Sending your children back to classes doesn't have to mean they'll be living a secular lifestyle eight hours a day.

With kids heading back to school, they'll be spending at least a third of their days listening and learning from people other than their parents. How, then, can you help support your kinds in holding onto their convictions when they're on their own?

Beth Braun, director of family ministries at Grant Memorial Church (GMC) believes it starts with creating a faith-based environment at home for your family.

A parent herself, Braun says her greatest desire was always for her kids to love Jesus. The question was, how to do that in such a way that her kids would grow up with a strong faith that was all their own?

"I just started looking for ways to put Jesus in front of them in every scenario and to see faith modeled in front of them, and so they could see in me what Jesus means to me," shared Braun. From there, she hoped their curiosity would grow, inspiring them to learn more.

With both her kids now adults and pursuing ministry-based professions, it seems safe to say that both Braun's children indeed love the Lord. The biggest factor in fostering that faith, however, was Braun and her husband providing a home environment that modeled the love of Christ for her children to experience every day growing up.

"It's everything," says the director. "It doesn't matter how old our kids are, they want to know if we really mean what we say."

Being authentic with your children about both your faith struggles and successes will go a long way in establishing their own trust in God, continued Braun. Good days or bad, it's important that your kids see you being honest with yourself and them with where you're at, as well as how that affects your faith.

"When we live out our faith in front of them, if we do it in an authentic way... we need to model that in front of our kids."

But how do we go about modeling a life of faith for our children?

According to Braun, it all starts with seeking God first in our lives.

"As a parent, my primary goal is to love Jesus first," Braun shares, "and so that matters in how much I pray and how much I read God's word, and how connected I am to God."

From there, it's a matter of living your live and allowing Christ to show through your interactions with your children. On bad days, Braun suggests taking time to point things back to God, look at the bigger picture, and acknowledge with your kids that you don't have all the answers while encouraging them to lean on God because He does.

"Deuteronomy in chapter six gives us examples when it says 'talk to your children when walking down the road and when you're lying in your bed at night," shares Braun, "and so it sort of gives us this bit of a blueprint of what [supporting our kids spiritually] could look like."

Praying together in the morning to address the day, and the evening to process, suggests Braun, as well as speaking words of affirmation whenever possible into your children's lives, are small acts that show your genuine love for both your kids and your heavenly father.

"As we live that out in front of them, as they see us process what it means to follow Jesus in our situation, they understand that this is more than just a tool."