Intentional Christian Grandparenting
Alumni Connect
Bob Dobson came to Northwest Baptist Theological College and Seminary in August 1989 following an administrative career with the City of Toronto Board of Education. He cherished his time on the Marine Drive Campus before transiting to the Trinity Western location.
He had the role of Vice President of Public Relations with specific responsibilities for enrolment management, gift income, and capital building projects. It was during this time that Northwest was awarded the Christianity Today Annual Award for the fastest growing Bible College in North America.
He completed his role at Northwest in August 1996 answering the call of God for pastoral leadership at Cloverdale Baptist Church.
My wife Denise and I were introduced to the importance of being intentional with our grandparenting five years ago. We attended a Grandparenting Summit at Chuck Swindoll’s Church in Plano, Texas.
We love caring for our grandchildren and want to be involved in their lives at every opportunity. However, it did not occur to us to be intentional Christian grandparents. Following our time in Texas we realized our role with them was far more important and needed some realigning. We got a clearer picture of the active role of grandparenting as regularly implied in God’s Word.
Looking at the last part of Deuteronomy 4:9, it states: “teach them (commands of the Lord) to your children and your grandchildren.” We began to realize that we were to be spiritual influencers in their lives. We further realized that we were responsible to teach two generations, not just one.
We knew our role needed some adjustments. Scripture repeatedly mentions the phrase “from one generation to another.” Our prayer life became more targeted; our stories became our “God stories” in order to speak about God’s faithfulness in our lives. Our vision changed to becoming more intentional in “teaching” our grandchildren principles that take root in their lives – for a time in our future we cannot see. We love our intentional Christian grandparenting role. It is an important role and we treasure it.
Beyond that, we have become Board Members with Legacy Coalition Canada. Legacy Coalition opened a new chapter in Canada on January 1, 2023. At its’ roots is the belief that now is the time to harness the wisdom, energy, and passion of Christian grandparents in Canada – for the sake of our grandchildren. It can be summed up as: “Writing the signature of God across the souls of our grandchildren.”
There is incredible potential for us as grandparents to influence our youngest generation. We are important to our grandkids and are in a unique position to influence them spiritually. Psalm 78:5b-7 sums it perfectly: “He commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.”
As Board Members of Legacy Coalition Canada, our vision and passion, is that Canadian Christian grandparents see the model in scripture, consider their role, and connect their faith journey by sharing it with their grandkids.
LCC is here to help churches and grandparents in this endeavour. Our website provides resources, seminars, webinars, studies, and materials that will encourage and equip grandparents to fulfill their role of becoming intentional Christian grandparents. May God guide, strengthen, give wisdom, and bless grandparents as they prayerfully consider their role in the lives of their grandchildren.
We want more than anything to have our grandchildren in heaven with us. Our desire is to build a legacy that outlives ourselves. I’m sure the same is true for you.
Our website is: https://legacycoalition.ca