Becoming a D6 Parent

Like it says in Deuteronomy 6, as parents we are challenged to be that primary spiritual influence in our child(s) life. Every child will go on a journey of discovery that is personal to them. They will change directions, speed up, and slow down as they navigate thru life. We have a great opportunity to guide our children on this journey. We can be that GPS system for our kids.

Becoming a D6 Parent is a responsibility we should take very seriously.  Below are 3 simple tips I hope may help with the spiritual formation. Whether your son or daughter is an infant or young adult it is never too late to start or start over!!


Family Devotions – Invest in your child through intentional family devotions. Family Devo’s are an awesome way to get the family connected and should be intentional times set aside each week for conversations with your child. These conversations could be with a Bible or with a devotional book. The goal is to consistently making time to dive into God’s Word. While your child may not engage in much conversation(my sons have no attention span!!), they will remember the things you begin teaching them. Consistency is the key!!!

Capturing God Moments – God Moments will begin to happen as your child goes thru life. As they grow older, kids will communicate in many different ways. God Moments, simply put, are informal moments where God is working in a child’s life.

I was driving my sons, Trevor and Travis to school several months ago and there was a window of time as the sun was rising over the trees. It was one of the most amazing color schemes I had ever seen! I got the boys attention and told them to check out the sky. They both looked up and said “AWESOME!!!”. Trevor then said “That’s a pretty cool gift God just gave us…thanks God…” That was so cool to hear Trevor say that. What was just another drive to school, turned into an opportunity to talk about what God created with my sons.

As a parent, you can capture these moments and point your child toward Christ.

Create a Family Road Map – In a previous post “Becoming a D6 family”, You are creating a household that honors God. What is your family DNA? To me this simply means, families should consider creating a family road map. Each family should feel compelled to find their core values, Family goals, and an identity specific to them. And don’t be afraid to let other people know about it.
As I said before as a family, we are always battling the busyness of life, and we don’t always get it right. But like Dori says in the movie “Finding Nemo”… Just keep swimming!!!

Brett Gray
Pastor of Children / Student Ministries
The Cove Church