Spiritual Development in Pre-Adolescent Children
Spiritual Development in Pre-Adolescent Children
Introduction
Growing up in a Christian home has its mix of blessings and curses. The blessings are obviously the security and stability of a family whose foundation is firmly planted in the Word of God. The curses are the problems that come as a result of being swept along the river of the faith of the parents. This paper is written with these problems in mind. For as I deal with considering the faith of the pre-adolescent children of my congregation, and my family, I seek to address the question, “When are children ready to make the faith commitment of their life?” My own journey will weigh heavily on the direction of this thesis so let me begin by painting a picture of my experience growing up in the church.
As far back as I recall, my family was deeply involved in the life of the church. My father was a church leader. Among my best friends was the son of the church chairman and another was the pastor’s son. We spent much time together both at the church and at each of our homes. Each of our parents played a role in our formative years. This was our extended family. We were more like cousins than friends, for each of our natural extended families were hundreds of miles away.
We were no different from the other kids but the bond we had held us closer to the influence of the church. So when it came to making a decision for Christ, there really was no decision. What other choice was there? So at age five, the three of us responded to the request of our Children’s Chapel teacher and prayed that Jesus would come into our hearts. Was there a change in our lives? No, we were simply following the ‘natural’ order of events for children in the church.
Several years later, when we were twelve, our Sunday School class met in the pastor’s study for baptism and membership class. Again, expectations dictated that by this time in our life it was time to take this step. So one Sunday evening the
Introduction
Growing up in a Christian home has its mix of blessings and curses. The blessings are obviously the security and stability of a family whose foundation is firmly planted in the Word of God. The curses are the problems that come as a result of being swept along the river of the faith of the parents. This paper is written with these problems in mind. For as I deal with considering the faith of the pre-adolescent children of my congregation, and my family, I seek to address the question, “When are children ready to make the faith commitment of their life?” My own journey will weigh heavily on the direction of this thesis so let me begin by painting a picture of my experience growing up in the church.
As far back as I recall, my family was deeply involved in the life of the church. My father was a church leader. Among my best friends was the son of the church chairman and another was the pastor’s son. We spent much time together both at the church and at each of our homes. Each of our parents played a role in our formative years. This was our extended family. We were more like cousins than friends, for each of our natural extended families were hundreds of miles away.
We were no different from the other kids but the bond we had held us closer to the influence of the church. So when it came to making a decision for Christ, there really was no decision. What other choice was there? So at age five, the three of us responded to the request of our Children’s Chapel teacher and prayed that Jesus would come into our hearts. Was there a change in our lives? No, we were simply following the ‘natural’ order of events for children in the church.
Several years later, when we were twelve, our Sunday School class met in the pastor’s study for baptism and membership class. Again, expectations dictated that by this time in our life it was time to take this step. So one Sunday evening the
Bibliography: Ackerman, John Spiritual Awakening. New York: Alban, 1995 Camp, Ken Parents Advised to Measure Child 's Spiritual Readiness. Internet, 1997 De Vaus, D. A., The Relative Importance of Parents and Peers for Adolescent Religious Orientation: An Australian Study. Adolescence, 1983, 18, 147-158. Erikson, E. Childhood and Society. New York: Norton, 1963 Fowler, J. W. Stages in Faith. New York: Harper and Row, 1981 Jensen, L. C. Adolescence: Theories, Research, Applications. St. Paul: West, 1985 Kegan, Robert The Evolving Self. Cambridge: Harvard, 1982 Kohlberg, L. The Development of Moral Judgment and Moral Action in L. Kohlberg (ed.). Child Psychology and Childhood Education: A Cognitive-Development View. New York: Longman, 1987, 259-329. Thibault, J. P., and McKee, J. S. Practical Parenting with Piaget. Young Children. November 1982, 38, 18-27. Wadsworth, Barry J. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development. New York: McKay, 1971