Why Growing Faith?
Everything you need to know about what we do and why we do it!
Our story
Growing Faith was established in 2010 as a free online magazine which aims to encourage and equip parents and carers to raise their children to know, love and follow Jesus. Growing Faith was started by Youthworks, because their vision—to see an effective youth and children’s ministry in every church—ultimately depends on churches, schools and parents working together in the gospel.
Growing Faith is brought to you by Youthworks Media and provides not just online articles, but books and other resources for families.
Our conviction
Since the beginning of creation, God has ordained the human family to be the primary institution for raising up the next generation to maturity; for handing down wisdom, faith, tradition, property and livelihood; and for reaching out to the elderly and those with no immediate family of their own.
Parents are their children’s primary carers, providers, role models, teachers and trainers; likewise children are their parents’ primary apprentices as they grow towards adulthood and eventually become carers and providers to their parents as they age.
Human families also paint a picture of God’s relationship with his people. The marriage between a man and a woman is designed to tell us about Christ’s loving union with his bride, the Church. The relationship between human parents and their children is meant to teach us something about God, our perfect heavenly Father, and how we can relate to him as spiritual children. Other family relationships—such as those between brothers and sisters or between adult children and their parents—show us how to relate to one another in the spiritual family of God.
At Growing Faith we also recognise that family life is not immune from the effects of the Fall. Sometimes, sin and death make it impossible for a family to function as God intended; abuse or abandonment can leave both adults and children vulnerable. In these cases, our imperfect human families will depend all the more on the love and support that is found in the family of God, the only perfect Father. We are here for all kinds of families.
Our goal
We want to help parents to understand and embrace their God-given mission:
- to raise up children who know, love and follow Jesus
- to hand down everything children need for life and faith
- to reach out to those who need to hear of and experience the love of God in Christ.
We want to encourage strong relationships between husbands and wives, and between parents and children so that the world and the church can see a reflection of God, however imperfect, here on earth.
At the same time, we recognise that the best kind of support a human family can find is in their local church—the spiritual family of God. We want to see families and churches thriving in a mutually beneficial partnership for the glory of God and the spread of the gospel. For this reason, our resources are not just for individuals, but also for churches to use in encouraging their families.
Our unique approach
In this age of information, parents can feel overwhelmed by an excess of conflicting and guilt-inducing advice. Growing Faith is different because our articles are:
- consistent and coherent, being grounded in a Christian world view
- aware of good advice from secular experts
- gracious about our human imperfections
- helpful for growing your faith, and your understanding and motivation for parenting
- short and easy to grasp.
To read our articles and hear about Youthworks Media’s resources, visit www.youthworksmedia.net, follow our Facebook page and subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter at https://growingfaith.com.au.
Bible Bites
Finding the time each day to read and discuss the Bible with our children is both so hard and so important, families need all the help they can get. Finally, here's a full year of devotions written exclusively for Australian families.
Hey! series
This delightfully playful book series will encourage little ones aged 1-4 to be thankful for everything our loving God provides, see the wonders of God’s creation as they develop an understanding of their world, introducing them to their loving Creator and showing them that God loves us—even more than our families do.
For more articles from Growing Faith, subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter.
To hear about the latest books and resources from Youthworks Media, subscribe here.
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