|
 [
Some Photographs
]
When people
visit our worship services one thing they often ask is, “How
do you manage to keep so many young people in your church?” They
wonder how it is that young people will endure 35 minute sermons, sing
Genevan tunes, and sit quietly for a good hour. What keeps them
interested so that even when they grow older they remain as members?
The fact is, there
is no ‘trick’ or particularly special thing we do. We would
even say that “we” don’t keep the children in the
church at all, but rather the Lord does it – all the
credit and glory go to Him alone! All we do is follow the Lord’s
instruction in the Bible, “Train a child in the way he should
go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs
22:6). Under the blessing of the Lord, simple, faithful instruction
in the teachings of Scripture is the key to keeping the next generation
faithful in their service to God. This is the way God’s people
have kept the faith for centuries, even millennia.
3
- Pronged Approach – Home – Church – School
Home
In the Canadian Reformed Churches we often speak of a 3-pronged approach
to educating the children God has given us: Home – Church –
School. All teaching begins with the parents at home and remains their
primary responsibility. Again we follow the plain teaching of the Bible
where God instructs parents to take His commandments and, “Impress
them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when
you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up”
(Deut 6:7). All parents are encouraged to model and teach their
children Christian habits from an early age, to explain to them the
rich promises of their Father in heaven as well as how He expects them
to live day by day.
Church
The church supplements the instruction at home by giving official instruction
to the youth of the church. Of course, by way of the preaching every
Sunday the young are also taught the gospel. This is especially the
case in the afternoon services where the preaching takes on more of
a teaching character (see Worship Services)
and is geared more toward the young people. But in addition to this,
the teens of the church are given separate classes one evening per week.
We call these sessions,
“Catechism Classes.” Catechism is an old word used often
in the church which simply means, “instruction.” Students
are given six years of Catechism classes. The basic manual used is one
of the church’s written confessions, the Heidelberg
Catechism. The Heidelberg Catechism is a question-and-answer style
of confession that takes the student through all the basic teachings
of the Bible. Although this man-made confession is used as a tool, the
Bible remains the basis for all teaching and is frequently opened and
read in class.
The goal of all
this instruction is to build up the understanding and so the faith of
the children to the point where they desire to publicly profess their
commitment to the Lord. After having learned what God has done for them
in Jesus Christ and how He expects them to live, by the grace of God
they may accept His promises and dedicate their life to His service.
Such a commitment results in the public profession of faith of the student
during a worship service – a beautiful moment!
School
We believe that all the education of our children should be from and
through a Christian perspective as much as possible. To achieve that
goal, as a community of believers in the Fraser Valley, we have pooled
our resources and founded three Canadian Reformed Christian elementary
schools (William of Orange School in Cloverdale; Credo Christian Elementary
in Langley; John Calvin School in Yarrow) and one high school (Credo
Christian High School in Langley). Our brothers and sisters from the
American Reformed Church in Lynden, WA have also recently started an
elementary school (Cornerstone Christian School). These schools are
funded and operated by the parents directly, not by the churches. They
are staffed by qualified professionals who are all members of one of
the Canadian/American Reformed Churches. In this way, the children are
educated in a consistently Christian and Reformed way. The children
grow to see the world as God has created it and learn to find their
place in God’s church-gathering and kingdom work. Learning and
growing up with other Christian children goes a long way to keeping
them faithful to the Lord their whole life.
Young Christians
by God’s Grace Alone
In these three
areas we try to apply the basic command of the Lord – teach the
children I have given you in my ways (paraphrase). Of course, we have
many failings as parents, pastors, elders, teachers and children and
as a result we often fall short in our callings. However, by God’s
grace and the working of the Holy Spirit, a new generation is trained
to walk in the Lord’s ways and so to live to His glory.
|
