Your Children’s Children: The Impact of Grandparents and Extended Family on Children’s Spiritual Development

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Abstract: This essay explores biblical and modern considerations in the experience of grandparents or other extended family members who take their grandchildren to church and/or provide them with spiritual guidance. It will delve into the role of proxy faith mentors, the importance of faith formation across generations and then identify some implications and practical suggestions for ministry.

Dr. Susan Willhauck is an Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She also taught Christian Formation at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. She is co-author of Qualitative Research in Theological Education: Pedagogy in Practice (SCM Press, 2018).