Discipleship:

A Parent's Guide
This guide is for parents of students in
junior high and high school. It is often
hard to know how to influence the life of
your student without being overbearing, so
this guide will help you disciple your
students while still making their faith their
own.
Joseph Jankowski

Introduction
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God
directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the
Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after
them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his
decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long
life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with
you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and
honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your
hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at
home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when
you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your
foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your
gates. [Italics: mine]
This passage was a critical passage in Jewish culture, and today it
applies still. Children are important. It was important then that youth
would be brought up knowing to love God and to know his word and it
is just as important today.

You Are a Parent.

You are lucky, dear friends, you have been blessed with a great gift:
Children.
You have also been entrusted with a vitally important goal: Teach them
to know God, love God, walk with God, talk with God, and, ultimately,
live for God.

It isn't easy. But it is worth it.

This guide will teach on the importance of:
-Reading (and interpreting) Scripture -Prayer
-Worship
-Rest

Defining Terms:
Reading, or the Basic Interpretation Process:
This part is essential to discipling a student.
It is not enough to simply read scripture, for words on a page mean
nothing if not interpreted. You need
to know the context of a passage in order to accurately interpret and
apply it.
The easiest method to figuring out the context of the passage is to ask
yourself: Who, What, When, Where, and Why?
Who: Who wrote the passage? Who was it written too? Who was it
written about? Is it to a person? People group? The world?
What: What are they talking about? What is going on? What is
emphasized? What is important?
When: When does this passage take place (time period)? When does this
passage place (in relation to other passages)?
Where: Where does the passage take place? Where have they been?
Where are they going?

Why: Why are they doing what they are doing? Why are they talking
about what they are talking about? Why is this passage here? Why is this
passage important?
This is a really simple and effective way of interpreting scripture. It
allows you to see through the authors eyes, it allows you to grasp the
situation as it was, and it allows you to get a feel for the purpose of the
passage. The purpose of the passage is necessary for the reader to be
able to find the take-away.
The last question to ask yourself when studying a passage is this: What
is the purpose of the passage and what can I take away from that?

Prayer
Prayer can be a difficult concept to define. Prayer is as simple as talking
with God, but in reality it is so much more than that to a follower of
Christ.
You as a Christian have been given an everlasting relationship with God,
and as such you have the privilege of talking to the Almighty Creator
that loves you and cares for you. There is no one person in heaven or on
earth that you could ever be closer or more intimate with, and the
relationship that you have with him is special. You can tell him about
your day, the highs and lows, what you loved, what
you hated; you can bring to him your struggles and your pleas, what you
desire and what you need. Why can you do this? Because he cares.
When focusing on prayer with your student be as open as you can with
them. What they really want is to see you be real with them and be real
with God.

Worship
Some of us have heard this word our entire lives. Most of us think it has
something to do with music.

Well, it can be about music, but it isn't always.

The truest definition of worship is giving glory to God. Anything you do
that points to him is worship. You worship with your work, you worship
with your rest, you worship with your words, with your silence, with
your song, and with your life.
That's right, your life is worship.
When focusing on worship find ways to point yourself and your student
to God. Our lives are all about him and all for him.

Rest
Rest? What is that doing here? Why is that important? Good questions,
rest is biblical!
... and on the seventh day God...? Rested, God rested.
Rest can be a few minutes even, and hopefully can take place everyday.
Stop. Think. Reflect. Listen. Rest.
Rest is important because it takes your mind off of the bustling world
around you and focuses you on the one thing most important of all: God.
This can be taking the afternoon to go fishing and relax, taking a tea
party with your young daughter, whatever it may be that allows you to
de-stress and catch your breath.

These things (Reading, Prayer, Worship, and Rest) are

all important because they teach you to know God,
love God, walk with God, talk with God, and live for
God.
Huh, funny that that's what we found we needed to teach our children
after looking at Deuteronomy 6...

Now that we have taken a look at the kinds of things

you should be teaching your children about, lets take a
look at a possible (work situation and time
depending) schedule for what a week filled with
reading, praying, worshiping, and resting.

Sunday
Focus: Reading.
Pick a passage. The easiest way to do this is to start with a book and
work your way through the book a chapter or so at a time. You can also
follow passages that specifically cover topics that your child needs/
desires to learn about, or take them through what you are reading.
Whatever passage you choose is entirely up to you.
Spend some time before reading with your child to get a feel for the
passage (who, what, when, where, why?). See if you can figure out the
purpose of the passage yourself. What can you learn from this passage?
What is your take away?
Now you are ready to dive into the passage with your student. Read
through the passage with them or have them read it on their own,
whatever works best for you and your student. After the initial reading,
try and find the purpose of the passage by figuring out the purpose. You
can ask them questions as they come along to help you reveal the
purpose to your child if they are struggling. You can let your child reach
the conclusions on their own and compare them to the conclusions that
you reached. Again, whatever works best for you and your child.
Your goal is find the purpose of the passage and help reveal that
purpose to your student.
You can spend some time talking about what you both can take away
from the passage and what you may do to implement the take away into
your life. Take this time to talk to your student about what is going on in
their lives if they want to talk, talk to them about your life and what God
is teaching you, whatever you can do to better relate to your student.

The focus of today is reading, but take some time to

pray with your student and worship God with them as

well. Your students need you to be real and relative to

them!
Pray: What does this passage teach you and how can you implement it?
Ask God to help you implement it. Pray about your day, pray about your
week, even pray about your relationship with your student. Just pray.
Worship: What can you do with the passage to point yourselves to God?
What can you do today to give God the glory in everything? How can
you encourage your student to worship God with their lives today?

Monday
Focus: Prayer.
Take some time to talk to your student about life today. Your life, their
life, their friends lives, your family's lives. It's good to show them that
you care about everyone in their lives and are willing to bring their lives
to God with your own prayers.
Pray with your students. Pray for their day, their friends, things they may
be concerned about, and things they may need help with. Pray also about
the things going on in your life, be it work, relationships, whatever. Your
students long to be a part of your life and it is good at this point to let
them in.
Try taking an opportunity to express your thankfulness to God during
this time. Not only is it a great way to get a better feel for the many
things that God has blessed you with, but it also helps your student to
understand the things that you are most appreciative of.
Just like when they were little, they still follow your example!

The focus of today is prayer, but take some time to

read with them and worship God with them as well.
Your students need you to be real and relative to them!
Read: Pick a passage. You can keep walking through the same chapters
you have been working on with your student, or start new ones. This is a
time for them to spend some quality time with you and learn about who
God is.
Worship: Having looked into each others lives, praying for each other
and expressing thankfulness to each other and to God, how can you
point your day to God and his glory? What can you do today to worship

God with your life? Talk about it with your child and challenge
yourselves to implement it into your day today.

Tuesday
Focus: Worship
Today (and every day) the focus is all on God. Because everything we
do, be it work, school, relationships, and life in general, is for God, bring
your focus to him today. He is who we work for, he is who we long to
pursue and today remind yourself of that fact. Everything that you do
today is an act of giving the glory to God, and today let him be your
focus.
How can you talk with your student about doing everything today (and
everyday) for God? How can you encourage them to remember who
they are living for, and doing everything for, even when times are tough?
You as a parent know your child better than any other person on God's
green earth, you are the person in the best position to bring them to the
throne room of God and to truly show them who life is all about. You
have an amazing gift and responsibility!
Spend some time actively praising God together. This could be singing,
for we see in the Psalms and church history that God loves music. This
could be taking sometime to talk about the attributes of God with your
student. You can discuss what attributes you rely on when you need God
the most, like his omnipotence, or all-powerful-ness, when you feel like
you don't have the strength to get through the day. Whatever it may be,
this time of worship is to direct your thoughts, hearts, and lives to be
focused entirely on God and how great he is.
For he is truly worthy of all praise, and we could never run out of
ways to worship him.

The focus of today is worshiping God, but take some

time to read with them and pray with them as well.
Your students need you to be real and relative to them!

Read: Pick a passage. You can keep walking through the same chapters
you have been working on with your student, or start new ones. This is a
time for them to spend some quality time with you and learn about who
God is.
Pray: Pray together today. Pray about your lives, what you want and
what you need. What you are thankful for and what you love. Pray today
about what you can do today to give glory to God, and how you can
worship him with your life. You can tell God what you love about him
like you discussed with your child early, or simply just reflect on who he
is and his majesty. Whatever you can do with this time of prayer to
worship God, do it.

Wednesday
Focus: Reading.
Pick a passage. The easiest way to do this is to start with a book and
work your way through the book a chapter or so at a time. You can also
follow passages that specifically cover topics that your child needs/
desires to learn about, or take them through what you are reading.
Whatever passage you choose is entirely up to you.
Spend some time before reading with your child to get a feel for the
passage (who, what, when, where, why?). See if you can figure out the
purpose of the passage yourself. What can you learn from this passage?
What is your take away?
Now you are ready to dive into the passage with your student. Read
through the passage with them or have them read it on their own,
whatever works best for you and your student. After the initial reading,
try and find the purpose of the passage by figuring out the purpose. You
can ask them questions as they come along to help you reveal the
purpose to your child if they are struggling. You can let your child reach
the conclusions on their own and compare them to the conclusions that
you reached. Again, whatever works best for you and your child.
Your goal is find the purpose of the passage and help reveal that
purpose to your student.
You can spend some time talking about what you both can take away
from the passage and what you may do to implement the take away into
your life. Take this time to talk to your student about what is going on in
their lives if they want to talk, talk to them about your life and what God
is teaching you, whatever you can do to better relate to your student.

The focus of today is reading, but take some time to

pray with your student and worship God with them as

well. Your students need you to be real and relative to

them!
Pray: What does this passage teach you and how can you implement it?
Ask God to help you implement it. Pray about your day, pray about your
week, even pray about your relationship with your student. Just pray.
Worship: What can you do with the passage to point yourselves to God?
What can you do today to give God the glory in everything? How can
you encourage your student to worship God with their lives today?

Thursday
Focus: Prayer.
Take some time to talk to your student about life today. Your life, their
life, their friends lives, your family's lives. It's good to show them that
you care about everyone in their lives and are willing to bring their lives
to God with your own prayers.
Pray with your students. Pray for their day, their friends, things they may
be concerned about, and things they may need help with. Pray also about
the things going on in your life, be it work, relationships, whatever. Your
students long to be a part of your life and it is good at this point to let
them in.
Try taking an opportunity to express your thankfulness to God during
this time. Not only is it a great way to get a better feel for the many
things that God has blessed you with, but it also helps your student to
understand the things that you are most appreciative of.
Just like when they were little, they still follow your example!

The focus of today is prayer, but take some time to

read with them and worship God with them as well.
Your students need you to be real and relative to them!
Read: Pick a passage. You can keep walking through the same chapters
you have been working on with your student, or start new ones. This is a
time for them to spend some quality time with you and learn about who
God is.
Worship: Having looked into each others lives, praying for each other
and expressing thankfulness to each other and to God, how can you
point your day to God and his glory? What can you do today to worship

God with your life? Talk about it with your child and challenge
yourselves to implement it into your day today.

Friday
Focus: Worship
Today (and every day) the focus is all on God. Because everything we
do, be it work, school, relationships, and life in general, is for God, bring
your focus to him today. He is who we work for, he is who we long to
pursue and today remind yourself of that fact. Everything that you do
today is an act of giving the glory to God, and today let him be your
focus.
How can you talk with your student about doing everything today (and
everyday) for God? How can you encourage them to remember who
they are living for, and doing everything for, even when times are tough?
You as a parent know your child better than any other person on God's
green earth, you are the person in the best position to bring them to the
throne room of God and to truly show them who life is all about. You
have an amazing gift and responsibility!
Spend some time actively praising God together. This could be singing,
for we see in the Psalms and church history that God loves music. This
could be taking sometime to talk about the attributes of God with your
student. You can discuss what attributes you rely on when you need God
the most, like his omnipotence, or all-powerful-ness, when you feel like
you don't have the strength to get through the day. Whatever it may be,
this time of worship is to direct your thoughts, hearts, and lives to be
focused entirely on God and how great he is.
For he is truly worthy of all praise, and we could never run out of
ways to worship him.

The focus of today is worshiping God, but take some

time to read with them and pray with them as well.
Your students need you to be real and relative to them!

Read: Pick a passage. You can keep walking through the same chapters
you have been working on with your student, or start new ones. This is a
time for them to spend some quality time with you and learn about who
God is.
Pray: Pray together today. Pray about your lives, what you want and
what you need. What you are thankful for and what you love. Pray today
about what you can do today to give glory to God, and how you can
worship him with your life. You can tell God what you love about him
like you discussed with your child early, or simply just reflect on who he
is and his majesty. Whatever you can do with this time of prayer to
worship God, do it.

Saturday
Focus: Rest
For most people this is a day off from work. Taking a day off is biblical,
just take a look into the sabbath. You yourself need some time away
from everything, to take a break and unwind from the week, and I
sincerely hope that you can do just that. Even implement it on a weekly
basis!
Today though, I challenge you to use this day of rest to spend some time
with your student. Go to the park and play basketball, or take them
hiking, or go to the mall, or play their favorite video game with them,
whatever you can do to show them that you love them and want to spend
time with them.
Now you are probably thinking that this doesn't much sound like rest.
Well, it beats working!
All jokes aside, this is rest. This is a time for you and your student to
escape the busyness of life, and to take some time to enjoy it! Enjoy life!
Delight in the good things God has blessed you with! Everything you
have, everything that you can do, God created, and he loves to see you
delight in his creation.
Rest, relax, unwind, take some time out of your busy life and breathe!

The focus of today is rest, but if you want you can take
some time to read with them, pray with them, and
worship God with them as well. Your students need
you to be real and relative to them!
Read: Pick a passage. You can keep walking through the same chapters
you have been working on with your student, or start new ones. This is a

time for them to spend some quality time with you and learn about who
God is.
Pray: Pray together today. Pray about your lives, what you want and
what you need. What you are thankful for and what you love. Pray today
about what you can do today to give glory to God, and how you can
worship him with your life. You can tell God what you love about him
like you discussed with your child early, or simply just reflect on who he
is and his majesty. Whatever you can do with this time of prayer to
worship God, do it.
Worship: What can you do today to point each other to God? This day of
rest is a great time to worship God by taking delight in his creation, so I
would suggest doing just that!
Rest.