I remember as a child sitting on the edge of my seat in church listening to missionaries telling us about their mission fields. Many would talk about going to remote villages and tribes in various nations preaching the Gospel to people who had never heard the name of Jesus. In my childlike imagination, I would dream about doing the same thing one day.

Little did I know when I grew up I would have such opportunities right in my own city and neighborhood. I’m sure you have already discovered, as I have, many kids today don’t know who Jesus is. They have never heard His name other than as a swear word. They know nothing about the Bible, much less have a biblical worldview.  While this may have always been true of some, it is more prevalent today than ever in our society.

Most people in my parents’ generation had some working knowledge of the Bible. They learned to live by “the Golden Rule,” knew the Ten Commandments, and the more common Bible stories. They were only a generation or two away from the sweeping cultural changes of the Great Awakening. My parents and theirs had a basic biblical worldview that guided our nation. My, how things have changed!

Just so we’re all on the same page, let’s define what a worldview is. A worldview is a framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world around us. It is any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement, or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world, and man’s relationship to them.  

A Biblical worldview is based on the Bible. When you believe the Bible is entirely true, then presumably you allow it to be the foundation of everything you say and do. It affects every area of life, from money to morality, from politics to art, and more.  It is your compass for every decision you make.

You have a biblical worldview if you believe things such as:

  • God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the universe and still rules it today.
  • Jesus is the living son of God who lived a sinless life.
  • There is absolute moral truth which is defined by the Bible.
  • Salvation is a gift from God that cannot be earned.
  • Christians have a responsibility to share their faith with others.
  • Satan is real.
  • And more…

According to statistics only 4% of the US population has a biblical worldview. 1 Only 9% of Christian adults have one, 1 and only 6% of Christian youth do.2 If you are a radically devoted follower of Jesus, you see the problems in people’s lives when they do not have a biblical worldview. On top of these dismal statistics, Barna also says that skepticism of the Bible has nearly doubled in just the last three years from 10% to 19%. He also says it will continue to rise rapidly in the future.3

So what to do? How can we, in roughly an average of 40 hours a year, make any kind of impact on teaching our children a biblical worldview?

There is no simple solution. Typically the children who will grow up with a biblical worldview will have devoted Christian parents at home working hard to instill the truths of God’s word in their children on a daily basis.

But let’s not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by all the negatives, because we know the power of the Holy Spirit to impact lives trumps everything! We can make a difference one child at a time. But to do so we must present topics that are relevant and confront the ethos of our culture. Here are some suggestions to begin to instill a biblical worldview in our children.

  1. 1.       ADD DOCTRINE TO YOUR TEACHING.

Children cannot live by Bible stories alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. One thing I’ve observed over the years is that, while it’s extremely important to teach Bible stories to our kids, it’s actually about the only thing we teach. Sometimes we treat them like Aesop’s fables. “Here’s the story, and now here’s the moral of the story.”

Too often even we children’s ministers fail to believe children can handle the deep things of God. But they can, and do, when presented to them on age appropriate levels. I encourage my leaders to start with a biblical doctrine, build their lessons around that. Then bring in the Bible stories for examples and confirmation.

In addition to the common fundamental doctrines, consider adding topics like the blood of Jesus, which includes the study of the OT Tabernacle of Moses, hearing God’s voice, and what it means and how to do it. Include teaching on age-appropriate eschatology, and understanding God’s kingdom of light by understanding the kingdom of darkness. This is huge in a day when witchcraft and the paranormal are so embedded into our everyday lives. Consider teaching apologetics on topics like evolution vs. creationism, from more “scientific” standpoints to give children tools to defend their faith. These are all topics that apply to their world.

  1. 2.       TEACH YOUR KIDS TO PRAY ADULT PRAYERS OVER ADULT ISSUES.

We must learn to equip the little saints for the work of the ministry, not just as puppeteers, ushers, and sound technicians. But in doing the work of the ministry like Jesus did by walking in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. One of the most effective ways to do this is through teaching our children serious prayer and intercession.

I have discovered that kids absolutely love to pray. When we finally get out of the childhood-memorized-prayers mentality, put the daily newspaper in one hand and the word of God in the other, kids respond enthusiastically. Teach them to take the scriptures and pray adult prayers over adult issues. Think about the potential benefits of teaching serious prayer:

  • They will encounter God’s presence.
  • They will learn to hear His voice.
  • Their relationship with God grows and deepens.
  • Prayer is the gateway to the supernatural world of signs, wonders, and miracles.
  • They automatically memorize scripture when they use them to pray.
  • When prayers are answered, their faith in a real God skyrockets.
  • As they pray scriptures over real issues, personal and cultural, it automatically begins to build a biblical worldview inside their hearts.
  1. 3.       LET’S GET BACK TO MEMORIZING SCRIPTURES.

You can’t get more basic than, hiding “the word in my heart that I might not sin against God.” (Psalms 119:11) You have to put God’s word “in,” before we can get God’s word “out.” Knowing God’s word is the first step to creating a biblical worldview. It goes far beyond just knowing the basic Bible stories.

  1. CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR CHILDREN TO ENCOUNTER THE PRESENCE OF GOD.

Barna claims that over half of the children who have graduated from our Sunday Schools say they have never heard God’s voice nor felt His presence. If this is true, what a tragedy! I train my leaders to never have a children’s service without giving the kids an opportunity to encounter God’s presence. It can happen in many ways.

Too often the only altar calls we throw out to kids are for salvation. But you can only get saved once, while God’s presence can be experienced in endless ways. What does experiencing God’s presence have to do with building a biblical worldview in our kids? Everything! Until you have a real encounter with the God of the universe in a real and personal way, His words will not be life to you. When they are life to you, they become the building blocks to your belief system, and become your worldview.

References:

  1. Focus on the Family / Barna Group http://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian-worldview/whats-a-christian-worldview/whats-a-worldview-anyway
  2. The Last Christian Generation / Nehemiah Institute, Josh McDowell
  3. Barna, The State of the Bible: https://www.barna.org/barna-update/culture/664-the-state-of-the-bible-6-trends-for-2014#.VNJopZ3F8rU