helping children find faith
What the data tells you
Ed Drew
Date posted: 1 Nov 2021
Data tells us that one group that churches are successfully engaging with is families with very young children.
According to the Talking Toddlers report*, 75% of parents of under fives have contact with a church through children’s activities.
helping children find faith
Plucking up the courage to talk about sex
Ed Drew
Date posted: 1 Jul 2021
What is a wet dream? I was asked this by my 11-year-old son this week.
He was looking at the syllabus that had been sent home by his year six teacher. I was into my second sentence when he interrupted me: ‘Can I have the short version?’ I was encouraged by that. He has noticed that whenever we talk about issues around biology and sex, I give full answers and ask him questions. This is partly to compensate for the huge awkwardness I inevitably feel. I think I may have over-compensated!
helping children find faith
Monsters in the dark
Ed Drew
Date posted: 1 Sep 2021
Have you seen the recent news footage of flash floods sweeping through towns or villages?
Twice in the last month flooding in our little corner of suburbia has made it into the national news. The crisis response is clear. The Fire Brigade is called to pump out. The strongest and fittest carry the vulnerable to safety through the water. And then the cameras return two weeks later. As the water ebbs away, so does the jovial wartime spirit. Instead, each house fills a skip with stinking carpets, broken kitchen appliances and ruined personal treasures. The clear up is usually more painful and longer lasting than the crisis.
helping children find faith
When it falls apart...
Ed Drew
Date posted: 1 Jan 2021
My
friend, Amanda, vividly remembers
the moment it all fell apart during a family
Bible time. I’ll let her tell the story…
‘Halfway
through,
my
13-year-old
daughter lay down on the kitchen bench to
go to sleep, my 11-year-old son put his head
on the table and closed his eyes, and my
seven-year-old daughter decided it was the
moment to practise her cartwheels. It all felt
too hard, and tears started rolling down my
face. That was the moment I was tempted to
give up. Tempted to think it was all a waste
of time. It was only God’s kindness that
motivated me to keep going.’
helping children find faith
Five lessons on family Bible times (learnt the hard way!)
Ed Drew
Date posted: 1 Mar 2021
I write books of family Bible times and I want to inspire parents to raise their children knowing Christ, but my own family Bible times are rarely inspirational.
I have a photo (not shown here) of me leading our family Bible time. I am sat in the middle of the sofa with my Bible open. Two of my children are curled over the arms of the sofa, their backs to me. Only my youngest seems engaged, and that is because my arm is clamped round his waist so he can’t escape. I use this photo because it captures our normal. Here is what I have learnt, with my own family, through all the mistakes, frustration and confusion.
