Rooted Learning
From Borrowed Faith to Their Own: Helping Students Own Their Faith
Many of the students in our classrooms have grown up surrounded by faith. They know the Bible stories, the worship songs, and the right answers. That is a gift. But at some point, every student has to answer a personal question: Is this faith mine, or am I just borrowing it?
A borrowed faith rarely holds up when life gets hard. We can’t make that choice for our kids, but we can help clear the path. Here are a few things I keep in mind as I try to come alongside my students.
1. Knowing about God is not the same as knowing Him
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”2 Timothy 1:5 (ESV)
Timothy’s faith started in his family. It “dwelt first” in his grandmother and his mother. But Paul’s joy is that it now dwells in Timothy as well. The faith passed down to him had become his own.
That’s the hope for our students too. A student can know a lot about God and still not know Him. The difference often looks like this:
- Knowing about God is having the facts. Knowing Him is trusting Him.
- Knowing about God sounds like “my parents believe” or “our school teaches.” Knowing Him sounds like “I believe.”
2. Make room for honest questions
“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’”Mark 9:24 (ESV)
A desperate father admitted to Jesus that his faith was real but weak. Jesus didn’t send him away. He helped him.
My faith became my own during my junior year of college, when my dad was diagnosed with cancer and needed surgery. My first reaction wasn’t calm trust. I was angry with God, and I questioned Him. But as I wrestled with Him, I came to see that God was all I had. Nothing else could hold me up. The questions didn’t push me away from Him. Bringing them honestly to Him is what finally drew me close.
That’s why I want students to feel safe asking hard questions. Science class is a natural place for this. When we study the design of a cell or the order of creation, wonder and questions come naturally.
- Welcome the question. “That’s a great question” tells a student that faith can handle honesty.
- Don’t fake an answer. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know, but let’s look into it together.”
- Point them back to God. Questions are best asked to Him, not just about Him.
3. Model a real faith, not a performed one
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”Deuteronomy 6:6–7 (ESV)
The words are on our hearts first, and then we teach them, in the ordinary moments of the day.
Kids can spot a performance quickly. What sticks is an adult who actually walks with God on a normal Tuesday:
- Let them see you pray. Not just at the start of class, but when something goes wrong.
- Talk about what God is teaching you. A short, honest sentence goes a long way.
- Admit when you fall short. Students learn about grace when they watch us need it.
4. Let them read and pray for themselves
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”Romans 10:17 (ESV)
Many students have heard a lot of Scripture, but have rarely opened the Bible on their own or prayed without someone else leading. We can give them practice:
- Hand them the Bible. Have students find and read a passage themselves instead of always reading it to them.
- Ask what they notice. “What does this show you about God?” invites them to engage, not just listen.
- Give them chances to pray. Short student-led prayers, written prayers, or quiet moments help them talk to God personally.
5. Connect faith to everyday choices
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”Joshua 24:15 (ESV)
Joshua didn’t let Israel ride on their parents’ faith. He told them to choose. Our students make choices every day about friends, words, honesty, screens, and how they treat people. Those choices are where faith becomes real.
- Bring faith into real situations. When a student is struggling with a friendship or a failure, ask what God’s Word says about it.
- Talk about the hard stuff. Students have real struggles. Faith that never touches them will feel irrelevant.
6. Be patient and trust the Holy Spirit
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”Philippians 2:12–13 (ESV)
We want our students to have a faith that keeps growing after they leave our classrooms and homes. And notice the key phrase: it is God who works in you.
That frees us from pressure. We can’t manufacture a decision for Christ, and we shouldn’t try. Pushing a student to say the right words may produce a moment, but only the Holy Spirit changes a heart. Our part is to be faithful:
- Keep planting. Teach the truth, love the student, and leave the results to God.
- Don’t rush the timeline. Some students will take years. God’s timing is not ours.
- Pray more than you push. Bring each student to God by name.
7. Partner with parents and the church
No teacher or parent can do this alone. Students grow best when home, school, and church are pointing them in the same direction.
- Parents, you are the first teachers. What students see at home shapes them more than anything they hear in a classroom.
- Teachers, support what parents are building. Share encouraging moments, and reach out when a student is wrestling with something.
- Keep the church in the picture. A local church gives students a faith family beyond school, one that will still be there after graduation.
Closing: seek Him with all your heart
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)
This is the promise I hold onto for my students. When they truly seek Him, they will find Him for themselves.
I want my students to know that nothing matters without God. Not their grades, their achievements, or anything they learn in science class. I want to come alongside them in their faith journey, wherever they are on it, and keep pointing them to Jesus. The faith they borrow from us is a good start. The faith they find in Him is what will carry them.
A prayer for students growing in faith:
Lord, thank You for every student and child You have placed in our lives. Thank You for the faith that has been passed down to them, and we ask that it would become truly their own. Give them the courage to bring You their honest questions, and draw them close as they seek You. Help us, as teachers and parents, to live a real faith in front of them, to be patient, and to trust Your Spirit to do the work only You can do. May they seek You with all their hearts and find You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
— Mr. Brazones
Rooted Learning