Parents' perception of their involvement in the spiritual nurture of their children at Karinde Free Methodist Church

Abstract

The purpose of this grounded study was to understand and explain parents' perception of their involvement in the spiritual nurture of their children of six to twelve years of age. It explored parents' understanding of the Biblical teachings and their application to the same as well as factors hindering their involvement in the spiritual development of their children. Data collected was by means of interviews with six parents who were handpicked among the nine parents. These parents are members of Free Methodist Church/ Karinde. The research findings revealed the following results: • There is a need for children of six to twelve years of age to grow spiritually because it is a Biblical mandate. • The Bible is the basic tool for spiritual nurture of children. • Prayer, obedience to God and to the people, reading the Bible, teachings on the goodness of the church, respect to God and parents are the things the parents teach their children to help them grow spiritually. • Home is the place whereby this spiritual growth takes place, though it is done occasionally. • Parents' past spiritual experiences (both positive and negative) serve as motivating factors for them to nurture their children spiritually. • Factors that hinder parents from being fully involved in nurturing their children spiritually include: lack of quality time, lack of consistency, forgetfulness and the feeling of inadequacy. From the findings, some recommendations were proposed to the parents, the ministers of the church, and the Sunday school teachers in understanding the need of helping the children of six to twelve years old to develop spiritually, with a view of helping them better fulfill their God-given responsibility so that these children can embrace Christ Jesus as their Savior and become His disciples.