“Since God is Jesus’ daddy, does He have to take Jesus to peepee and poopoo in heaven?”

My three-year-old leveled my husband with this question. Add it to the long list of things I’ve never considered until I had kids. Suspecting that the concept of the Trinity was over her head, and hoping to motivate her into self-sufficiency, he answered, “No, Jesus takes Himself to the potty.”

This is my absolute favorite part of parenting. Surprise—it’s not the diaper changing! No, my favorite thing is shaping my children’s hearts and minds as they discover the world. I get to speak truth into their curiosity, making Jesus knowable for them. I get to answer questions that come out of left field but are reminders that their brains are searching to understand their Creator. I get to be a missionary in my home every day.

Though not the first of its kind, and certainly not the last, my daughter’s question began to form how I thought about discipleship.

Here in the weeds of little people and their needs, discipleship is not another task to complete in a long list of demands. Instead, it’s the very shape of my life worked out in the way I respond to the realities of raising my girls.

Discipleship Every Day

Discipleship in the home takes many forms. In our home, we sing memory verses at the lunch table. I’m learning them too. In the car, we listen to music worth pondering. Listening to “Thank You Jesus for the Blood” by Charity Gayle, my four-year-old launched into an interrogation about the graphic scene of the crucifixion. Though not the most pleasant conversation we’ve ever had, I was committed to telling her the truth. Now she knows the consequence of sin—that it leads to death (Romans 6:23). She is beginning to understand the heartbreak of the cross.

In our home, we pray when we are afraid and before we go to bed. We pray when someone is hurt or feeling big emotions. We pray when we need help speaking kind words to each other. Our songs and prayers are wrapped in trust that God, who begins a good work in our children, will see it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Discipleship doesn’t just happen in the quieter rhythms of our day. It shows up in the hard and messy moments, too.

Discipleship in Pain Points

One lesson my children have taught me is that pain points are open doors for gospel conversations. And when raising kids, there are plenty of pain points.

Motherhood is like a bright spotlight illuminating the insecurities and sin patterns in my life. These moments are the very ones I least want to turn into teaching moments, but they are the ones God most often uses. One thing I regularly find myself apologizing for is yelling at my kids. Thankfully, each apology is an opportunity to share the gospel.

I’m sorry I yelled at you. Mommy is a sinner who needs forgiveness. Jesus died for me so I can be forgiven. Will you forgive me, too?

Some conversations are more weighty than others. The passing of Brandon’s Papaw was the first in the family since our daughter was developmentally old enough to process someone’s absence. Papaw was in hospice many weeks before his passing. The slow passage of his last days allowed us time to prepare to talk about death with a three-year-old.

Papaw is in heaven now. Heaven is a place where there are no bad things and no sad things. We can go there too if we believe in Jesus and receive His forgiveness.

One of my favorite things to teach my girls is that God is always near. When someone has a bad dream or is scared of the wolf in the woods (yes, this is a very specific, unfounded fear in our home), I remind them that God is with them.

When you are afraid, you can pray and ask God for help. God tells us not to be afraid because He is always with us.

Learning to turn pain points into gospel conversations takes a little practice. Consider repetitive struggles in your home. How can you share the good news of Jesus in these moments?

Discipleship in Different Seasons

This kind of discipleship isn’t just in my home. It belongs to all of us in different seasons.

To the moms in the newborn season: each diaper change or half hour in the rocking chair is a moment to pray over your child. Pray for them to know Jesus. Pray for them to be curious about the God who made them. Pray for them to pursue holiness all the days of their lives.

To the moms with me in the toddler years: discipleship is not fancy or complicated. At its core, discipleship is communicating and modeling the gospel as your children experience the world. It’s revealing to them that they are sinners who need a Savior—and their Savior loves them deeply. It’s teaching them that forgiveness and salvation come through faith in Jesus alone.

To the moms who have gone before me: thank you. Thank you for encouraging me that my four-year-old is not too young for discipleship. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and tools with me. You have shown me discipleship made simple. The lessons you’ve learned through the joys and challenges of raising older children continue to prepare me for seasons I haven’t yet reached. Thank you for generously sharing that wisdom with me.

Discipleship in Community

Discipleship isn’t just a personal calling, it’s a communal one. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14). Sharing the gospel with children is not just for parents. It belongs to anyone who understands what Jesus accomplished on the cross and how it impacts a person forever. Moms, dads, grandparents, mentors, teachers—anyone regularly graced with the presence of little ones—discipleship is your calling too.

Don’t miss it—the mission field isn’t coming someday. It’s already sitting at your table, asking questions that sound ridiculous but matter eternally. May we all be people who recognize that our mission field begins with the little ones wrapped around our legs, extends to the children playing in our neighborhoods, and reaches every young heart God entrusts to us. May we welcome the questions and answer responsibly.

So the question remains: does God take Jesus to the potty? Does anyone know?

Resources for Discipleship at Home

• Identity in Christ Cards - These cards by Jen at She Is Emboldened sit front and center at our dining table. This summer, we are talking and singing our way through these cards. Pro tip: Study these cards at whatever pace makes sense for your kids. There’s a lot of freedom to be found in tailoring discipleship for your family.
  
• What Are Mouths For? What Are Hands For? - These books by Abbey Wedgeworth are part of her Training Young Hearts Series. These books gave us repetitive phrasing to use to remind our kids what behaviors are acceptable and not. For example, we ask “Did God make our hands for hitting? No. What did he make our hands for?”
  
• Tales That Tell The Truth - We are building our collection of these books. My favorite is The Garden, The Curtain, & The Cross. They make for great bedtime stories or conversation starters for big topics. We used this one and this one to help prepare for our heaven conversation when Papaw died.
  
• Family Values - Choose values that your family will live by. Ask yourself, “what things do we want to be known for as a family?” Write them down. Pray over them. Hold yourself accountable to them. Teach them to your children. Model them. Praise behaviors from your children that reflect them. Watch how God uses them to build character in your family.