“Daddy, I wish that we were in Mama’s Corvette,” my nine-year-old Nash said. I was caught off guard and quickly shot back, “Do what?” “The Corvette. I wish that we were in Mom’s Corvette,” he replied.
As fun as I think it would be, our family of six does not, in fact, have a Corvette. We do, however, have a well-used Acadia. Somewhere, somehow Nash had gotten the names mixed up.
This misconception led me to think about how we get things mixed up in life and how important it is that we clearly teach our kids in words and ways that they can understand best. That’s exactly why Lifeway developed the Levels of Biblical Learning. It’s intentional in its plan and its terminology for helping parents and teachers disciple the kids God has entrusted to their care.
We wouldn’t expect a first grader to have a developed sense of the Trinity, but we do want him to understand that God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This concept is part of a deeper foundation that is laid even as the child is a baby and we teach him that God made me (Father), Jesus told people about God (Son), and God helps me (Holy Spirit).
With each passing year, a child’s ability to understand more about who God is increasing. With the proper foundation, kids will take each year of learning and build upon that to reach a greater understanding of how much God loves them.
Just as I have work to do teaching my son, Nash, the difference between an expensive sports car and our family-sized SUV, we all have work to do teaching the kids in our ministries about who God is. By providing them with age-appropriate learning concepts through the Levels of Biblical Learning, you can be sure that you are teaching kids the way they learn best!
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Jeff Land is Publishing Team Leader for Bible Studies For Life: Kids. He holds a BSW from Mississippi College and a MACE from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jeff has served as children’s pastor and currently teaches second graders each week at his church. Jeff, his wife Abbey, and their four sons live in Coopertown, TN.
