Francis Chan is urging Christian parents - especially dads - to see the pandemic as an opportunity to take greater responsibility for the spiritual formation of their children.

He said during a Q Session discussion that too many Christians had been relying on the Church to teach their children about the faith, only to flounder when lockdown started and Sunday school ended. 

Reflecting on the impact of the pandemic on Christians, he said: "I think about parents. I hear in a lot of churches they've got to meet together again because of our kids.

"And I'm going, 'Man, God should wake you up right there. Parents are supposed to be teaching their kids.' It's a great opportunity for you, dads, to step up and believe the Spirit of the living God is inside of your body and you can lead that family.

"And if they're not equipped, then figure it out and man up. Parents, you're supposed to lead your kids," he said.

But he attributed some of the blame to the Church, which he said had "weakened gifted godly people because we do everything for them", including teaching their kids. 

READ MORE: God is using Covid-19 to 'prune the Church' - Francis Chan

When churches started closing during the pandemic, it became "chaotic" and parents were left wondering "what do we do?", he said. 

Instead of looking to churches to re-open so that kids can get back into Sunday school, Chan said parents should use this season to teach their kids about the Christian faith. 

"I say, 'No. Take advantage of this time'," Chan said. 

Speaking more generally, he suggested the Church embrace the pandemic as an opportunity to ready itself for future challenges. 

"I really believe this is of God," he said.

"This is a time where we realized we were not ready for this. So if we get another little break, let's do everything we can to equip and prepare people for times like this because I really don't believe this is the end of it."