LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Family Discipleship Objectives Essay
Submitted to Dr. Dan Burrell
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 610 – B01
Family Discipleship
by
Brian Mclaughlin
June 15th, 2019
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Contents
Introduction…..……………………..…………………………………………………………...3
Family Discipleship Objectives and Outcomes ……………………………………………...3-5
Conclusion…………………………………..…………………………………………..……..…6
References…………………………………………………………………………………..……7
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Introduction
Discipleship in the family is more important than having discipleship in the church. What
is taught at home will be developed more in the church. Parents are the essential role models of
their children. From the moment that children are born into the family, parents have an instinct of
knowing what to do and how to do it. It is as if the way to raise our children is innate from inside
of us. Yet, it never seems to be realized until children are in the family. Those who are called into
the ministry are trained to make disciples of their church members. Family discipleship though is
far different. By using Bloom’s Taxonomy to answer the statement “As a result of this exercise,
your children should be able to understand, remember, analyze, describe, and execute what they
have learned to everyday life experiences.”1 It is a deeper, relational connection with all involved
in the home. The spiritual leader and guide in the home should be the father of the house. A
perfect example of this is found in (Deut 6:5-7, ESV)2. God’s commandment is for the teachings
and development to grow in the Lord, begins in the home. The key beneficial aspect of kingdom
living is families who grow together spiritually, greatly enhance the love of Jesus Christ in
church. This essay will point out specific ways that I intend to have my children grow stronger
and closer to God. I will reveal this by pointing out several objectives, and outcomes to how this
will be achieved.
Family Discipleship Objectives and Outcomes
1 Blooms Taxonomy, https://www.clemson.edu/.../Assessment_Basics_slides_CU_6_2_15.pptx
2 Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is taken from the English Standard Version
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For me to have my children grow in Christ, there must be a level of commitment and
understanding from them. The only way this is going to be a shared importance is by all of us
studying the Bible together. Having a systematic plan to have all the Bible explained, not just
some of it, is paramount. Jeynes and Martinez state, “The teaching of Scripture is that the best
believing parents combine solid biblical principles coupled with a reliance on the Holy Spirit to
provide the ambience of love and flexibility in the home.”3 This will be evaluated by myself and
my wife by the nightly readings and studies of the Biblical communication that we will have. As
a result of this, my children will be able to demonstrate and communicate how the sin of one
man brought forth sin into the world for all mankind. They also will be able to illustrate how to
be effective in reaching people for Jesus Christ. They will convey to the hurting and lost how sin
separates us from God, and how the only way to have their lives saved is through God’s Son
Jesus Christ.
Another objective is to institute prayer as a habit into their lives daily. My children will
pray first in the morning, then again at night just before bedtime. This will create for them an
atmosphere of praise and grace to Jesus. He will be implemented stronger into their lives, and in
turn will have all of us praying together. In this way, they will identify that God is to be placed
high above all other choices or decisions they make and see the importance that my wife and I
place on prayer to God too. The outcome of this is for not just my children, but for all of us to
have a stronger, solid, relationship with Jesus. They will understand the value of praying by
themselves and when we come together. The way I will teach them is what will be needed for
them to operate their prayers that will not be robotic but, instead come straight from their hearts.
3 William Jeynes and Enedina Martinez. Ministering Spiritually to Families. 2015th ed. Heidelberg
[Germany]: Springer, 2015.147.
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With a solid plan now in place, they will be able to cause others to turn to Jesus Christ by
the life they represent daily. The heart of the child needs to be right and through the discipline
that I will provide, there will be planning that is well thought through prayer. Wray states, “This
failure to plan can be disastrous. So, let’s step off of life’s ever-accelerating treadmill and give
some prayerful thought to what we’re doing and where we are going as a family.”4 We pray in
our family now but, what we will do going deeper is allow the children to pray out specificities.
Beginning with giving praise and thanksgiving to Jesus Christ. Tedd and Margy Tripp state,
“Prayer is an essential element of biblical understanding and use of consequences in the
discipline process. Pray over the consequences that you shape to underscore the truth of
Scripture. Don’t talk to your children about that which you have spoken little with God.”5
The outcome of this is that they will be prayer warriors for others while being consistent in their
own prayer life.
The final objective I will have instituted in my family is teaching my children how to
engage in conversation with effective outreach to their community. This will be accomplished in
arranging their lives, to reveal Jesus Christ in their demonstration of love to others. Their
exemplification of what Jesus means to them will magnify Him to the people that they interact
with. As a result of this, they will be able to share Jesus with their peers in school or other areas
of their lives where they were not comfortable doing so before. This in turn will give their
friends the opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as well.
The over arching outcome is to have everyone of us on the same page as a Christ-
centered family. As a result of being a Christ follower, we can take time to evaluate one another
4 Bruce Wray, and Lynn Wray. Charting a Course for Your Family’s Future – A Purposeful Guide to
Parenting. 2013.10.
5 Tedd Tripp and Margy Tripp. Instructing a Child’s Heart. Wapwallopen: Shepherd Press. 2008.
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to where we are in Christ as opposed to where we should be. We will be accountable to each
other too. Our main emphasis will be to have Jesus Christ in the center of all planning and
direction that we have in our lives.
Conclusion
Children are a gift from God and as such it is extremely vital to guard, examine, and plan
early on in their lives how to point them to Jesus Christ and to develop their entire being to Him
where they will love Him to the point that they will defend who they believe in. Our role as
parents is to come up with strategic discipleship methods that will help our children understand
as they go through life. Everyday is done intentionally and purposeful to have strong and
effective family discipleship. In (Prov 22:6, ESV) it is declared by God that the child if raised
right will not depart from the faith. Every teaching, every action is crucial to how the child will
either love God by what I say and do. Therefore, what is taught in my home must be God-
centered first before we as a family go and reach people for Him.
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References
Blooms Taxonomy, https://www.clemson.edu/.../Assessment_Basics_slides_CU_6_2_15.pptx
Jeynes, William and Enedina Martinez. Ministering Spiritually to Families. 2015th ed.
Heidelberg [Germany]: Springer, 2015.
Tripp, Tedd and Margy Tripp. Instructing a Child’s Heart. Wapwallopen: Shepherd Press.
2008.78.
Wray, Bruce and Lynn Wray. Charting a Course for Your Family’s Future – A Purposeful Guide
to Parenting. 2013.
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