What should we teach?

"Then, what exactly are we supposed to teach children? What is important for them to learn? The answers to these questions differ based on one’s context, faith tradition, and cognitive abilities. But I believe that, in general, children ought to learn about the great texts of the Christian faith (with a particular focus on the life and teachings of Jesus), the Christian tradition or denomination in which they participate, and current events and issues that affect the life of the church and the world."

- David M. Csinos

Guevara, Matt (2012-03-11). Nexus: Central Themes in Children's Ministry (Kindle Locations 94-97). What Matters Now. Kindle Edition.




This book can be found at:
http://www.amazon.com/Nexus-Central-Childrens-Ministry-ebook/dp/B007JL627I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340325037&sr=8-1&keywords=nexus+central+themes


I completely agree. Often we focus more on the Old Testament because the stories can be made into simplistic ideas that seem appealing to children (i.e - Noah's Ark, Moses and the Red Sea). But really, the concepts that are most important for kids and teens to grasp and understand are often the ones that come from the New Testament and center around the life and teachings of Jesus. What I am not saying is that the Old testament is less important than the New Testament to teach to kids because they should know ALL of the bible, but when it comes to the hard stuff, the concepts children struggle with understanding and personalizing, often they are found in the New Testament, which means more time needs to be spend learning and teaching there.


I think another important thing to teach the children you minister to is Church history, both the history of the church you attend and the Churches of Christianity in general.  This does not mean that they should know who did what, where they did it, and why.  What it does mean is that they understand through the connections you make that the church they see in the New Testament, is linked to the church they are in now.  They need to personalize the concept that the Jesus in the bible is the same Jesus we know today, and that the concepts are still true.  


We need to not be afraid to approach the hard topics in the Bible, because they are the most important for children to understand. Things like, death and sex are really tough to talk out with kids. What should they know about these topics? What is age appropriate for them? How much information is too much? 
These are all genuine questions when we come to these topics that require discernment of maturity and understanding.  






If you have any thoughts or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment!