Everything You Need for Family Devotions
Summer is a time when families are on the move. From competitions to vacations, families spend a lot of time in the car and away from home. But, children and adults alike still need the strength and grounding that God’s Word can provide in family devotions. Here are a few suggestions for congregations, schools, and families alike to support families growing in the Word wherever they may be.
CONGREGATIONS
1. Create Video Family Devotions – You do not have to be a high-tech church to be able to create video devotions to support families. YouTube is full of family devotion resources prepared by pastors who would not consider themselves very “tech-oriented.” Pastors, Directors of Christian Education, Deaconesses, and laypeople alike are capable of preparing something on a weekly basis that can assist families with times in God’s Word and prayer. Make sure that the devotions are of an appropriate length (not too long) and have questions that engage everyone in the family.
2. Buy a summer subscription of Concordia Publishing House’s My Devotions for each family in your congregation (cost is $4.50 per issue). Perhaps by helping families with a devotion for the summer, habits will be formed. There are also lots of other resources that you can find at www.cph.org.
LUTHERAN SCHOOLS
1. Teachers can send their future students a newsletter that prepares them for next year, but also includes some of the teacher’s favorite devotion books. One Lutheran school teacher has a devotional suit case that she sends home with different students during the school year.
2. Another Lutheran school teacher led Zoom devotions with students during the quarantine last Spring. Teachers could model how families can do devotions on Zoom.
FAMILIES
1. P. 294-304 in Lutheran Service Book provide simple service orders for family daily devotions and Scripture readings. This is a wonderful and very underused part of the hymnal.
2. Tools for family devotions used to include the Bible, hymnal, catechism, and a favorite devotion book. Now all of those things can be found on a tablet, along with a host of digital resources. Your family can still travel and take all of your devotional resources, as well as the kids favorite games, all found on one tablet.
Have a great summer as you travel and grow in God’s Word!
