Children and Theology: What If We Stopped Underestimating Their Capacity for God?
Updated: 5 hours ago
“We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord…” - Psalm 78:4
Both in my own life and in the lives of the kids I work with, I've come to the conclusion that children's capacity for God is much larger than we think. Then I studied the academic field called Child Theology and it confirmed my suspicions:
We continually underestimate children's capacity to encounter and respond to God.
Or, in the words of D.L. Moody: "It is a masterpiece of the devil to make us believe that children cannot understand religion. Would Christ have made a child the standard of faith if He had known that it was not capable of understanding His words?"
This article will take a contemplative approach, considering what might happen if we stopped pushing children aside and allowed them to play a part in how our communal faith is shaped and shared.
May you find space here to pause, reflect, and abide.
Where Children and Theology Meet
Let's reconsider what we assume children are capable of spiritually - the relationship between children and theology
What is Child Theology?
This article will not describe Child Theology as an academic field; it embodies it in the real-life stories of myself and the kids I worked with. I want to tell you that everything changes once you shift your mindset from entertainment to faith formation; and from a program to real discipleship.
But a definition helps so here goes:
Matthew 19:14 “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Child Theology is inspired by Jesus who placed a child in the midst of the disciples. It views children as active participants in their own faith journey and as real souls who can have real God-moments. Faith is not taught TO them; it is developed WITH them.
Children are not viewed as objects of ministry or problems to solve; they are celebrated as ones who can have true encounters with God that can even inform and shape adult faith.
Matthew 18:2-4 “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Children can surprise us with their faith
As someone who's spent countless hours trying to teach the Bible to kids, believe me, I understand the challenges - fighting to keep their attention, finding order in the chaos... I get it.
But we'd be very mistaken to believe those problems indicate that kids can't sometimes surprise us. If we push the "naughty" child aside, we might keep them away from the very presence of God.
Remember Samuel who called out to God in the dark? The faith of Naaman's servant girl? The boy with the fishes and the loaves? Or young Solomon who asked God for wisdom?
The Bible is full of examples of youth showing surprising maturity and "seriousness" when it comes to God. It's like something shifts in them - and the Holy Spirit speaks up through them.
And then there are the children sitting in our churches today: asking questions, praying bold prayers, noticing things we do not pay attention to...
I understand it might be hard to believe if you haven't seen it with your own eyes- so here are some real life examples that I've lived through.
I met Jesus before I could read
When I was a little girl, I walked in my mother's garden with Jesus. I remember it as clear as day.
When I got a bit older and was able to read, my parents gifted me my first Bible. Inside the burgundy hardcover, my mother wrote down the Proverb about showing a child their way.
I clung to that Bible when things got hard and when things went well. I would place my desk chair behind the curtain (so I'm sitting between the windowsill and the curtain in a make-shift teepee tent) - there I'd read my Bible.
2 Timothy 3:15 “From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures…”
I'd look around at the items in my childhood bedroom and imagine them each as a lesson. That lamp, because I'm the light of the world. And so forth.
God formed a very real part of my existence from a very young age. The seeds of my faith were sown in these years, wandering in the garden, and reading behind that white curtain with the ribbons my grandma made.
Children whose eyes light up at the mention of His name
Fast forward ten years, and I am a young adult volunteering at youth camps. I see how even silly puppet shows and dances do actually teach kids about our good God. More time goes by, I work at youth ministries and start studying Youth Work at a seminary. I end up working for a church where I do the "Sunday school" or "kids ministry" or "children's church" - whatever you want to call it.
During these years in full-time ministry, it happened again.
Kids choosing Jesus
I went to church with my parents growing up. But this church I worked for was not entirely the same. We were based in a township. But the kids came to church.
They walked there from the other side of the township. At first, the leaders thought this was a problem. They capped kids ministry. Took away snack. Tried to - in a sense - discourage kids from coming in their masses as they were.
Yet a few kids were undeterred. They returned. A five-year-old carrying her baby sister on her hip cause she's babysitting and mom's at work. Some of those kids are still part of that faith community today - and some serve on the worship team now.
I wrestled with how different this unattended child is to my own faith upbringing. I grew up knowing God, I don't know if I ever chose Him as a child. Yet these kids chose Him - and at great personal cost.
Spirit-inspired art
I remember one time the kids were spread out on the carpet drawing. We prompted, "Ask the Holy Spirit for an idea of what to draw". As kids do, they proudly showed me their pictures as they finished. And the strangest thing happened: A theme appeared.
One by one, kids from complete opposite ends of the room started bringing me very similar pictures. Of boats. Of large waves. Of God bringing calm. This was in no way connected to a lesson or anything...
I believe it was just what God wanted to say to us on that day. And I might have missed it if I was not open to the idea that He can speak not only TO them but even THROUGH them.
Faith for healing
I would teach the kids about how someone was healed in the name of Jesus and some of them would literally respond: "Ok, let's try it". That's faith. So we'd ask if anybody had an illness and we'd lay on hands and the kids would pray for healing.
Then, when nothing happened, one turned to me confused. "Why didn't it work?" That's faith. So I'd explain that sometimes God doesn't heal, sometimes He heals later, we need to trust His plan, but we can continue praying...
I forgot about this. Went on with my week. Prepared the next lesson. When I got to church the following Sunday this kid nearly tackled me (I mean, ran me out of the ground). He hugged me tight and exclaimed: "Miss Eljoh, it worked. It worked. We prayed more at home. And Jesus healed my ear. It was suddenly well."
Children have the gifts of faith and boldness. We can learn a lot from them.
These are just a handful of examples of the ways I've seen kids have true encounters with God at a church that believed "There is no junior Holy Spirit" - and it showed.
Children don't need to be made spiritually significant by adults. They already have the capacity to encounter God. Our role is to take that possibility seriously, create space for it, and help them discern what they are experiencing.
“Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies…” - Psalm 8:2
Ways to foster real faith in kids
If you come to the end of this and still feel like "Now what?", I don't want to leave you hanging. Here on Vine Creative Studio I'm putting together a few resources about this topic I feel so passionate about: children's capacity for God is often much bigger than we think it is. They can have true encounters with God - but how?
My favorite way to help kids encounter God for real is by incorporating more of their senses. The Taste&See Workbook helps parents, teachers, and churches hold space for kids to explore God through... snacks. :)
One thing we do is disconnect random lessons from the Bible. I created a line-by-line coloring book on the Gospel of Luke as a parallel activity to reading through the whole Gospel of Luke.
Children are seen and celebrated as active participants in my workbooks on Easter and the Fruits of the Spirit. Instead of reading TO them, they get to learn and RESPOND.
Conclusion
I believe that, if we can stop ourselves from watering down the faith we teach children; we will be astounded at what they teach us in return. We need to make space for children to have real encounters with God that can change their own lives forever and also impact ours greatly.
This is not a new idea, it's been echoed through Scripture since the beginning.
Joel 2:28 - “Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”
And my favorite:
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road…”
If we can do the mindset and heart work of seeing God as God sees them, we might be surprised at what we learn about the fertile ground between childhood and spirituality; at what grows between children and theology.
Did this post remind you of a similar memory from your own life? Please share it in the comments and let's start a conversation about how God moves in the lives of kids.
P.S. If you enjoyed this post or feel curious to go deeper, I want to invite you to sign up for my newsletter. Be the first to hear about new resources to lead kids in faith.
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