Grandparents? Never underestimate the influence you have on the spiritual lives of your grandchildren. Having had both sets of grandparents extremely involved in the raising of my children, I have seen firsthand how their faith and their teachings have influenced my children and helped shape who they are becoming as young adults.
Four years after my mother’s move to Heaven, my children both still quote her favorite Bible verses, just as she did during times of fear or difficulty. They still integrate elements of her character and influence into their daily walk with the Lord. The grandparents still actively involved in their lives today often have words that carry even more weight than mine. Sometimes, it’s easier to hear the truth from a grandparent than a parent.
So what are essential faith lessons that you, as a grandparent, can teach the next generation? Let’s take a look at some:
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1. Prayer and its Powerful Impact on Our Lives
1. Prayer and its Powerful Impact on Our Lives
When my kids spent the night at “Nanny and Poppy’s, " bedtime was always encircled with prayer. The funny thing was that when I would eavesdrop on this prayer time, I’d hear my children praying differently than when they were at home. For whatever reason, something about praying with Mom and Dad—especially as they grew older—brought with it a level of self-awareness—the kind of self-awareness that made them embarrassed, uncomfortable, or “weirded out.”
Not so with Nanny and Poppy. With them, prayer became something treasured. It was a time of intimacy between them and the Lord with the accompaniment of their grandparents. What a gift for a grandparent to foster in their grandchild—comfort and peace in the process of prayer and the unity it brings with it!
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2. Model How to Live with Integrity
2. Model How to Live with Integrity
Grandparents, you have such an authority and influence in your grandchildren’s lives. And they are watching you with the impressionable eyes and pliable hearts of someone who will mimic your behaviors.
Teach them honesty and integrity of character. This isn’t just in the big things but in daily choices. It’s showing kindness to the downtrodden and the irritating person in the grocery aisle. It shows truthfulness when you find that additional item in your grocery cart when you get to your car and realize you accidentally never paid for it. Take it back inside. Show integrity. Teach it to grandchildren. Persevere in your quest to have good ethics and character. These lessons will take your grandchildren so far in a culture where many of these are severely lacking.
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3. Teach the Value of Scripture
3. Teach the Value of Scripture
Did you ever think you’d find the day when we forgot to incorporate Scripture into our Christian Walk? When concepts became the driving force of our faith, we could not go back to Scripture and cross-check it for truth if we were paid to do so.
In a world where truth is subjective, negotiable, and relative, your grandchildren need to learn the Word of God—and not just learn it, but how to study it, interpret it, dissect it, and apply it to their lives.
And show them the value of Scripture by actively incorporating it into your daily life. This means mentioning it, quoting verses when the time is organic and natural (don’t force it!), and helping them hide God’s Word in their hearts.
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4. Show Them How to Serve Others
4. Show Them How to Serve Others
Service is a dying way of life. Have you noticed? It’s often every man for themselves or entitled attitudes as though we were owed something. There’s a consistent barrage of images via social media and media that tell your grandkids to put themselves first and achieve their success and happiness in life.
You can teach them to serve others. By your actions as grandparents, you’re likely already doing this (you have a way of serving their parents and helping out!). But you can show them how by your actions. Please include them in the little service projects you may participate in. Do you serve meals to shut-ins? Take the grandkids with you. Do you rake leaves in the fall, help clean the church, or give your finances to help someone in need? Include your grandkids.
These are just four basic but ultra-fulfilling and needed ways to instill Biblical faith principles into your grandchildren. There are so many more, too! Be on the lookout, and most importantly, be aware that your impact on your grandchild’s spiritual growth is priceless!
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Originally published March 20, 2025.
