6 Reasons the Jesus Challenge is the Best Way to Build an Unbreakable Family

If you’re anything like me, your heart aches with a deep desire for your kids to love the Lord. 🥺 You try your best to disciple them, but you never know if it’s enough. Is it *actually clicking? 

You long to connect spiritually with your spouse, but the opportunity always seems to slip away. Between the hectic schedules, the endless list of projects, and the sheer exhaustion of running a family, that spiritual connection feels unattainable. 

You might have already tried setting up spiritual routines like: 

• morning family devotions – which usually end up rushed, trying to get out the door. 
• memorizing verses as a family – but everyone’s too busy to remember to practice. 
• sending your kids to church youth group – but you still don’t get to connect with them. 

You still feel spiritually disconnected from your family and wonder if anything will ever change. 

I see you, friend. 🫶 It’s tough, and it’s easy to feel discouraged. 

But don’t give up! God is never done working, even when it looks hopeless and you’re ready to throw in the towel. 💪

I have a solution that might be exactly what you need. My virtual Jesus challenge is the perfect way to unlock the family unity you long for. 

Instead of adding more work to your plate, my 40-day Scripture challenge does the heavy lifting for you. 🤩 It’s a powerful way to build unbreakable bonds and spiritual depth in your family. 

Let me explain what I’m talking about. 

What Is the Jesus Challenge? 

My virtual Jesus challenge is a 40-day run/walk challenge. Here’s what you commit to when you sign up: 

1. Run or walk 1 mile per day for 40 days. 🏃🏻
2. Read a pre-assigned passage of Scripture while you run or walk. 📖
3. Participate in optional challenges to apply what you’ve learned every day. 

That’s it! Incredibly simple, practical, and anyone can do it. Yes, even strollers, your dog, and your elderly parents. 

Now imagine getting to spend daily time with your family, outside in the fresh air, reading the Bible, and having honest conversations together. 🥹 What a dream come true! 

So what makes my 40-day Scripture challenge perfect for your family? 

# 1: Model a Walk With God Through the Jesus Challenge 

One of the most powerful ways you can influence your family is by modeling what it means to walk with God daily. It’s not only about telling them how to live out their faith – it’s about showing them, every single day. 

DO NOT underestimate the power of your example. No matter how distant they may seem, they’re watching and learning from you. 👀

What are you teaching them – intentionally and unintentionally? 

The Successful Parent says, “Kids are mirrors and imitators. They are hypersensitive to everything you feel and do.” Quite a terrifying thought, right? 

Here are just a handful of the behaviors your kids pick up simply by watching you: 

1. how much they’re worth
2. how to handle conflict
3. what to do with people they don’t like 
4. how to handle stress 
5. how to communicate in relationships 
6. how they fit into the world 
7. what value family has 
8. what’s most important in life 

I know it feels like a LOT of pressure to teach them ALL the right things, be a PERFECT example, and NEVER model anything bad. 🥵 The reality is, we all fail at this and have to trust God to fill in the gaps where we can’t. 

But my 40-day Scripture challenge helps relieve that pressure with built-in, daily opportunities to model a godly lifestyle. 

When you invite your family to join you in my virtual Jesus challenge, you get to: 

• show them how to study God’s Word and let it speak to them. 
• invite them into God’s answers to your prayers and needs. 
• show them how to lean on Him for strength, guidance, and peace. 
• demonstrate the importance of prioritizing God in a busy life. 
• model a personal relationship with God that isn’t just on Sunday. 
• show them that God is a personal, close friend, not a distant authority. 

👉 Your example equips your family with the tools they need to handle their own struggles, relying on Jesus as their anchor. 👈

# 2: Regularly Prioritize Quality Family Time  

Finding time to truly connect as a family is quite challenging. By the end of a long, stressful day, all you want to do is sink down on the couch and entertain everyone with a movie while you catch a few winks. 😴

But prioritizing intentional, meaningful interactions with your spouse and kids is CRUCIAL to building a strong family. 

And the Jesus Challenge provides the perfect opportunity to do just that. 

Here are just a few benefits of spending quality time with your family, each of which is accomplished through my virtual Jesus challenge: 

• builds self-confidence in all family members 
• decreases the chance of behavioral problems 
• teaches conflict resolution and problem-solving 
• establishes strong emotional bonds to overcome life’s difficulties 
• encourages open communication and safety 
• creates a strong sense of belonging and identity 

If these benefits sound a bit small or unimpressive, read the list again. Not everyone gets the chance to learn these life skills! 🤯But you have the opportunity right now to gift your family experiences that will shape the way they handle relationships, challenges, and life decisions. 

These daily moments in my 40-day Scripture challenge become the glue that holds your family together – building a strong, safe, unbreakable foundation that will last a lifetime. 

Whether you start the day with the Jesus Challenge or swap out your evening show, you’re actively changing your family’s trajectory one day at a time. 

# 3: Use the Jesus Challenge To Create Safety in Your Family 

If you’ve ever wondered why your kids don’t share things with you, it may be because they don’t feel safe. Children, especially, thrive in environments where they feel loved and secure. 💞

Spending regular time together in a relaxed setting – like going on walks – creates a space where everyone feels more comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings. This kind of open communication is essential for a healthy family. But it happens over time, not overnight. 

Your consistency and availability are key elements to helping your kids feel safe. When they know they can count on daily moments of connection with you through the Jesus Challenge, that icy outer layer begins to thaw, and they’ll start loosening up around you. 

# 4: Learn To Overcome Obstacles Together 

Whether you’re 60, a toddler, or a high schooler, life is full of challenges. Those moments of stress, conflict, and crisis can do one of two things: 

1. pull your family apart  💔
2. or unite them into a strong team.  🤝

My 40-day Scripture challenge is designed to help your family meet those challenges head-on and overcome them as a strong family unit. 

How? 

• By keeping everyone grounded in God’s Word no matter how challenging life may seem. 
• By creating a safe place to be honest and open about what’s going on. 
• By sharing daily prayer requests and updates. When your family can share, hear, and encourage each other through challenges, you become each other’s biggest cheerleaders and support system. 
• By reminding each other of the truth when everything seems hopeless and dismal. 
• By creating accountability for your choices. 
• By involving the family (as appropriate) in praying and working towards a solution. Involving everyone creates a sense of ownership and shared purpose toward your family’s success. 
• By reinforcing positive coping strategies. Instead of turning to unhealthy habits, your family relies on Scripture, prayer, and open communication to navigate tough times. 

Through the Jesus Challenge, your family can learn to move forward together as a unified team. 

But these shared experiences don’t just help you conquer immediate challenges. 😲 More importantly, they prepare each individual to face obstacles with confidence and deep loyalty to their faith and family. 

# 5: Teach the Value of Discipline and Physical Health 

Have you ever seen those families on the ski slopes, teaching their two-year-old how to ski? ⛷️ And next winter, that little kid is zipping past you, putting your adult skiing skills to shame! 

And while not all of us want to be prodigy skiers, those parents have tapped into teaching their kids important values: discipline and physical health. 💪

In a culture formed heavily around instant gratification, these lessons are more important AND more challenging to teach than ever before. 

My 40-day Scripture challenge is a practical tool to seamlessly implement these lessons into daily life. Here’s how: 

As your kids get older, this skill leads to self-control and mental strength as they navigate their own life choices. 

• By making physical activity a regular part of your routine, you not only improve your family’s current well-being but set the foundation for a lifetime of healthy habits. 

• By incorporating regular walks and Jesus time into your lifestyle, you teach your family that physical health is not separate from faith. 🙌 It’s an integral part of living a balanced, God-honoring life. 

The Junior Challenge: The Answer You’ve Been Waiting For  

If you’re ready to make these changes for your family but feel overwhelmed, I’ve got your back! 🤗

I specially created a *NEW* Jesus Challenge just for kids so you can experience the challenge together! 🥳

The Junior Challenge is made for kids ages 5-14. They get to participate in the SAME 1-mile walk and Scripture readings as your Jesus Challenge. Their daily action steps are more kid-friendly and appropriate to the challenges they face as children. 

Friend, I desperately hope you seize this opportunity to spend time with your children and disciple them in God’s Word. There is no greater reward in parenting than seeing your children love their Maker. 

👉And that responsibility starts with YOU. 👈

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” 

Today is the day you can step up to the parenting plate and make a MASSIVE impact on your family’s life and future. The opportunity to unlock that deep spiritual unity is right at your fingertips.

I hope you take it because once you start, you’ll never want to go back. 🙅🏻‍♀️

Click the links below to sign up for an adult Jesus Challenge. Don’t forget to include your kids by adding the Junior Challenge. 

Sign Me Up for the Jesus Challenge 

Sign My Child up for the Junior Challenge