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>Coming Soon- "Communion... Am I Ready?" - A Workbook Manual for Children |
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Making
Doctrine Relevant to Youth There
are a few pivotal points in a youth’s life.
They are often during the time when kids are learning to make
spiritual decisions for themselves which have been previously made for them.
When they were younger, they were told why and what to believe, but
as they grow, they must sort through all they have been taught and respond
to the Spirit’s leading on their own.
This is the way it is supposed to be.
As parents raise children, they lead them toward the ultimate goal of
mature independence. Likewise,
we want to bring young people to a point where they are spiritually mature
as well. Have
you ever spoken to a child, watched him nod as though he was hanging on your
every word, then asked him to repeat what you just said and he answered,
“I don’t know!”. What
went wrong? It made perfect sense to you! So how do we make Christian doctrine, which requires all that
college and postgraduate schooling, relevant to kids? There are some tools you can use to help difficult concepts
make more sense to kids. 1.
Pray- Here’s where to start. This
is really God’s work with your student.
You are simply facilitating. Pray
that you will communicate the best that you can! 2.
Keep it simple- Don’t try to teach everything at once.
Start with small amounts of information like an upside down pyramid.
Give a little information and then add to it, broadening each thought
after the first thought is grasped. 3.
Perspective- Think like a child thinks! I know it’s been awhile, but try
to clear your mind of all your pre-suppositions.
Youth attach what we teach them to what THEY already know, not what
YOU know. Often times they are
a blank slate in spiritual things. Think about those things to which they might be relating this
new knowledge. 4.
Language- Many Christian terms are not in their vocabulary.
Teach them the terms but be sure to restate what you want them to
know in simple words that THEY use. 5.
Ask- Question them often to restate what you just said to be sure they are
keeping up with you and understanding you.
Don’t spend too much time asking them what they think the Bible
says before you teach. You
don’t want wrong concepts to be repeated and retained.
You can ask them how they feel about things.
There are no right or wrong answers to feelings. 6.
Give hints- When a student is asked to restate a concept, that verbalization
helps him learn and remember. It
is better to give hints to help him think it through than to just give him
the answers. 7.
Bite-size thoughts- Break difficult thoughts into smaller concepts.
It is much easier to understand two or three smaller concepts and put
them together than to understand a big concept. 8.
Visuals- Use a lot of visuals and word pictures or stories.
Students will attach concepts to these and will understand and
personalize them more quickly. These give the necessary “mental break”
in a challenging lesson. 9. Review- It seems so easy to you. That is because you already know it. We must be exposed to information multiple times and in multiple ways to thoroughly grasp it. Don’t assume because a student has learned something that they will retain it. Review is essential… 10.
Remain Biblically accurate- this final point is imperative.
Don’t change even a small item of doctrine to try to make it better
understood, or your efforts become worthless.
Teach directly from Scripture! _____________________________
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