As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ.  (Ephesians 4:14-15)

I have been involved in children’s ministry off and on ever since I became a Christian in 1982. Over the past two years, however, my involvement in this area has increased significantly  as my husband's duties as assistant pastor of our church began to include children's ministries. One of the things I have noticed that really concerns me, is what little knowledge children – church kids – actually have about basic, Bibllical docrtrine. I see this especially when I spend significant amounts of time with them at events like VBS or Kids Camp. Kids are really hungry to know more about God. I can tell this by the questions they ask me. I think there are several reasons many children are growing up to become Doctrinally illiterate. One reason, I believe, is that we no longer catechize our children.

Catechize? What’s Catechize?! Some of you may ask. It sounds like some strange disease. Starr Mead states it more eloquently than I can when she says that a catechism is simply an instructional guide. It is a handbook of questions and answers designed to teach principles of religion. To "catechize" children is to teach them to memorize the answers found in a catechism, so that when the catechism questions are asked, the children can reply with the correct responses. Because a good catechism is at the same time concise and thorough, when children have learned it well, their understanding of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith can be tested and found to be complete.

Many religions have some sort of catechism, even though they may not call it that. In most modern-day evangelical churches, the practice of catechism has gone by the way side along with other traditions typically associated with Catholic or mainline protestant churches. While I prefer a church with a more contemporary style of worship, I think we have sold our kids short by removing the catechism. I believe doctrine is important. When our kids leave our homes, they should know what they believe and why they believe it. If they don’t, there are plenty of professors in universities all over the country that will "help" them discover what they believe.

One of the more well know protestant catechisms is the Westminster Shorter Catechism. In the past, this was a tool that churches and parents would use to teach and disciple their children. It consists of 107 questions and answers concerning Biblical doctrine. Starr Mead (quoted above) has written a wonderful resource based on the Shorter Westminster Catechism in Modern English. It is called Training Hearts – Teaching Minds. Each question-answer is taught in devotional form, with scripture references, over six days. After completing this catechism, kids are better prepared to answer questions like "What is God?", "What is Baptism?",  "What is Sanctification," and  "What is Man’s Primary Purpose?"

I love this resource and am currently using it with my kids. One reason I like it, is that each day’s lesson can be completed in as little as 5 minutes or as long as 45 minutes depending on how much discussion you want to have. Another reason it is great for our family, is that it challenges my 13 year old, while at the same time is simple enough for my 6 year old to understand. While I am not expecting that my kids will have this perfectly memorized by the time we’re done, I hope at least they are learning the concepts well enough to explain them to those who ask. Anyway, this is a tool I am planning to continue to use until they leave my home.

So what is the answer? Do we bring back the catechism in church? I believe we really need to. My husband and I are currently investigating different resources that would help us implement this in the modern church setting.  The problem is, in a society where kids’ attention spans are so limited, we would to have be creative in how we would go about doing this. Many kids in today's church setting would have difficulty with the traditional, rote, question-answer method found in the catechisms I am familiar with. What ever the solution is, as a Christian parent, I am the one who is ultimately responsible before God to prepare my kids not to be "carried away by every wind of doctrine"(Eph. 4:4). Catechisms help me do this.