How to Teach Kids Theology: Deep Truths for Growing Faith (eBook)

Great resource for churches and families! Would highly recommend!

If you are involved with teaching children (or youth groups, for that matter) the Bible on any level, you really need to read this book. It is full of meat and practical steps to help teach kids and give them the firm foundation that they desperately need. This is not a one time read and put it away. I will be re-reading and implementing much of this simple-to-understand process into our already thriving kid's ministry. We all know simple does not necessarily mean easy:) The title of 'How To' accurately titles this handbook that I will use as a guide for our ministry.

I highly recommend How To Teach Kids Theology by Sam Luce and Hunter Williams. We live in a culture that either mispresents or outright rejects Christianity. Someone needs to be teaching Theology to our kids. Who is responsible for that task-parents or church ministries? You may be surprised by the answer. I have highlighted many portions in each chapter, and have quoted a couple here: "Children cannot live beyond their perception of God; if their perception of him is misguided, their lives will be misdirected. This is why passivity isn't an option. If we aren't deliberate in developing our children's understanding of God, then it will be developed by someone else." I have heard it said that when a child hears something about a subject for the first time, they accept it as truth. I desire that my child know the Truth as given to us in our Holy Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit. I don't think children are ever too young to learn theology. As a parent, I desire theology to be a normal part of life. "If we want our kids to see God as the "Great I Am" and not merely as the "good that was," then our teaching needs to reflect the awe-inspiring, life altering, heart transforming greatness of God and the goodness of his gospel. Their spiritual growth requires it, and their resolve to his cause is built on it." I appreciate that each a chapter in the book is divided into three sections; the problem, the principle, and the practice. We are not left with only the what/why, but with the how to address it. Also included are recommendations for websites, books, and podcasts for parents and ministry leaders. This book is very needed, practical, encouraging, and Gospel centered.

In this book, Sam Luce provides the practical tools necessary to help kids find their identity in Christ and His purpose for their life. It helps them understand that while life can come with big challenges and real suffering, we have a God who is larger than life and larger than the pains of this world. Biblically rooted, it helps children start with the best foundation possible - good theology. From there, it provides real ways in which they can apply the Gospel to their everyday lives, forging a path toward a relationship with a living God who not only loves us, but has a plan for each and every one of us.

Teaching theology can feel like a heavy responsibility, but this book encourages anyone in children's ministry to have confidence in sharing the simple yet deep truths of God and making the most of everyday moments. I loved the passion and relatability that the authors bring to this book, encouraging volunteers, parents, Sunday school teachers, and youth leaders, along the way. I especially liked how they stressed the importance of showing children an accurate picture of God and His attributes. We cannot teach children only about His love and neglect His holiness, goodness, mercy, justice, etc. Under 200 pages including the appendixes, this book is concise and cuts to the heart of the matter, with suggestions for resources as well. I think that my favorite part of this book was how it encourages parents, children's ministry workers and volunteers to not shy away from tough topics, but teach about who God is and give our kids a solid foundation to build their own theology on. Overall, a must-read for anyone working with children at church or at home. I found this book so encouraging, and before I was even finished I was recommending it to friends and talking over topics covered in the book. Now that I've finished it, I recommend it even more and want to read it again in the future!

“Theology Made Simple”, by Sam Luce and Hunter Williams is a great resource for any church library. I believe it would be an important required reading for all church volunteers, especially children’s church workers, and Sunday school educators. Every chapter is outlined with a consistent format: diagnose problems, principles that may potentially combat those problems, and suggested practices that may need to be applied to remedy issues . The authors draw out very valuable points. Our children are the next generation church, this book cites :” 2/3 of churches attending children disengage with church post high school.”( Luce, Williams) This is why a book like this is needed as a tool to teach true theology to children.The book contends ,” when children receive the truth, not watered down; it stays with them all through their lives.” There are handy lesson plan prep sheets, a foundational overview of the true Gospel story, example handouts that may be reused. This is a great book for educators, parents, children’s workers, or any volunteer within the church. I highly recommend this book.

This book is a game changer for anyone who cares about teaching children about God. In it, the authors begin by laying the foundation by explaining what theology is and why it’s crucial to have a consistent biblical worldview. In the chapters that follow, they build on this foundation by teaching how to interpret and apply the Bible, how to understand the story of the gospel, how to distill difficult doctrines rather than over simplifying them, and how to develop a plan for teaching kids theology through churches who properly equip families to be the primary disciple makers in their homes. This book is gospel centered and Christ focused from cover to cover, and you will walk away feeling challenged and encouraged to do the work He has set before us. This resource is truly a one-stop shop for parents and those involved in children’s ministry, one that I will personally be returning to time and time again.

This is such an amazing tool. Not only does it clearly explain deeper theology truths but helps you to prepare to share it with kids. I have a college student who is studying Theology so I looked it over and so did he. We were impressed by the fact that the book doesn't want you to dumb down Theology for kids. We don't give kids enough credit. Important facets of our faith have deeper meanings and we should be teaching these to our kids. Our ultimate goal should be salvation, but our secondary goals should be deeper teachings. With these deeper teachings we can prepare kids to go out and also make disciples. This book will prepare you to present all of the important topics in the Bible and share it in a way that will deepen kids' faith. I thought it was easy to follow, well explained, and backed by the most important source-the Bible. I highly recommend it for anyone that has children in their lives.

I was given the opportunity to read and review How to Teach Kids Theology and I was excited to dive in. My own background is one of getting saved at 4, growing up in a Christian home, Christian high school and university and then marrying a pastor's son. And then we quit going to a box church 14 years ago. And we have largely raised our 9 kids outside the institutional church for that time. This book...How to Teach Kids Theology is what I wish we could have had when our first son was born 22 years ago. We read parenting books...you know...when to spank and why...but we DID NOT UNDERSTAND how to point our kids to Jesus beyond John 3:16. Having minors in Bible from a Christian university...my husband and I both associated theology with heavy doctrine...ideas that were too big for kids. We had no framework for bringing this down to a child's level. In this book though...the authors really do two things. First, they help adults understand what simple theology is....and how to learn theology for themselves. And then they help adults understand how to talk to kids about the truths in the Bible...and how that applies to life. One of the biggest problems in the modern church is that everyday people don't know how to read the Bible for themselves and understand what God is teaching us. This book is an excellent foundation for parents and teachers who are committed to raising children who are confident in their faith. When our faith journey led us to leave church 14 years ago...this book did not exist. We were trying to figure this out alone. We were taking an unpopular step and praying that God would help us figure this out. When we left church, it was largely over a crisis in our own faith where we realized that we were just going through the motions, were letting strangers teach our kids the Bible...and we didn't REALLY know why we were doing a lot of the things we were doing. We had lots of little kids and we were overwhelmed with life. When we quit, we came home and started teaching our own kids the Bible. That meant we had to read it...understand it...and then teach it to them. Rinse...wash...repeat. And in that process... our faith came alive. Suddenly, the "theology" that we learned in church and school became something we were really looking at. Did we ACTUALLY believe this? What about the questions we had? Better look those words up in the Greek and Hebrew.... It was a crazy journey. Conversations at our house regularly sounded like, "Oh my gosh...read this! Do you EVER remember learning THIS in church?" Suddenly...we were responsible for our faith...not a pastor. We were responsible to teach our kids the Bible...not a Sunday School teacher. We were the ones who had to say, "What does the Bible say about THAT?" Our kids heard us talk about our faith all day long. It was woven into conversations about anything and everything. They thought we were weird. :) And that process...the process of learning and applying the Word to our lives and teaching it to our kids was completely transformational. I always say we left church and ran straight into Jesus...because we dove into the WORD like we never had before. And now 14 years later...we see the fruit of teaching our kids theology. They are analytical and observant about faith. They will hear someone teach the Bible and say..."Does it really say that...let me check." They will ask us to help them figure out the best path for them. They are thinkers who love Jesus. They ask a lot of questions...and they know that together we are going to look for answers in the Bible. This book is an amazing gift to parents who are sensing that something is off. Maybe they don't know what they believe. Maybe church feels like its "not enough." Something is missing. This book is an invitation to a closer walk with Jesus and a closer walk with people. If a church decided that THIS was their top priority in children's ministry...and not entertainment or watered down lessons, it would absolutely transform those children and teens as they enter into adulthood. And if the church committed to do this with parents too...it would change generations.