During the school years, children develop greater ability to focus and sit still, and their brains are developed enough to soak in staggering amounts of information. As preschoolers, children also learn quickly, but they learn primarily through direct experience — touching, tasting, doing, feeling. In this phasee, children are ready to learn in a more second-hand way. They can grasp ideas from afar, gaining knowledge of people they haven't met, places they haven't been, and events they haven't witnessed. In sum, they are perfectly prepared to be immersed in the stories of our faith. “Indoctrination” often has a negative connotation because we associate it with brainwashing, cults and dictators. However, it describes exactly what we want to do: implant the truths of our belief system in their minds.
Bruce Powers
If parents and churches have taken full advantage of the first phase of spiritual development, children will be comfortable in the church setting, familiar with basic terminology, and eager to learn more about God. Their imaginations are expanding and ready to be captured by the Bible. Most churches have Sunday school classes that consistently expose children to the great stories of the Bible, but going through lessons or telling stories is only part of our responsibility. As with anything else regarding spiritual formation, parents must take the lead. Thorough indoctrination cannot be accomplished in one or two hours a week. Parents must be sure to make talking about spiritual things a habit. Many parents feel unprepared to answer the questions that children inevitably come up with, others simply don't think about it. Read Bible stories, watch Christian videos, talk about what you learn. If all our focus is on other things, our children will think those things are more important than God.
Taking children to church is not a substitute for spiritual focus in the home. However, in either setting, the way the stories are presented is very important. We don't want to just tell or read the story, we want to draw children into it. Take advantage of their natural curiosity and imagination, tap into their growing ability to compare themselves with others. I cannot tell you one single technique that always works because the age range is so great, but I always try to find where the Bible connects with the listener's life. Older children have the ability to speculate about what life would be like in such a place and time, traveling by donkey and having no McDonald's to stop at. They can understand more about motivations and the subtleties of human interaction. With younger children, focus on basic themes like fear, anger, obedience, and trust. I realize that not everyone has the spiritual gift of teaching, but if you take time to think about a child's life, I'm sure you can find the intersections with Bible stories. Anyway, the most important element is your own excitement about the story — show children that you think the Bible is worthwhile, and they will usually agree.
Bruce Powers, whose column appears monthly, is pastor of Westhaven Baptist Church in Portsmouth. Contact him at [email protected] . Other parenting resources are available from Diane Smith ([email protected]) of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board's emerging leaders team.