Forms of Parental Involvement in the Spiritual Development of Children: Lessons from Grace Community Christian Ministries Church in Kitengela.

Abstract

The paper focuses on the forms through which parents are involved in developing the spiritual welfare of their children. The study utilised a case study design to focus on Grace Community Christian Ministries Church (GCCM) in Kitengela. Data collection methods involved the use of interviews. A small group of nine parents - participants - from GCCM church membership was selected. The collected data was further analyzed thematically. The following themes were generated: teaching, Bible stories, family activities, prayer, modelling, Church attendance, choice of school, exhaustion and lack of time, lack of support from spouse, inexperience and, information gap. It was revealed that some of the ways parents got involved in nurturing their children spiritually included: teaching, Bible stories, family activities, prayer, modelling, Church attendance and choice of school for the children. However, the most common methods used were Church attendance and Sunday school. The paper thus recommends that GCCM church should train parents on how to empower their children spiritually at home so that they do not only rely on the activities in Sunday school.