Should we add a new Gospel bead?

Annemarie Rivers riffing on the necessity of the local church

One of my hopes for The Child in God’s Church is that it will spark new ideas and grounded application in the wider field of Children’s Ministry and, most importantly, in the local church. My (now ex-) colleague at Youthworks Ministry Support, Annemarie Rivers, has done exactly that. Picking up on one small thread of my argument on the necessity of the local church in the life of a Christian, Annemarie has wondered whether we ought to add the church to the “Jesus Beads”, a common gospel presentation for young people.

Here’s what I wrote in the book.

Consider a typical gospel presentation that you know—perhaps the Roman Road, Two Ways to Live or the gospel colours. In the evangelical world, such gospel presentations tend to follow a well-rehearsed formula: creation, sin, judgement, salvation, resurrection and then new creation.

Different denominations or theological traditions may highlight some aspects more than others. For example, some groups may focus more on either the relational or…