We are seeing a continued disengagement from the Word of God.
Only 24% of Americans believe that the Bible is the actual Word of God and that it should be taken literally.
26% view the Bible as a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.
47% view the Bible as "the inspired Word of God" but not all of it should be taken literally.
According to Gallup, this is the first time in 40 years that the number of those who are skeptical about the Bible has surpassed those who believe it should be taken literally.
What about the next generation?
Only 12% of young people believe the Bible is the literal Word of God. This is down from 32%. This has happened in the last 40 years.
This is a clear indication that we are struggling to teach the next generation that the Bible is the literal Word of God. They are growing up in our ministries and as they get older it becomes obvious that we have not been effective in teaching them to trust and follow the Word of God.
But we can change that. If we are strategic in what we teach the next generation about the Bible, we will see many more grow up to believe in and trust God's Word.
Here are 5 proven ways to teach kids that the Bible is God's Word.
In your nursery and early childhood classes, show the children a Bible and tell them it is God's Word. Do this every week. Even babies can grasp more than we realize.
When children are entering 1st grade, host a Bible Celebration Milestone. This is a class that parents and children attend together. In this class, you can teach kids (and parents) about how we got the Bible, why we can trust the Bible, how we know the Bible is inspired and more. You can get more information about the class at this link.
Use songs that teach children that the Bible is true and you can trust it. Music is a great way to help children understand and remember that the Bible is true. Here is an example of a song produced by my friend, Travis August, that teaches children that the Bible is true and you can trust it.
You can get the song at this link.
Teach children Bible apologetics. We must teach children WHY we believe the Bible is true. Take them on a deeper dive. Help them establish a trust in God's Word that can weather the attacks that will be sent their way by the evil one. He got Eve to doubt God's Word in the garden and he is still trying to do the same thing today.
With this in mind, I created 2 teaching series that help kids understand how we got the Bible and how we can know it is true and trustworthy. We even have the kids look up key passages that atheists say contradict each other. Click on the picture to see more about these series.
