America is traveling down the road to Biblical Illiteracy. Here is an example that recently took place.
Have you ever watched the game show called "Jeopardy?" I'm sure you've at least heard of it.
Host Mayim Bialik read the clue.
Matthew 6:9 says, "Our Father, which art in heaven, _________ be thy name."
Not one of the three contestants knew the answer.
The host read the question again. Matthew 6:9 says, "Our Father, which art in heaven, ___________ be thy name. The camera cut to all three contestants. Not one of them knew the answer.
This is a snapshot of where our country is headed. We are traveling down the road toward Biblical illiteracy. Some would say we have already arrived. It would be hard to disagree with them.
What are the causes behind this? What are some road signs along the way? Why are many children growing up to be adults who have little to no Biblical knowledge? Let's talk about this and see what we can do to reverse this.
Be strategic in teaching children the great truths, lessons and stories from God's Word. Don't just teach random stories and lessons from the Bible. Have a plan. You only have so many weeks to embed God's Word into the lives and hearts of the next generation. What are the "must knows" that kids need to grasp?
If you haven't checked out my curriculum called "Connect 12," you should look at it. I have developed a strategy to teach children the 12 big truths that they need to know. Using teaching strategies the 12 big truths will be placed in children's minds. In other words, children will know these 12 truths for the rest of their life. You can get more information about Connect 12 curriculum at this link. It can be used on Sunday or for Wednesday night programming.
Equip parents to teach their children the great truths, lessons and stories from God's Word. Parents who are Biblically illiterate will produce children who are Biblically illiterate. Create a strategy for connecting parents to what you are teaching their children at church. I have often found that parents will learn just as much Bible as their children when you take this approach.
Emphasize the importance of attending church faithfully. It's hard to become proficient in something that you only study once a month or less. "Faithfully" attending church is now considered going to church once a month.
Can you imagine a child only going to school once a month? They would have a hard time grasping and understanding the materials they are trying to learn.
We must help parents grasp the importance of being in church every week. If we don't, children will grow up thinking that church attendance is something you do when there is nothing else to do. Parents who don't make church a top priority will produce children who think church attendance is optional.
Help children memorize key Bible verses and passages. Get these verses and passages into children's long-term memory. In this previous article, I share how to do this.
Teach children to dig deeper and find the context and backstories of Bible passages. What was the situation when this was written? How do we see God at work in this lesson? How does this apply to our lives today?
Pray for children to fall in love with God's Word and make it a key part of their lives. Help them see that the Bible is a text message of love sent from God to them. Each time they read God's Word, encourage them to pause and ask God to speak to them through what they are about to read. If you will do this, kids will fall in love with God's Word at a deeper level.
Teach children why the Bible is true. If we want to see kids learn and love God's Word, then we must take a deeper dive and help them see why we believe the Bible is God's Word. No, it's not a bunch of fairy tales. No, it wasn't written by men. It was written directly by God as He inspired the people who wrote down His Words. God told the men what to write down.
Here are some more resources you can check out to help kids and parents love God's Word and get a deeper understanding about it.
Bible Presentation Milestone (milestone event)
Fertile Soil...see kids' faith grow and flourish for a lifetime. (book)
Mythbusting (apologetics curriculum series)
Pranksters (apologetics curriculum series)
Through and Through (worship song about trusting God's Word)
