1. Young Children & Ministry Spiritual Development Instructor: Jovonni T. Farrington

2. Pre-Reading Assignment Prior to this lesson you should have read chapter 1 in Tackling Tough Issues. Use highlighters, write notes in the margin and other study habits to help you understand, recall and learn this information. It is important for this course, but more than that it is important for the children’s lives you will impact.

3. Growing In Grace  The goal o f spiritual growth in children, especially young children is to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The question is not if we should do this, the question is how?

4. Understanding Their Needs  The primary issue with presenting the gospel to young children is that so many people believe that they will not understand.  Before they can understand the message we are giving them, we must first understand the population we are presenting this gospel to.

5. To Trust Or Not To Trust  Children learn to trust or mistrust everyone in their life based on experience.  Young children are constantly determining those they trust and mistrust based on their experience.  Infants and young children trust their caregivers to provide for their needs. They learn from this relationship about trusting us and trusting the God that we trust.

6. Trust Needs  Teachers, whether at church, school, or home, are encouragers and need to be consistent.  Consistency for children is very important. It creates an environment where they know what to expect. It’s reliable.  Also, love is important for children. Showing love to children helps build trust also.  The consistent showing of love for a child builds who they are and trust in the adult. This will later be used in beneficial ways in the development of that relationship.

7. Trust Needs  In the first few years of life the continual building of trust is very critical for children.  This is also important in the development of young children in teaching them about building relationships.

8. “Caught more than Taught”  Both who we are and what we believe is taught to children in our own actions.  They come to understand who God is based on our relationship with God.  They understand how to trust Him, worship Him, love Him and glorify Him through the things we do and they way we encourage them to do these things.  Our attitude for God, Christ, and all things biblical are passed on to them.  As adults, we are models of the faith we desire for them to have and understand.  Children, as they grow, may have a limited memory of intricate details but they will recall major concepts in their life.

9. Value System The critical time to build and develop beliefs, faith, morals, and values is when children are young.

10. IMPORTANT QUOTE “A strong, consistent, Christ-centered, love based relationship with our kids that helps them know they are loved, accepted and understood is the environment in which the ‘Good News’ of the gospel will be caught and not just taught.” Gary Oliver

11. Scripture Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Psalm 78:4 Remember these scriptures. This will be very important in your classroom or ministry.

12. Deuteronomy 6  The Deuteronomy passage teaches to saturate our lives in the love of God.  In order for this to be true, our relationship with God must be such that when we teach about Him it is completely natural.  Everyday life must exhibit this behavior, attitude and heart. Children will catch what is being taught clearly.

13. How To Teach Young children learn through their senses, imitation, repetition, and modeling.

14. Telling and Retelling Biblical Stories  Tell them in a clear, concise manner  Consider the children’s level of understanding  Age appropriate content  Select stories that will have meaning to the children  Be animated in story telling to emphasis different parts of the story.

15. Animation in Children Storytelling  Being animated in telling stories to children requires certain skills: 1. sound effects 2. tone of voice 3. eye contact 4. facial expression 5. pictures/props 6. using relevant concepts

16. Prayer with Children 1.Find teachable moments for prayer, using daily incidents/activities as opportunities for prayer. 2.Use clear, concise wording in prayers. 3.Listen to the child. 4.Give them a chance to pray. 5.Help them realize prayer does not require them to use particular words, merely a genuine heart.

17. IMPORTANT QUOTE “The greatest motivation for all of life is found in the fact that God is love.” Gillespie

18. Ministry Notes 1.Model the importance of God, Jesus and he Bible in daily life. 2.Consistency in parents and teachers is important in a child’s life because these are the years when children develop trust and relationships with those whom care for him/her. 3.Each child is an individual. 4.Remind each child that we are each, individually important to God. 5.God has planned families. 6.God has made our world. 7.Guiding children in their development spiritually is a blessing, but an important responsibility. 8.Parents and teacher need to rely heavily upon God in developing/molding their children and their own lives, so that each will be an example of Christ and the love of God.

19. Assignment  Reread Chapter 1  Read Chapter 2  Do Application and Reflection section  Study all purple colored sections in notes