The Preschool through Second Grade Years

The wonderful years when great stories turn into great learning about the God who loves children more than they can imagine. It’s the time when these stories become a part of a child’s life and worldview. Learn more about teaching the faith to all children in the Narrative Stage in the book.  

ENCOURAGING PRESCHOOL FAITH

• Read to them and include good illustrations. 

• Ask age-appropriate questions about the illustrations.

• Use play and make-believe to help them learn.

• Let them tell the story back to you. 

• Use songs and rhymes to help their memory.

• Don't forget to repeat the CENTRAL TRUTH of the story.

Knowledge Stage

The Third Grade to Fifth Grade Years

The upper elementary years are when children learn more about God’s stories. Kids in this stage learn more detailed Biblical facts of the stories and can learn from what they read. They're curious about the culture of the time and how God's people lived.

ENCOURAGING FOURTH-GRADE FAITH

• Teach them Bible and faith words as they read. 

• Let them write short, dramatic skits and participate in role plays about Bible stories.  

• Get a book about customs and manners during Bible times, and let them ask questions about them.

• Ask age-appropriate, challenging questions to get them to think. 

• Let them talk about what they consider right and wrong in the story. 

Understanding Stage

ENCOURAGING MIDDLE SCHOOL FAITH

• Be knowledgeable about what's going on in their bodies and their brains. 

• Learn how to ask questions that challenge their thinking. 

• Talk about the dangers of spending too much time online.

• Talk about why people believe what they do. 

• Let them struggle with moral/ethical dilemmas. 

• Let them ask questions about what God does, and talk about why they seem, but aren't contradictory or unfair.

Reason Stage

The High School Years

Teenagers are searching. They are in a very pivotal stage of life where they are running toward independence, but aren’t quite ready for it. They're searching for identity and trying to figure out where they fit into the world. Primarily, if we're not careful, they will learn that from the world.

The Adult Years

Wisdom is the stage of adulthood. It begins in the mid-20s, when the brain is fully developed, and encompasses the rest of life. This is a long time. By the time we’re adults, we’ve forgotten much of what we learned as children, especially in confirmation. By now, we have heard the stories, have thought about them, may have developed unanswered questions over the years, have learned from them, and have finally reached the point of wisdom. Does this mean we’re done!? Not at all. The truly wise know that where faith is concerned, learning only ends once we are in the presence of the Lord.