How to Lead Family Devotions When You're a Busy Entrepreneur (10-Minute Version)
By Jeff & Lexie Bodenmuller · 2026-07-27
Every Christian entrepreneur father we know wants to lead his family spiritually. And almost every one of them privately feels like they're failing at it. The gap between the ideal ('rich family devotion time every night') and the reality ('we barely got dinner on the table') is where the guilt lives.
Here is a realistic system that has worked for hundreds of families in our community — including ours.
Give up the ideal that's killing you
The Instagram version of family devotions — everyone gathered on the couch, kids attentive, a full hour of Bible study — is not going to happen in your season. If you keep aiming at it, you will keep feeling like a failure and doing nothing.
Aim at 10 minutes, five days a week. Consistency at that level will absolutely shape your family. A perfect hour once a month will not.
The 10-minute framework
- Pick one time — the same time every day. Dinner table is best because everyone is already there.
- Open with one question: 'Where did you see God today?' (Even a 4-year-old can answer this.)
- Read a short passage. One paragraph. Kids' Bible for young ones, actual Bible for older.
- One question about it: 'What did you notice?' Not a lecture. Not a sermon. One question.
- One prayer request from each person. Pray for one of them out loud. Done.
What to read (year 1)
Don't start with Leviticus. Start with the Gospel of Mark — shortest gospel, action-forward, kids track with it. Then Genesis stories. Then Acts. That's a full year, easily, at one paragraph a night.
The rules that keep it alive
- 10 minutes. Set a timer. When it goes off, you're done. This is the most important rule.
- Skip days. If you miss Tuesday, don't 'double up' Wednesday. Just do Wednesday.
- Kids don't have to love it. They will complain sometimes. Do it anyway.
- Dad leads (or mom, if dad won't). But someone leads. Rotating leadership is a great way to have it never happen.
Why this matters for entrepreneurs specifically
Your kids know your business is important because they see you work. If they never see you lead spiritually with the same seriousness, they will conclude that God is a Sunday thing, not a life thing. Ten minutes a day is the smallest possible way to make that lesson land in the other direction.
In Campfire we treat family discipleship as one of the six S.P.O.U.S.E. pillars — because the marriage doesn't exist in a vacuum, and neither does your legacy. Building a rhythm here is one of the highest-leverage moves you can make as a couple.