How to leave a spiritual legacy by Travis McCormick
H
ave you ever thought about the impact your life will have on others when you are gone? Can you help lead future generations to faith in Christ and affect someone’s eternity even after your earthly life is over? The answer is Yes. But you must begin now to build a godly legacy that will provide opportunities for others to know Christ and grow spiritually for years to come. Here are some tips that will help you leave a spiritual legacy for generations to come:
1. Focus on your personal spiritual growth. Don’t neglect your own spiritual growth, and don’t be satisfied with just knowing that you will go to heaven one day. Don’t let rituals take the place of your most important personal relationship — your relationship with God. Get involved in a local church as more than just an attender. Go to church to learn, invest and grow. Spend personal time each morning getting to know God better. Make an intentional effort to know what the Bible says and then do it. Pray without ceasing. As you grow to become more like Christ, you will be guaranteed a lasting spiritual legacy.
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Arkansas Christian Parent // summer 2013
2. Take responsibility for evangelism and disciple-making. Start with your children by not passing this responsibility off to the pastor or the church. Simply attending church does not assure that one day your children will make a decision to follow Jesus. You must tell them, lead them and model Christ for them. In the process of helping lead your children to faith in Christ
3. Support missions and missionaries. Take time to learn about missions and the work of missionaries around the world. Pray for missionaries and for the mission. Support missions through financial gifts from your family. Go on mission trips or participate in local missions and ministry projects. By supporting missions and missionaries, you will help ensure that the good news of the gospel will carry on for generations to come.
“A great way to ensure
that godly wisdom is passed on to future generations is to keep a written record.
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and helping them grow spiritually, you will begin to understand what Jesus meant when He told us to “make disciples.” This process doesn’t stop with your family. Seek out opportunities to share the gospel with others and to help lead them in their spiritual growth.
4. Share the journey. With the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commanded us to go and multiply. We are to make disciples who make disciples. In order to do this, we must invest in the lives of others and take them with us on our spiritual journey. Along the way, we must model the Christian life for them. Bring