am men’s breakfast isn’t quite life-giving for the whole family. Even if you package it with colorful clipart. Go figure.
So What Should a Family Bible Study Look Like Then?
A family Bible study should be a simple and natural part of your everyday routine. It can be done at any time of day, with anyone who happens to be in your home (family, friends, neighbors), and should last as long as your youngest child can handle. Be sure to include the reading of God’s word, catechisms, discussion, spiritual songs/hymns, and prayer. If you’re feeling “extra” go ahead and supplement in some visual aids, devotional books, and instruments.
But let’s tackle this topic in a bit more detail. If you’re like me, you really like having things spelled out with clear examples.
Keep it Simple and Natural
Don’t overthink or over-plan the study. Especially in the beginning stages. No need to bring in a bunch of moving parts. Also, no need to take on too much content too fast. The simpler it is, the easier it will be to incorporate into your daily routine. If it’s easy to incorporate, then it will be easy to keep going.
Also, do what fits the natural flow of your family’s day best. In other words, if you’re the family that changes into their pajamas the second you all get home (or never changes out of them to start with), then don’t get dressed up in “church” clothes to do your daily study. It should fit your family’s atmosphere.
Tips for a simple bible study:
- Pick 1 book of the Bible to read from start to finish, and read just 1 chapter of it each night. If you have young children, a storybook Bible is a good place to start. If you go the storybook route then read one story a night. Either way, you will have at least your first week or more lined up (unless you picked Jude). Then move on to the next book.
- Stop to explain meaning as you read, but no need for consulting a commentary here, just use vocabulary your kids will understand. The purpose especially in the beginning is to introduce your family to God’s word, not to deliver a sermon. You really do not have to prep anything other than your heart for this.
- Ask if your children have questions or comments (if they’re old enough), and answer them as best as you can. Again, do not feel the need to preach. If they don’t have questions or comments, move on.
- Pick just a few (3-5) catechisms to recite each night, rotating in new catechisms monthly. The point of catechizing is memorization, and doing 5 a month will allow for long-term memorization and years of study as a family. They’re great because you don’t have to come up with topics yourself, most Catechism lists have over 100 biblical truths to take in. They also help keep things moving, which is good for kids. We’ve linked a great resource for these further down in this post.
- Pick 1 song to sing for a week to a month or until your family has it memorized. Feel free to add more, but one is enough to start, especially if you’re nervous about singing. Starting with kids’ songs like Jesus Loves Me is a great ice breaker for everyone. Even teenagers should still be able to appreciate such songs. I work at a Christian school and regularly hear and see seniors in high school enjoying songs like Peace Like a River, during their Music hour.
- Take prayer requests, and take turns praying together. Early on, I asked my son if he would pray for mommy tonight, or for me, or for grandma, or for our neighbors. Giving him one thing to pray for made it an easy entry for him.
Make it a Daily Routine
Why daily, wouldn’t once a week be enough?
- God commands us to teach our children about Him when we rise up and lie down, and to do it all along the way. In short, we should teach our children about God all day long. Which, in my experience, that’s almost impossible to build up to without first attempting to do it for one part of each day. Studying God’s word as a routine part of your kids’ daily schedule will make having spiritual conversations with them as natural as putting on their socks or brushing their teeth.
- Man does not live on bread alone, and parents are responsible for feeding their children both physical and spiritual food. Most Christian parents would never dream of withholding physical food and drink from their children for an entire day but far too often starve them of spiritual food. If we fed our children just once a week we would not wonder why they are sickly, yet we often wonder why spiritually starved children grow up to be spiritually sick. Sadly, many modern evangelicals are raising spiritually sick children, as about 70 percent of children raised in Christian homes stop practicing their faith within a few years of leaving home. Far too many children are “living” in a fasted spiritual state. Sunday school and midweek meetings are not enough “food”.
- It teaches our children that God is alive and active in our daily lives. Your kids need to see that you really believe and practice what you are teaching them to believe. If you say God is alive, if you tell them He is near, then you ought to show that truth in your daily lives by living like He is actually present and active in your life. If He is really there, shouldn’t you spend time with Him each day?
Anytime with Anyone
We like to do our Bible study and worship time at night as part of our bedtime routine. It works well for us, as our son is still young enough to enjoy a drawn-out bedtime routine. But, it can be done at any time of day. I recommend picking one time and sticking to that time, just make sure you pick a time when everyone is most often home (harder for families with older teens with jobs/etc). For some families, this might be at breakfast. For others, the best time might be the few minutes before dinner while the enchiladas cool.
If someone is away at a friend’s house, do the study without them. If your toddler was exhausted from a big day and just fell asleep on the living room floor, let them sleep and do it without them. If it’s just mom and dad, still do it. It’s not just for the kids, right? If you have guests over and they’re still there during your Bible study time, then force them…I mean, invite them to join in. Don’t shift the time around, it’s too hard to build a habit that way.
Length Should Match/Stretch Your Youngest Child
We don’t have a set length of time for our study, but on most nights it lasts around 15 to 30 minutes. Some nights it goes longer when our kiddo is a bit more chatty and inquisitive. Then, on other nights, he falls asleep early (especially if we ended up working through one of those stuffy devotions I mentioned above) and we finish up while he sleeps. After all, we’re feasting during this time as well. No need to wake him up, unless it becomes a habit then we know we need to start earlier (time change always takes a few weeks to iron out).
As our son gets older, we’ll stretch it a bit longer and go a bit deeper. If God blesses us with more children we’ll adapt to make it work for the youngest. Play down to the youngest, just be sure to stretch them in both time and content as you go along. I find that young kids are often more capable of self-control than our modern era gives them credit for.
If your older children want/need more in-depth study, praise God! Find time in your schedule to meet with them. It could be as simple as extending the study portion after the younger children are tucked in bed.
God’s Word
The main text should be God’s written word, the Bible. The apostle Paul teaches that faith starts by hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10), and explains that the message he and the other apostles taught was the word of Christ, the same word that was alive and working in believers of their day (1 Thessalonians 2). Those words and many more before them were written down and preserved over the ages, eventually collected and published in our modern-day Bible. No other written source has the authority and power to save the soul and transform the human condition. If we are to see our children saved and growing in their faith, we must lead them daily to the table to feast on His word.
If you have young children, I recommend using a storybook Bible for the majority of your study times. Feel free to mix in a combination of scripture as well, but children are more engaged with the stories of the Bible. You can check out what Storybook Bibles we recommend on our recommendations page here (coming soon).
Catechism
Catechising, thankfully, has had a bit of a rebirth in our modern Christian communities. It’s still not the common practice it once was over a hundred years ago, but I am thankful to hear that many churches are using and/or urging their members to take part in catechizing their households.
If you are unfamiliar with catechisms, they are short phrases written in question-and-answer form, emphasizing biblical truths. The practice of using catechisms involves one person reading a question with others reciting the corresponding answer.
You can access one of the most commonly used children’s catechisms here.
Discussion
Simply give your children space to ask questions and share their thoughts about the text. You should not feel the need to make every reading land in a deep and meaningful way. My wife and I often use the time to share how a passage has been impacting us, or use an example from our day. Yet, we often just let the word do the talking. We don’t feel the need to force discussion when it isn’t flowing. The aim is to saturate our child’s heart and mind along with our own. After years of doing this, we are regularly amazed at our 6-year-old’s ability to make connections from passages we’ve read in the past. The more he is soaked in God’s word the more natural it is for him to think and share in light of God’s word.
Singing
Singing was the most recent addition to our nightly routine, and surprisingly has become my favorite part of the day, hands down.
I had been convicted for a few years about needing to lead my family in this way. I knew God’s word repeatedly tells His people to sing out to Him. However, I didn’t feel capable of leading my family in it. My wife is a very talented singer, but I never encouraged her to make this part of our study time. The truth of the matter is that I was a bit (a lot) embarrassed by my inability to sing on key. I damaged my hearing as a teenager playing the drums and have struggled with muddy hearing ever since.
If you struggle like me in this, and would like more information on how to get started, I discuss in great detail how I got started with my family in this post here: Should families sing praise and worship songs together? (post coming soon).
But, the short of it is, you can start with any song. We started with This Little Light of Mine and The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock. And pretty quickly made our way to There is a Fountain Filled With Blood. Once the embarrassment was over, it wasn’t hard to move on.
A secondary blessing for me, after singing every day for quite some time now, is that I’m actually able to sing on key for most of the songs we sing. I’m not going to be asked to lead worship on Sunday Mornings any time soon, but we’re doing just fine at home.
Just get started. It might be cringy for a minute or two, but it’s worth it.
Nervous about adding singing to your bible study?
Don’t let singing keep you from a study. If you don’t feel ready to add it in, just be sure to start with all the other elements and keep this in mind for the future. However, the longer you wait, the harder it might be to get your family on board.
My son had a very hard time with adding songs to our nightly routine. There is some uniqueness in our situation as my son has a harder than typical time with any change of routine, but we had many nights of tears and anger for several weeks when it came time to sing our nightly song. Even now, after doing it as long as we have, it isn’t his favorite part of our bible studies and he would willingly skip song time on most nights. I’m confident he’ll eventually grow to love the time.
You might be wondering if it’s worth the struggle we have had. Why not stick with the good thing we already had going? I’d argue that it’s always worth doing what God tells us to do. That’s enough of an argument. But, it’s also been incredibly satisfying to see my son singing hymns and worship songs throughout the day while he’s playing around the house. He often makes up his own songs about God as well these days. One of the markers of being spirit-filled Christians as expressed in Ephesians 5:18-19 is singing psalms and spiritual songs. One of the ways we have evidence that our son is growing in the Spirit, is that he naturally overflows with this type of worship since making our change. He still has some warming up to do for our nightly routines, but he’s still young. We have time.
Prayer
Letting your children see you talk to God is one of the clearest ways to show them that God is real to you and that He is alive and capable of all that you say He is. Lay your wants and needs down at the feet of Jesus, and do it in front of your kids. Ask Him for help, and tell Him about your day. Lead your children to do the same.
Use outlines and resources as needed to help your family pray for things that don’t naturally come up as part of your reading and day, like mission work, your neighbors/neighborhood, government leaders, etc. I actually wrote a book intended to be a guide that teaches young children to pray as part of a nightly Bible study routine. You can buy the book on amazon, or download it for free here.
With or Without Crafts, Books, or Instruments
At the core, all you need is a Bible, a few catechisms, and a song or two. But, mixing in some crafts, devotionals, Bible study resources, and instruments are great ways to keep things fresh over the years. We use ukuleles during our worship time and have several books we like to rotate into our nightly Bible studies (see that list here). We’ve never used crafts, but we have incorporated drawing/painting into our nightly routine from time to time. We also have been known to do a little dancing as well.
The key in all of this should be consistency. What can you add or take away so that you and your family will meet together with God daily?