On January 29 Shelly Melia, program director for the master of arts in children’s ministry and master of arts in family ministry at Dallas Baptist University, shared research and professional opinion with members of the Oklahoma Baptist Children’s ministry association.
After children understand the ABCs and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, are they truly discipled in the church? While their salvation is a blessing, more needs to be done, Melia asserted.
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“The world will disciple our kids if we don’t,” she declared.
The secular world understands the value of gaining a child’s attention and devotion, she added.
It’s not just about the ABCs
- A= Admit
- B= Believe
- C= Commit/Confess
- D= Decide
- E= Every day
- F= Follow
- G=God
Four essentials
Melia noted four essentials of discipleship.
Relationships
“The single most catalytic factor to influence the formation of lasting faith in children is loving, caring, adult relationships,” Melia quoted from Matt Markin’s book, “The Faith of our Children.”
Bible stories
- Utilize curriculum that focuses on Bible stories rather than topical issues or thematic approaches that overshadow biblical content.
- Help children locate stories in the Bible.
- Give children opportunities and space to respond to the story with curiosity and wonder.
- Notice and normalize struggles, suffering and mistakes made by people in Bible stories, avoiding the temptation to emphasize victories and miracles.
Rituals
- Rituals create a collective memory that can be accessed during times of difficulty and crisis. “Synchronous intergenerational rituals” tie communities of faith together.
- Rituals can help shape understanding of who God is and what He values.
- Rituals move children from spectators to full participants in their faith communities.
Doubts
- Doubts are a signal there is a need for dialogue.
- Doubts are an important part of the development of faith formation.
- Doubts can lead to deeper faith.
“After dialogue about the doubts, recognize and respect the work of the Holy Spirit,” Melia encouraged. “Determining if a childhood experience was real is not your job. Our responsibility and privilege is to walk alongside a child/teenager and make sure there is a space and time for them to have their questions explored and answered.”
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