Q&A: Helping your child disciple a friend

Question: My fifth-grader recently had the joy of helping lead her school friend to accept Jesus as her Saviour. How can I help my daughter disciple her young friend?

Answer:

That is awesome – you must be very proud of your daughter! Is the friend from a Christian home? If so, encourage her to share her decision with her parents right away and check in to see how that went. If they are supportive, your daughter’s help might look different than if they are not receptive to their daughter’s decision.

Start with a Bible

In any case, start by making sure that your daughter’s friend has a Bible. You may check with your church to see if they give them away to new believers (many do) or you may purchase one yourself to give to your daughter to give to her friend.

Encourage both girls to begin reading and talking about what they read. You might look for a Bible study written at their age level to assist in this. Let your daughter know that you are available to answer questions if they cannot find answers on their own, but let them study the Word for themselves and check in from time to time.

Invite her to church

Encourage your daughter to invite her friend to church and/or youth activities and to make leaders there aware of her friend’s decision so they can help support the growth.

Think of the things you are doing/have done to disciple your own daughter: perhaps teaching her to pray, providing Christian music, resources, talking together about how faith informs decisions and values. Encourage her to begin to introduce her friend to these same concepts and ideas. Doing these things together will reinforce learning for your daughter as well as build in the beginnings of Christian disciplines in her friend.