Date
4-17-2024
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Chair
Dan Burrell
Keywords
Parenting, Family Discipleship, Parents, Children, Home, Discipleship, Young Adults, Local Church, Responsibility, Role
Disciplines
Christianity
Recommended Citation
Jarman, Robert B., "An Examination of the Parental Role in the Discipleship of Children" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5377.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5377
Abstract
Parents have an enormous role in the lives of their children. They are responsible for all aspects of their children’s development to prepare them to manage adulthood successfully. Parents invest much of their time in many important areas of the home, yet regarding discipleship, they will often pass on that responsibility to others or neglect it altogether. The danger of a lack of discipleship in the home is that it can potentially contribute to the growing trend of young adults leaving the faith. This thesis project examines the Biblical mandate for parents discipling their children, the reasons for parents not discipling their children, the priority given to discipleship compared to other aspects of the home, and how the presence or lack of discipleship impacts a young adult’s current spiritual life. Research was conducted through an anonymous online survey to understand the impact of discipleship in the home on a young adult’s spiritual experience. The goal of this research is to help bring awareness to parents of their responsibility for discipling their children and to challenge the local church to come alongside parents in this responsibility.