Take the initiative to invest in the lives of younger brothers and sisters. Here are a few ways to motivate younger brothers and sisters to spiritual maturity. A parent’s guidance is also invaluable in working with brothers and sisters.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:20-21)

• Praise your siblings in public; never correct in public.
• Only correct if absolutely necessary; earn the privilege to correct through praise.
• Be what you want your siblings to be.
• Pray together for your parents each day.
• Fast and pray together during a mealtime.
• Make a prayer list and record God’s answers together.
• Challenge them to rise early with you to pray and study God’s word.
• Choose a specific country to pray for together and research this country at the library.
• Memorise Scripture together and then give appropriate rewards.
• Go for a walk each morning, sharing with each other your rhema for the day.
• Make a tape of a passage of Scripture for them to listen to at night.
• Share your struggles and ask them to pray for specific prayer requests.
• Receive God’s grace by asking them to point out your blind spots.
• Clear your conscience and create projects to counteract the damage of past actions and poor examples.
• Memorise the names of God together and choose one to focus on each day.
• Memorise the 49 character qualities and their meanings and choose one to focus on each day, being accountable to each other.
• Discover the meaning of their names and look for ways that they are demonstrating this and them praise them for it.
• Find out the spiritual gifts of your family members and discuss how they affect the way each one responds.
• Research together the four types of smiles and them reward them for demonstrating a consistent smile.
• Sing hymns together and learn hymn histories.
• Teach them how to present the gospel.
• Treat them better than you treat your best friend.
• Plan a special time each month to take them out individually for a time of fellowship (i.e. dinner, picnic, the park, zoo, etc.)
• Spend five minutes a day with each sibling talking, reading, or doing whatever they would like to do.
• Write notes of encouragement telling them how much you appreciate them.
• Choose a relative to whom you can express gratefulness and write a thank you letter.
• Teach younger sisters how to sew or bake for neighbours, friends and church members.
• Show younger brothers how to be good stewards by teaching them basic auto mechanic skills (i.e. how to change a tire, the oil, and sparkplugs.)
• Plan special times to meet the needs of a widow in your area.
• Teach orderliness by instructing them how to properly care for their clothes (i.e. polish shoes, do laundry, hang them up)
• Volunteer to clean your church or take care of your church grounds together.

Christianna Reed – COMMIT