That statement has caused me to look again at what we are teaching and making sure that we are not focusing so much on life application that we are missing the important foundations on which wisdom for the present and the future are built.

We know that every kindergartner or fourth grader or 3-year-old will NOT know all of those truths….

(Sorry about that)

As a teacher in my church, I also use that document as I teach kindergartners each week.

We know that every kindergartner or fourth grader or 3-year-old will know all of those truths by the time they “graduate” to the next age group. But, since the concepts build on each other, children can continue to grow in what they have learned in the previous years.

The ultimate goal is leading children to Christ and helping them know how to live out God’s Word; but this document helps guide the learning process in a more intentional way.

Jesse, you’re absolutely right. Defining mile markers is almost impossible to do as people are entering into the mix at all times coming from all different backgrounds.

However, it may be that a student and children’s ministry team decides that there are 10 major theological issues they want to teach every year, so they work these 10 into their curriculum/experiences every year, each taught in age appropriate ways.

Boom, that’s intentional theology. It’s not “knowledge based” or experience based… it’s just strategically teaching important things on a regular basis in a relevant way. So many different ways to do this.. and many of us are… just not intentionally.

What we’re still chewing on is how do we fit the unchurched teen in a system like this.

I’m just happy that there are a group of people actually thinking about this stuff now rather than just assuming it’s going to happen. That, in and of itself, is a huge leap forward.

John’s last blog post..Relationships are worth it

Kenny, I have comments for your last post but I haven’t been abel to formulate them or get them typed out…but my YP and I are in the beginning stages of establishing a “scope and sequence” type of thing for our ministries.
However, Henry is right, it’s not about what they know at age X, but who they are…and of course, that’s going to change based on their relationship with God so it’s a battle do define mile markers.

I came out of a church background that was highly sensational and experiential. I remember one year in student ministry I got the “most transformed life” award (yeah, I know… sounds dumb). However, God was moving in my life in a powerful way. It seemed that for months on end, God’s Spirit would move and transformation would happen in the lives of many people. It was powerful and I’m a big fan of that. However, far too often… Spirit and experience trumped the Word. I’m not saying that they devalued the word of God, but in this crowd, many of these people had WHACKED OUT theology. Why, becasue there was more emphasis put on life-change and transformation than on digging into the word and letting that transform you. Okay, you’ve seen some of my baggage.

I don’t think this has anything to do with “measuring spiritual growth” or teaching kids the “right answers.” Far from it. I think it’s more establishing what doctrine do we want our kids to know and how do we make sure our kids are getting it this year. We just finished 252 virtue on Fairness. Wow, a great opportunity to teach about God’s “just” nature. It’s not fair that we entered a sinful world and that we’re born with a sin nature, but God provided grace. I see this as intentionally taking doctrine and placing it where it fits, being sure that it’s covered annually, quarterly or whatever frequency you see fit rather than just cover a certain doctrine when the curriculum suggests it.

Yeah, I’m very opposed to categorizing someone or determining their spirituality based upon their knowledge. Yuck… that’s going backwards.