Through The Eyes of Preachers' Children
By Linda Mupemo
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| Picture courtesy of Google images |
Bringing up children is a mammoth task regardless of one’s age, race, social-economic status or occupation.
World over, preachers are faced with the responsibility of grooming both their biological and spiritual children.
Owing to the nature of their ministerial work, some preachers tend to spend more time teaching their flock and less time with their families.
The bible instructs parents to bring up children in a godly manner as it reads in Ephesians 6 verse 4, "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: bring them up in the nature and admonition of the Lord."
There have been cases of preachers’ children living wayward lives and one wonders whether these souls are not spiritually nourished enough to adhere to the teachings of the bible.
It can be disheartening to find children of gospel ministers behaving contrary to the message their parents impart in others.
Moses Chongo, a gospel minister of over 40 years says preachers’ children are children like any other and should be treated as such.
Mr. Chongo, who is also a Theological Education by Extension in Zambia Tutor at Mbala United Church of Zambia Congregation, advises preachers to not be so strict on their children.
He says some parents are overly protective of their children which contributes to negative behaviour patterns among them.
“Some preachers’ children are not exposed to society. They are confined in their parents’ homes and churches. Once they leave, the world "welcomes" them. They want to try out everything their parents stopped them from doing,” he observes.
Mr. Chongo advises preachers to give room to their children to experience life normally but monitor their interactions to ascertain they are not mingling with morally bankrupt associates.
“When my children were growing up, I always took time to know their friends. Sometimes, children tend to mingle with bad friends which in turn begins to consume their moral fiber. I monitored mine and they have grown up to be responsible children of God,” he says with pride.
Although parents may monitor their children, some children discard their parents’ teachings especially when they go to secondary and tertiary institutions and adopt wrong behaviour patterns such as consuming alcohol, abusing drugs, using foul language, fornication among others.
This not only brings disgrace to the parents but the church as a whole. Non-believers begin to question the authenticity of the gospel if ‘the branches seem to be falling off the tree.’
Jesus Anointed Ministries Pastor Deborah Tembo says preachers’ children are vulnerable to wrong behaviour patterns as the enemy targets them because of the anointing their parents carry.
Pastor Tembo who has been in ministry for eight years and is also a mother urges parents to fervently pray for their children and bring them to the house of God.
“If satan cannot attack you, he attacks that which surrounds you,” she states.
In some cases, the church flock tends to be more spiritually upright than preachers’ children and Pastor Tembo alludes this to familiarity on the children’s end.
“Your children maybe so familiar with you that when you are speaking into their lives, they do not take it as serious as others would. However, it is your role as a pastor to preach to them,” she says.
The bible in Acts 1 verse 8 reads, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth."
This scripture can be applied when it comes to ones ministerial life; before preaching to the uttermost parts of the earth, start with your family, start with your Jerusalem!
Pastor Tembo explains that as a servant of God, your first ministry is your family.
“Sometimes as ministers of the gospel, we become so busy with church activities that we do not have time to preach to our children and this affects them negatively,” she observes.
She encourages preachers to allow their children walk in their purpose and not tag them in their callings.
“Our children need to live godly lives but that does not mean they have to become pastors. I encourage gospel ministers to introduce their children to Jesus Christ but allow them to walk in their destinies,” she adds.
A pastor’s daughter talked to, Taizya Phiri, echoes these sentiments and says everyone should be provided an opportunity to make independent decisions concerning their lives.
Taizya states that she was blessed to have been raised in a healthy church environment where she did not feel she had to meet everyone’s expectations of a pastor’s child.
“My parents have always told us to be comfortable in our own skin, which is probably not every preacher’s child narrative. Part of this meant not feeding into my friends or anyone else’s perception of how I had to behave because my father was a pastor,” says the Sydney University - Australia graduate.
Taizya, whose father is a Pastor at Issachar Love Centre (Lusaka) says it is biased to expect preachers’ children to automatically become actively involved in ministry.
“It is always good when Christians are involved in church activities, not just pastors’ children. We are all God’s children. It just so happens that some of us are children whose parents’ sphere of influence involves preaching,” she adds.
The twenty foul year old discloses that one challenge that comes with being a preacher’s child is striking a balance between acknowledging that she will always be identified as a preachers’ child and not allowing people to define her just by that.
“My father is my father before he is a pastor. He is my father when he is at the pulpit and he is still my father when he gets home and watches a Television show with me. Sometimes, people forget that preachers’ children are just that-preachers’ children,” states the bubbly young lady.
Inasmuch as preachers' children will always be identified as such and might have a role to play in their parents' ministry, they should not be forced to wear their parents' shoes. Like any other Christian, they should be given an opportunity to hear from God and walk in the fullness of who He has called them to be.
World over, preachers are faced with the responsibility of grooming both their biological and spiritual children.
Owing to the nature of their ministerial work, some preachers tend to spend more time teaching their flock and less time with their families.
The bible instructs parents to bring up children in a godly manner as it reads in Ephesians 6 verse 4, "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: bring them up in the nature and admonition of the Lord."
There have been cases of preachers’ children living wayward lives and one wonders whether these souls are not spiritually nourished enough to adhere to the teachings of the bible.
It can be disheartening to find children of gospel ministers behaving contrary to the message their parents impart in others.
Moses Chongo, a gospel minister of over 40 years says preachers’ children are children like any other and should be treated as such.
Mr. Chongo, who is also a Theological Education by Extension in Zambia Tutor at Mbala United Church of Zambia Congregation, advises preachers to not be so strict on their children.
He says some parents are overly protective of their children which contributes to negative behaviour patterns among them.
“Some preachers’ children are not exposed to society. They are confined in their parents’ homes and churches. Once they leave, the world "welcomes" them. They want to try out everything their parents stopped them from doing,” he observes.
Mr. Chongo advises preachers to give room to their children to experience life normally but monitor their interactions to ascertain they are not mingling with morally bankrupt associates.
“When my children were growing up, I always took time to know their friends. Sometimes, children tend to mingle with bad friends which in turn begins to consume their moral fiber. I monitored mine and they have grown up to be responsible children of God,” he says with pride.
Although parents may monitor their children, some children discard their parents’ teachings especially when they go to secondary and tertiary institutions and adopt wrong behaviour patterns such as consuming alcohol, abusing drugs, using foul language, fornication among others.
This not only brings disgrace to the parents but the church as a whole. Non-believers begin to question the authenticity of the gospel if ‘the branches seem to be falling off the tree.’
Jesus Anointed Ministries Pastor Deborah Tembo says preachers’ children are vulnerable to wrong behaviour patterns as the enemy targets them because of the anointing their parents carry.
Pastor Tembo who has been in ministry for eight years and is also a mother urges parents to fervently pray for their children and bring them to the house of God.
“If satan cannot attack you, he attacks that which surrounds you,” she states.
In some cases, the church flock tends to be more spiritually upright than preachers’ children and Pastor Tembo alludes this to familiarity on the children’s end.
“Your children maybe so familiar with you that when you are speaking into their lives, they do not take it as serious as others would. However, it is your role as a pastor to preach to them,” she says.
The bible in Acts 1 verse 8 reads, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth."
This scripture can be applied when it comes to ones ministerial life; before preaching to the uttermost parts of the earth, start with your family, start with your Jerusalem!
Pastor Tembo explains that as a servant of God, your first ministry is your family.
“Sometimes as ministers of the gospel, we become so busy with church activities that we do not have time to preach to our children and this affects them negatively,” she observes.
She encourages preachers to allow their children walk in their purpose and not tag them in their callings.
“Our children need to live godly lives but that does not mean they have to become pastors. I encourage gospel ministers to introduce their children to Jesus Christ but allow them to walk in their destinies,” she adds.
A pastor’s daughter talked to, Taizya Phiri, echoes these sentiments and says everyone should be provided an opportunity to make independent decisions concerning their lives.
Taizya states that she was blessed to have been raised in a healthy church environment where she did not feel she had to meet everyone’s expectations of a pastor’s child.
“My parents have always told us to be comfortable in our own skin, which is probably not every preacher’s child narrative. Part of this meant not feeding into my friends or anyone else’s perception of how I had to behave because my father was a pastor,” says the Sydney University - Australia graduate.
Taizya, whose father is a Pastor at Issachar Love Centre (Lusaka) says it is biased to expect preachers’ children to automatically become actively involved in ministry.
“It is always good when Christians are involved in church activities, not just pastors’ children. We are all God’s children. It just so happens that some of us are children whose parents’ sphere of influence involves preaching,” she adds.
The twenty foul year old discloses that one challenge that comes with being a preacher’s child is striking a balance between acknowledging that she will always be identified as a preachers’ child and not allowing people to define her just by that.
“My father is my father before he is a pastor. He is my father when he is at the pulpit and he is still my father when he gets home and watches a Television show with me. Sometimes, people forget that preachers’ children are just that-preachers’ children,” states the bubbly young lady.
Inasmuch as preachers' children will always be identified as such and might have a role to play in their parents' ministry, they should not be forced to wear their parents' shoes. Like any other Christian, they should be given an opportunity to hear from God and walk in the fullness of who He has called them to be.
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