5 Practical Habits That Build a Spiritual Legacy

Written by Dr. Joannie DeBrito, Family Support Specialist

We live in a performance-driven culture that measures success by achievements, wealth, and recognition. Yet the most enduring legacy that grandparents can leave their families is not financial security or accolades, but a foundation of faith, values, and Christ-like character.

When grandparents intentionally invest in love, grace, humility, and obedience to God, they equip their grandchildren to endure suffering, walk by faith rather than sight, and live with an eternal perspective rooted in Jesus Christ.

What Is a Christian Legacy for Grandparents?

A Christian legacy is the intentional passing down of faith, biblical values, and Christ-centered character traits that prepare grandchildren not just for life on earth, but for eternity with God.

Why Achievements and Wealth Are Not Enough 

Grandparents, each one of you has the opportunity to help your grandchildren embrace the values and develop the character traits that help them recognize that, through surrender to Jesus Christ, this is not their final home. We need to build a foundation on which our grandchildren can build hope for eternity.

They can look forward to an eternity with no pain where they engage in praise, worship, thanksgiving, and glorifying their Divine Creator. I also hope for plenty of rich, enduring relationships, seeing the lion and the lamb live peacefully together, and many grand adventures that are no longer limited by the fear of getting hurt!

Passing Down Godly Character Traits

To begin with, our grandchildren need to learn, through our words and our actions, the values of love, grace, compassion, forgiveness, wisdom, and humility. Leaving a legacy of these values in our grandchildren allows them to learn to be Christ-like. As they exercise these values, it leads to a deeper faith in The One who saved them. When passed down from generation to generation, these values tend to have a longer shelf life than bank accounts and trust funds.

Scripture tells us and demonstrates that we are going to suffer in this life and experience a lot of pain. Some of that occurs completely out of our control. However, we humans can bring a lot of pain and suffering on ourselves because we lack the values that can often minimize pain and suffering or allow us to find ways to cope well with distressing experiences. When we help our children respond to others with love, grace, and forgiveness, we may help them avoid the pain that comes from broken relationships related to abusive words and actions, blaming others, and harboring bitterness and resentment.

As we encourage wisdom and humility, we also help them discern real pain from perceived pain, i.e., losing a loved one causes real pain, while not getting everything one wants is an opportunity to learn valuable lessons about patience, coping well with disappointment, and knowing that there are needs greater than each of our selfish desires. Our grandchildren (and we, frankly) need to experience pain and suffering to long for something better. This opens the door for us to share the promise of eternity through faith in Jesus Christ.

Modeling Honesty, Self-Discipline, and Obedience

Honesty, self-discipline, and obedience are personality traits that can be taught via modeling, discussions, and age-appropriate self-disclosure. For example, when we are honest with our family members and we do what we say we are going to do, they develop faith that we can be trusted. Family relationships built on trust make it easy for grandchildren to believe that their spiritual parents- God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit- can be trusted too.

Building Trust Through Consistent Faith Practices

We should be talking honestly with our grandchildren about our successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses, and transforming life experiences. Then we can talk about how each of those has affected our faith journey. Also, if they see us modeling self-discipline in prayer, reading the Bible, and attending church, for instance, they are more likely to follow our lead. It’s especially helpful to talk with grandchildren about why we do the things we do to engage with God and our faith.

Answering Faith Questions with Scripture and Grace

Similarly, when our grandchildren ask us faith-related questions that we cannot answer, we can reinforce the concept of being obedient to God by exploring the topic in the Bible and learning together what the Bible advises. Now, let’s be honest. Scripture does not provide direct answers to many of the questions our grandchildren have, but there are typically guiding principles to follow.

So, for instance, if a 9- year-old grandson asks why he can’t drive the family car yet, we all know that there are no guidelines for driving a vehicle in the 21^st century in the Bible. However, we do know that in passages such as Romans 13:1-7 and I Peter 2:13-17, we are called to respect and obey the law. Looking at and discussing these passages together provides a great opportunity to talk about the reason that God wants us to be obedient to Him and His commands. It is not so that He can punish us if we break the law. It is because God loves us and is trying to protect us from the pain we may experience if we engage in activities that may put us in some kind of danger. So, in the case of the 9-year-old who wants to drive the car, the biggest reason he can’t is because he may not be able to see over the steering wheel or push the accelerator or brake. This would make driving around town or even just driving around the family farm dangerous for the driver and others.

Using age-appropriate self-disclosure to reveal mistakes you made when you were young and being honest about the consequences endured can help your grandchildren see you as more like them and relatable. This makes them more apt to disclose their mistakes to you. Our open and honest discussions with our grandchildren nearly always provide numerous opportunities to share the Gospel and help them see why a life surrendered to Jesus brings more freedoms and rewards than life without Him. 

Why Grandchildren Remember Stories More Than Sermons

I used to love hearing from my grandmother about the good times in her life that brought her joy and gratitude for God’s creations and provisions, and the stories of personal heartbreaks that increased her dependence on God as she cried out to Him and allowed Him to bear her sorrow. I learned about self-discipline and obedience from her as she lovingly and patiently showed me how certain regular practices in her faith life and obedience to God contributed to a lot of healing.

I am sure that on some occasions, especially during adolescence, I was silently rolling my eyes and thinking I had better things to do than listen to another one of her stories. However, once I became a young adult, I fondly looked back (and still do) on her tales of joy and sorrow and what she taught me about God’s faithfulness, regardless of the circumstances of our lives. 

Putting It All Together: A Legacy That Reaches Heaven

Christian grandparents leave a lasting legacy by intentionally passing down faith, values, and Christ-like character that guide their grandchildren toward hope in eternity.

Intentionally Discipling Grandchildren for Eternity

Let’s take a final look at this amazing opportunity you have to disciple your grandchildren to be with you in Heaven.

The values discussed previously are just a few of the many values you may want to construct your legacy. Be actively thinking about values that are likely to help your grandchildren surrender their lives to Christ and build a genuine and lasting faith in the Triune God. Help them develop the personality traits that allow them to be truthful about their lives and the self-discipline, obedience, and other traits to intentionally seek and maintain a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Share with them your longings for life after death here on Earth and instill in them an eternal perspective for their lives.

This legacy of values, traits, and faith will hopefully be passed down from you to many generations of your family to come, influencing the many that you hope to meet in Heaven one day. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Christian Grandparenting

What legacy should Christian grandparents leave?
Christian grandparents should aim to leave a legacy of faith, love, grace, wisdom, and obedience to God—values that guide grandchildren toward a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ.

How can grandparents influence their grandchildren’s faith?
Grandparents influence faith by modeling Christ-like character, sharing personal faith stories, praying with and for their grandchildren, and having honest, age-appropriate spiritual conversations.

Is faith more important than financial inheritance?
While financial resources can be helpful, Scripture shows that faith and godly character have far greater lasting impact, equipping future generations to endure hardship and live with hope.

How do grandparents teach biblical values in everyday life?
Biblical values are taught through consistent example, intentional conversations, storytelling, prayer, and pointing grandchildren to Scripture during real-life situations.

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Editor’s Note: Our Legacy Grandparenting Summit on March 19-21, 2026, will cover practical ideas in areas of eternal perspective, holiness (sexuality), significance (screen time), and so much more! Check out our full listing of topics and speakers here.