My childhood church memories are now quite vague: I remember the layout of the church and Sunday school hall well, the smoothness of the wooden pews—even the smell of the polished floor of the corridor that linked the church and the tea hall. But if you asked me about the lessons I learned, which songs we sang, or what Bible stories we read, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

But that foundation was there … When I later began to read the Bible with more intention and certain stories—or parts thereof—were familiar. When I found I knew the tune of a hymn that I thought I hadn’t sung before. When verses long ago committed to memory resurfaced. When prayers I’d been taught were replaced by prayers of my own heart and thought.

Upon that foundation, my personal relationship with the Lord was built. Although those early memories are vague, the subsequent ones and the growth that followed are not, and I’ll always be thankful to those who took the time to hide God’s word in my young heart—seeds planted for the seasons to come.

Teaching children about God and his word in a structured manner is a passion of Canon Francis Omondi’s. In his recent symposium on the topic, he shared how this first became a priority for him as a Christian father raising his children in a Muslim community. Later, he was asked to develop the children’s teaching material for a church in Nairobi where there was a need to better disciple their children, and for this, he used Jesus’s growth in Luke 2:52 as a model.

Jesus sets an example

Luke 2:52 (NIV) says: “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

Although a short verse, it describes four spheres of growth in Jesus:

  • He grew in wisdom.
  • He grew in stature.
  • He grew in favor with God.
  • He grew in favor with man.

Growing in knowledge and wisdom

Omondi suggests that in order to help a child grow in their knowledge of the Bible and in their ability to apply that knowledge, we should break down biblical narrative into stories with single lessons. He also reminds us that the same story can be explored at different levels—levels appropriate to the age group.

The narratives we teach children should accurately reflect scripture, and we should make their relevance clear in order to help our children interpret and apply the lesson(s) from these Bible narratives.

Growing in stature

Children aged 3–12 years go through a dynamic period of growth. We need to be mindful of their cognitive development during this time, drawing from Piaget’s four stages of development and Vygotsky’s social development theory. Tailoring lessons to match their cognitive stage will ensure we meet them where they are and plant seeds in their hearts that will flourish as they grow; instead of an approach that expects them to catch up and frustrates them in their walk with the Lord.

Growing in favor with God

I’m a little unsure about this one, to be honest. Omondi describes how he encourages children to begin taking part in the liturgical calendar, and in so doing, how they become familiar with the rhythms of the church: our attitude of piety, the traditional prayers used for specific occasions, the songs we sing.

My uncertainty stems from the knowledge that God is already so fond of children. Jesus often demonstrated how precious children are to God and how much he loves them, even encouraging his followers to become more child-like in their faith. (Matt 18:2–5)

Involving the next generation in the practices of the church is important, of course, but I don’t think children grow in favor with God by doing something. I think God is simply gladdened by their drawing near to him in their characteristic uninhibited manner, similar to the way young Jesus simply spent time in his Father’s house.

Growing in favor with man

Winning the approval of people is not our goal, as Paul wrote in Galatians 1:10 (NLT), “If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” But that is not what this sphere of growth means.

Omondi puts it well when he says that we need to help our children find their place in their community and learn right from wrong, and in order to best facilitate this, we need to listen well. Only if we listen to their uncertainties, fears, questions, and how they express themselves will we be able to guide them on this journey.

Elaborating on Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development

While Vygotsky believed that learning was predominantly an externally driven process, Piaget believed that children take an active role in their learning. Piaget was also the first to note that children do not simply differ from adults in what or how much they know; they actually think differently.

Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development are:

  • The sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years);
  • The preoperational stage (2 to 7 years);
  • The concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years); and
  • The formal operational stage (age 12 and up).

The sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)

During this stage, as the name suggests, children discover the world around them through action and sensory experience. Their movements and capabilities are limited, but they learn about object permanence (that things continue to exist when they are out of sight), that they are separate beings from those around them, and that their actions have an effect in the world around them.

The preoperational stage (2 to 7 years)

Children in this stage are growing in their language and thinking skills. As they begin to think symbolically, they learn to use words and pictures to represent objects. On an interpersonal level, they are still fairly self-centered and struggle to see things from another’s point of view.

The concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years)

During this stage, a child begins to think more logically and starts to convert information from specific experiences into general principles. They also start to understand that their thoughts and feelings are different to those of the people around them.

The formal operational stage (age 12 and up)

In the formal operational stage, children develop the ability to think in an abstract and hypothetical manner, allowing them to reason their way through moral, ethical, and social problems. They also begin to use deductive reasoning, applying general principles to specific experiences.

Preparing God’s word for little hearts

How we present God’s word to children should differ according to their age and stage of cognitive development.

God’s word for children in the preoperational stage (2 to 7 years)

We need to remember that young children have a limited vocabulary and a limited attention span, and that they enjoy being read to—indeed need to be read to. At this age, they enjoy picture books, interaction with objects, and simple wording.

Children in this age group would appreciate the story of Jonah, for example, on a very basic level: Jonah ran away; Jonah travelled on a ship; God sent a storm; Jonah was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish; Jonah prayed; God made the whale bring up Jonah on the shore; God gave Jonah a second chance. Pictures and props could help in the telling of this story.

God’s word for children in the concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years)

As their attention spans, vocabulary, and understanding grow, children enjoy interacting with the story and start thinking about the lessons and principles it contains.

Children in this age group would appreciate additional elements of the Jonah story: Why did Jonah run away? Was God angry with him? How did Jonah feel when he was in the belly of the fish? Why was Jonah angry when God did not destroy the Ninevites? A re-enactment of the story would be a lovely addition for children in this stage of development.

God’s word for children in the formal operation stage (age 12 and up)

Older children enjoy learning how Bible stories relate to them and how to apply principles from the stories to situations in their own lives.

Children in this age group would appreciate discussing the more abstract elements of the Jonah story, like God’s discipline and grace applied to Jonah, Jonah’s disobedience and subsequent repentance, and God teaching Jonah about mercy through the destruction of his vine. Exploring related situations in their own lives would be a valuable and appropriate addition for this age group: situations where they’ve been disobedient towards their parents, or where they’ve been either the recipients of or the extenders of mercy.

In conclusion

Finally, let’s not forget how important it is to have fun! Children dearly love to laugh (and I’m certain God loves to hear them laugh), their default setting is to express themselves in an uninhibited manner, and play is extremely important in how they make sense of the world around them.

As we step up to the task of hiding God’s word in little hearts, let’s make sure we are mindful of their stage of development and are sowing seeds that will flourish as they grow in wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with man.