Welcome to FaithPassing, a discussion on Childhood Ministry for those who lead children and their families to love God with all their heart, mind, and soul.
About The Author
My passion for FaithPassing finds its roots in my childhood faith. I was in third grade when my parents separated and a fifth grader when they divorced. At about that same time, our mother was taking my siblings and me to church. She was also teaching a home Bible club for children.
While I was in 5th grade, on Easter Sunday, I found myself in a theological dilemma. I queried my mother, “What does the Easter Bunny have to do with the death and resurrection of Christ?” Of course, the answer to that question is “absolutely nothing.” My mother opened her Bible and showed me the way to salvation through Jesus Christ, the real meaning of Easter. My heart was captured and I placed my faith in Christ that day.
My salvation launched me into a very personal relationship with God. During my adolescence, as I navigated the wreckage of divorce in our family, I depended on God in order to “make it” in my family and at my school. We attended a small Bible church where I was taught to memorize Scripture, pray, and study the Bible. I remember wandering in the woods by our home with our black Labrador retriever, reciting Scripture and crying out to God in prayer. I literally depended on Him during all my adolescent years. In some ways, I was the strongest Christian I have ever been because I didn’t have consistent or dependable emotional and financial support, things that I have today. Certainly, my childhood faith in God has been foundational to my life and walk with God. It is also embedded in my calling.
“In our world where children are neglected, ignored, and abused, the Gospel of Jesus Christ can sustain them.”
I truly believe that children can be amazing believers in Christ, leaning on him in dark hours and times when no one else is supporting them. In our world where children are neglected, ignored, and abused, the Gospel of Jesus Christ can sustain them. When children cannot access the resources that they need, they can seek God who hears them. He will carry them through.
Faithpassing doesn’t just happen. Nor can it be assumed that children will follow their parents’ faith. While faithpassing is the primary role of parents, the church is called to encourage and guide parents and teach God’s Word to the children. I believe that God’s Word taught well to children at church can also be a place and time for modeling to parents excellent faithpassing. For this to occur it must be done with much planning, training, and evaluation. It must be guided and supported by the lead pastor. It must be taught by the best teachers, not whoever volunteers. We require this of our children’s schools. We have settled for far less in our churches.
The body of Christ can make changes. While the church has lost ground in Sunday school education both in quality and attendance, it is not too late to change. For established churches, this may require a systemic change from the top down. For church plants, the high value of ministry to children in these ways can be embedded in the vision and mission of the church.
-Cynthia S. Fischer, Author of FaithPassing
About the Faith in FaithPassing
When I write of FaithPassing, the faith I am referring to is biblical Christianity, the Gospel of Jesus Christ revealed in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. It is God’s Story that begins with perfect creation, followed by the catastrophe of sin invading our world through the rebellion of our first parents, Adam and Eve.
Hints and prophecies of how God intended to restore creation are found throughout the Old Testament and culminate in the mystery that is the Incarnation. Jesus Christ entered into our humanity, showing us “God in the flesh.” He spoke of the upside down ways of Kingdom of God in which the poor and weak were blessed and rich were easily blinded to their need for salvation. He spoke of the good shepherd who searched for the 100th sheep that was lost, leaving the 99 behind. He healed the sick, and forgave sin. He said if you saw him you had seen God. When He was crucified, He bore the sin of the world in his body. His died so that we would not have to die without hope. He rose from the dead three days later proving that God accepted his suffering, his atonement on our behalf. For those who believe in him, his death and resurrection provide forgiveness for our sin. This is called redemption. Our faith rests in God alone, not in our goodness or kind acts.
God’s story culminates in the restoration of all things when Christ returns to earth and all that was broken by sin is restored to that which God intended, a perfect world without sin, sickness, or death. I like to call this the new Eden.
In summary, God’s Story as given to us in the Bible runs from Creation to Rebellion, to Redemption, and finally to Restoration. Faith is our personal response to receiving God’s gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, who died and rose again to redeem us, to make us righteous before God.
About the Passing in FaithPassing
When I refer to passing, I am referring to passing our faith to the children in our midst specifically those in our church communities and our families. Psalm 78 is a nugget of gold imploring us to do this in intentional ways. In addition to thinking about who we’re passing faith to, I’m also thinking of the “how” we do this. The “how” we do this is the predominant focus of this website.
We have all observed churches and families fail at this. We often lose our churched kids when they enter college. The church has long been wringing its hands so to speak, commiserating about how this happened and what can be done.
In this blog, I will write about what I believe is missing from children’s church education and provide avenues for children to flourish spiritually. These ideas can be adapted for families as well. I believe that these concepts, when affirmed and implemented, can also transform our hearts.
I have a list of reasons why children leave the church as I’m sure you do too. I have some ideas for turning this around as you likely have. But none of our ideas will transform this exit. We need a systemic change that begins with kneeling at the feet of God, repenting for our lack of intention, and for our false belief that faithpassing happens naturally. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us as we revisit God’s call to the children in our midst.
I hope that you will revisit this website as it grows. And I’d love to hear from you and learn how you are faithpassing in your churches and in your homes. God is at work.