Theology Before Theory, Theory Before Practice
My interview on 'The Effective Ministry Podcast' and why the structure of 'The Child In God's Church' matters.
As The Child in God’s Church continues its journey out into the world, I am thankful for the people who have shown interest in the book and given thoughtful feedback on how the book is helping them think through their children’s ministry theology, strategy and practice.
Of course, it was a given that my Youthworks colleague, Al James, would invite me back on The Effective Ministry Podcast to discuss the book. However, what I really appreciated about the conversation with Al was his emphasis on the book's structure and how that helps us think clearly about ministry to young people.
The book is structured in two parts: the foundations of children’s ministry (theological and theoretical foundations) and the structure of children’s ministry (the strategy of children’s ministry that is built on these foundations).
The foundations of children’s ministry
The first half of the book sets the theological and theoretical foundations for our understanding of children and the church:
Chapter 1: The theology of the child as a developing human disciple of King Jesus
Chapter 2: The theology of the church as God’s people gathered around his word
Chapter 3: The theology of Christian faith as knowing, loving and obeying King Jesus
Chapter 4: Theoretical support from the social sciences for how Christian faith grows in community over time
I argue that how we conceive of children means that we will or will not take their place in the local church seriously. How we think of the purpose and activity of church impacts whether we believe it matters how the local church relates to the child in its midst.
The structure of children’s ministry
Having established the theological and theoretical foundations for our understanding of children and God’s church, the second half of the book sets forth a framework for practising children’s ministry in the local church. The dual responsibility to foster the faith of children and honour what God is doing among his gathered people provides three spheres of discipleship beneficial for child faith formation:
Chapter 5: Children’s Ministry as the developmentally appropriate, programmed ministry that disciples the child in the context of their peers
Chapter 6: Family Ministry as the church’s intentional engagement with the child’s household and the priority of a parent or guardian’s discipleship
Chapter 7: Intergenerational Ministry as the child’s active participation in the all-age, all-stage, gathering of their local church
The key theses of the book is that these spheres of discipleship are not in conflict with each other: they each reflect theological realities of who the child is with respect to God’s church. As church, family and children’s ministry leaders, we will be seeking to find ways that develop each of these spheres for each child. The order in which these three are presented is not intended to imply diminishing importance. Any sphere that is underdeveloped for a child will contribute to their failure to express key aspects of their identity as a developing disciple of King Jesus.
You can hear more in my discussion with Al James by subscribing to The Effective Ministry Podcast on your favourite podcast app, or through the Spotify link below.
If you haven’t yet bought a copy of The Child in God’s Church, you can find it at Youthworks Media, Koorong, Amazon, or Apple Books.