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Raising Christian Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Today I have a very special guest, Leanne Mancini.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: She's an award-winning author and executive producer of the C Kids series books, animated TV Episodes, and her brand new parenting guide, Raising Kids to Follow Christ, Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: She's the host of the award-winning podcast, Raising Christian Kids.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: She's also an adjunct professor at South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: Leanne's the mother of two adult children and lives with her husband in South Florida.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Leanne.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I just wanted to tell you your book is very exciting.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: I have not gotten through the whole thing, but I know you're going to talk about some of the issues that kids have today.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: And in your book, you give some very scary statistics of what our youth today believe about God and Satan and absolute truth and so forth.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: And just the culture.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: We don't have a very strong Christian culture anymore.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited to hear what you had to share with our parents.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you for having me.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm happy to be here and happy to share some information, important information, I must say.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason it's important, it's because it's not only about the salvation of our children, but it's also about the preservation of Christianity, of our belief in Christ and His Word.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: And we know that uh God is in control, He's sovereign, and meaning He allows things to happen or He ordains things to happen for His glory and for His purpose.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: But as we look out into the world and we see what's going on, we're all shaking our heads and we're all wondering what is going to happen.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And about five years ago, I had read the statistics at that time that 40% of children from middle school and 65% of children from high school and college were walking away from their faith.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, these were children raised in Christian homes where they read the Bible and they went to church with their families.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I was just uh stunned.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, Lord, what is going on?
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I started researching the brightest minds in children's spirituality, and I read over 250 parenting books, uh, trying to find out what do we need to do to raise this next generation, to stay strong in their faith, and to become counterculture warriors for Christ.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: And recently, just before my book was published, uh George Barner came out with his book, Raising Spiritual Champions, and he sounded the alarm.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And his statistics recently show that 70% of children between the ages of 13 and 14 from Christian homes don't believe Satan exists.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: 84% believe we're not born into sin and need a savior, 90% believe there's no absolute moral truth, and that's just shocking.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's much worse than it was five years ago.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then when we look at the uh Christian children's pastors from this research, it's equally shocking.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: 65, I mean, 56% don't believe in absolute moral truth.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And this was so shocking.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: 50% believe that Jesus actually sinned while he was on earth.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: These are the children's pastors that are teaching our children.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: So we look out in society and we're wondering what is going on, what is happening.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe it's because we're not raising our children to have that strong foundation to go into the world and to be able to defend what they believe because they believe it in their hearts and their minds, not because it's a remote thing to do or you know, just going to church on Sundays and praying with their families and reading the Bible.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much more we can do because we need to put uh good, strong Christian leaders in the four pillars of society if we want to bring change.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the government, academia, the media, and the church.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: If we want to see change in our world, we have to raise strong Christians to be in those four pillars of society.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: So in my research, I found that there is so much we can do.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: I found that teaching children really starts in the womb.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: So from the womb to age three, we're preparing that soil to become rich soil.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then from ages four to seven, we're planting seeds of wisdom into that rich soil to grow deep roots.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Psalm 78, six says, teach even to the children yet to be born.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: And Psalm 51, six says, Yet you desired faithfulness.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Even in the womb, you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we find out through research that at 18 weeks of pregnancy, the fetus can hear in the womb.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: So the mom could just volunteer at your Christian daycare center and let the fetus hear people singing songs about Jesus and the children laughing and singing songs about Jesus and praying.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Then say you have a toddler.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of saying, let's take a Sabbath nap, say let's take a Sabbath's rest.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now they don't know the true meaning of Sabbath, but you're building a vocabulary and a category in their mind for the term Sabbath.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Then between the ages of four or seven, when you're explaining the true meaning of Sabbath, you're planting seeds into rich soil.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: And there's so much that we can do.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'd like to read one little section here.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's a quote from Josh Movalhill from Renewination, and he said, Could it be that one reason young people are doctrinally ignorant, spiritually confused, and living with a synchristic faith system is that we have reduced our teaching to the couple dozen moralistic stories found in most children's Bibles.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Our children need the soul-gripping, life-altering, meat-based, Jesus-centered teaching of God's word.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what they need.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: We need to understand that even a child at six months old, they can articulate, I'm sorry, they understand more than they can articulate.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: So start early and always know that there's no mommy or daddy guilt if you haven't, because I didn't do half the things in my book when I was raising my children.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: But God says his word never returns void, and he will restore what the locusts have eaten.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: And Joel, he says that in his word.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: So now you have a teenager and you haven't been doing these things.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: I simply tell parents, sit down with your teenager and say, look, we have not been doing the things that we should be doing as a family to worship God, to stay strong in faith and to know his word.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: And write a family mission statement, how you're going to honor God, worship God, and be in obedience to his word through your family mission statement.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Then draft a uh document that details what is expected for obedience and what are the consequences for disobedience.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if your children are more or if they're involved in doing this, they're more likely to adhere to those stipulations.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then give them three reasons why you're doing this.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not doing this because I'm the parent, I'm the boss, and you're the child and you're not the boss.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: The reason we're doing this is because as a parent, I have to be accountable to God, how I'm raising you.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing this because I love you, and I'm doing this because I want to keep you safe.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Those are three things that they cannot argue with.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, say you have a child who's not following the obedience section of those agreements.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: You simply start taking away their privileges because really kids don't have uh rights.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: They have rights to food, clothing, shelter, but keys to the car, a cell phone, computer, those are all privileges.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: And if you take away those privileges, you'll see how fast they turn around.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: In my book, I reference over 312 Bible verses.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: We rely on the word of God.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: We pray for his wisdom, for his guidance.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: We ask the Holy Spirit to guide us.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I talk about uh a few different chapters that most parenting books don't have.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: I have a whole chapter on the biblical directives that are in God's word.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people think it's Proverbs 20, train them up in the way they should go and they will not depart from it.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that is not a promise, that is not a guarantee.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: But Deuteronomy 6, 4 through 9, that states that we're to impress and mold these biblical principles into our child's hearts and minds when they rise up, when they walk along the path, and we lie when they lie down, that is the most important directive.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And there's so many ways to do that, and I share that in my book.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: I also talk about how to shape a godly worldview.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I have a chapter on apologetics.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: What why do we believe what we believe?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's so important that children understand what they believe and why they believe it.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it sinks into their hearts, into their minds, and it becomes truth, not just a remote uh theological concept that they just play out during the day because mom and dad have told them.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: I have a chapter on virtues, fruit of the spirit.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And my last chapter, a lot of parents love, it's called Have Fun Learning Together.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: There is so many things we can do organically, day by day, moment by moment, to change our children's hearts and minds, to connect them to the love of God, his son, and to have his spirit dwell within them to guide them.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: We just have to step out in the world to do it.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: I say it's almost like back in the day, World War II, where parents, the Rosie Riveter parents, they rolled up their sleeves, they got out and they started making the ammunition to fight against uh the Germans in World War II so that we would win the war.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that is precisely why we won World War II.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, today we're in a very heavy spiritual warfare, and parents need to roll up their sleeves, get out, you know, into the battle, find out what they need to do to raise weapons, the counterculture weapons, which are our children.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: God's word says our children are the arrows in our quiver.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Those arrows are made precisely, and they're aimed and used to shoot the devil, to kill the enemy.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: So we can change the trajectory of our world, we can preserve Christianity, and we can save our next generation.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that all your parents, grandparents, ministry leaders who are listening to this will go out and get raising kids to follow Christ, instilling a lifelong trust in God.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because we have to work together to raise strong Christian kids.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Those truths are just so profound.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, parents need some guidance today because they're not getting all that in the churches, and they need some specific practical points like you gave us today and are in your book.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: And the key thing to me is just, and you know, I look back on raising my daughter, it was a different time, she's grown, but so many, like you said, so many things we didn't do, but we were not facing the culture that we're facing today when our children grew up.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: So um just that I think the key is that everyday life, you know, you're you're talking about God, you're showing God, you're walking in his ways, and your children are walking with you.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a Sunday thing, it's not a once-a-week thing, it's a life thing, and that's what I appreciate so much about not only your podcast, but your book.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: And just thank you so much for being with us today and sharing a little bit about what you've written.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: And um I'm sure I I will put the your book and your website in the notes today so that people can go find that and find more about you.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: And also all my proceeds are donated to our nonprofit, uh, where we give free resources to families that cannot afford them.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: So we don't, I don't make any money on my CKIS products, my scripture bear, or this book.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks again for sharing with us, Leanne.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's I'm great to be here.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Happy to be here.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.