My Speech: Teaching Theology to Kids

Church History

Hosea 4:6 says my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. In 2012, Barna researched teenagers' beliefs in evangelical churches. Here is what they found. • 80% believe Bible and Koran are both inspired books • 70% believe one must “earn” salvation • 58% have a Biblical worldview of God. • 57% believe their eternal destiny is up to them, not God. • 56% believe that Jesus Christ is/was simply human. • 40% believe the “principle” of the Bible, but not words as accurate. • 32% believe the resurrection of Christ occurred. • 18% believe in “moral absolute truth” • 1% have a Biblical World View. That was ten years ago. Today, these same people are in their late 20s or early 30s. They are the adults of our church. Here is the outcome • 1 out of 9 (11%) lost faith in Christianity • 4 out of 10 (40%) leave the Church but still call themselves Christian • 2 out of 10 (20%) disconnect from Church and express frustration about “church culture” and disconnect with society • 3 out of 10 (30%) stay involved in church Here are the five things the people who stayed in church as adults had in common. • Eating dinner together as a family five nights a week. • Serving in a faith-based ministry as a family. • Having at least one significant spiritual experience at home each week. • Being entrusted with significant ministry responsibility at a young age. • Having at least one adult mentor outside of the immediate family. In 2022, the Barna group did another study with teens, and they found that this is what they believed. • Jesus was a Justice Advocate – 35% • Jesus was crucified – 47% • Jesus was raised from the dead – 21% • Jesus is active in the world today – 21% Here is HOW to teach children ANYTHING. • Make it memorable. Keep it simple. Repeat it often. Here are the things your children must know. Inspiration of the Bible – God breathed into people the idea of what to write. The doctrine of God He created us. He is Holy, which means He is separated from sin. He is just; God does what is right and fair. But because He is love, He took the punishment. Jesus claimed to be God – when he forgave sins - when he commanded creation - when he called himself “I Am,” Trinity: God is not a human being; he is a different being. God is ONE God, One Being with three persons. Sin: Anything we think, say, or do that breaks God's law -The punishment of sin is being separated from God -We are all born with a "want to" sin - "God rescues us from sin. From the power of sin, and the penalty of sin." Salvation - The act of saving or rescuing from danger or harm - Redemption - To free from captivity by paying the fine. We are Justified through Grace by Faith Justified - God took our label of Sin and replaced it with the label of righteousness. Grace -- Unmerited Favor Favor - something good. The one you like the best is your favorite. Merit - Earn something- like a merit badge. - Award Unmerited Favor -- Getting something good you did not deserve Faith Is the belief that someone or something is who they say they are and can do what they say they can do. Resources o Gotquestions.org is a great option for a place for you to find answers o Cross Examined o Frank Turek o Sean McDowell – Great videos on YouTube o Child Evangelism Fellowship o What’s In The Bible Video Series for Kids o Church History Podcast - loreleesiemens.com