An integral part of Lutheran education is the emphasis on faith formation. While we can do this in many different ways in our schools, one of the biggest ways of doing this is through school chapel services. I still remember when I was in Lutheran elementary school going down to the kindergarten class to pick up our “chapel buddies,” singing hymns, and—my favorite—participating in special services. For example, I will never forget the chapel service in third grade in which two of my friends were baptized.
Parenting isn’t easy work—we all know that. But what a lot of parents think is even harder is parenting discipleship. God has entrusted parents to be the main faith shapers in their children’s lives, and that vocation can often seem to be a daunting task. In Proverbs, God commands parents to “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). While it is clear that the job of discipleship and faith leadership is a vocation given to parents, how can the church help parents in this way?