Grandly: Strategic Grandparenting
Raising children to love and serve the Lord is one of the most important tasks God gives to any of us. It is difficult, time consuming, and absolutely essential to the continued life and well-being of the Body of Christ. Most of this work falls to parents, but we know that support from others can have a huge impact and be transformative in the lives of children, teens, and young adults—even those whose parents are not Christian. This is the reason churches and communities have youth programs, Sunday schools, or church-sponsored schools and daycares of various kinds. But there is another group of people who have the potential to hugely influence young people, and that is their grandparents.
Grandparents know their grandchildren personally. They have a position of authority and respect, but are also able to be more relaxed and fun-focused in their interactions with their grandchildren. This loving and established relationship, combined with their life experience, puts them in a position to be key figures in their grandchildren’s growth in faith.
Being in this privileged position doesn’t make the job easy, however. Many grandparents aren’t sure how best to point their grandchildren toward the Lord without seeming pushy, or, in some cases, coming into conflict with the parents. This is exactly what Grandly wants to help with. Grandly offers grandparents specific strategies, tips, and ideas for how to pray for, encourage, and point their grandchildren toward Christ.
One of the tools Grandly offers is the book The Strategic Grandparent, by Michael Shaughnessy, Grandly’s founder. This book is an excellent way to introduce grandparents, or perhaps church or community leaders who might be interested in Grandly’s work, to what Grandly is about. Grandly also offers a seminar, “Do it Grandly,” which can be watched at home or presented to a group, perhaps through your church or community. Other tips and resources are also available on Grandly’s website, with more planned for the future. All these tools have the goal of equipping grandparents to be effective missionaries to their grandchildren.
As we in the Sword of the Spirit and the North American Region continue to work toward being the inter-generational people God calls us to be, organizations like Grandly that help and support our families and cross-generational relationships are a great blessing. Please pray for God’s blessings on Grandly’s staff, their work, and the grandparents God is calling to be more engaged and effective in their grandchildren’s lives.
