By Teresa D. Welch
I was in the church office when I received a somewhat frantic phone call from the parents of a 6-year-old. Anna had returned from attending Vacation Bible School with her neighbor and announced to her parents that she had “prayed Jesus into her heart.”
Her parents knew this was not the practice of our church and were concerned that this indicated Anna was now accountable and needed to be baptized immediately.
After discussing the situation, the parents realized their young daughter had not acted on her own volition. Instead, Anna had repeated the words to a prayer that had been led without a full appreciation for the meaning of the words or commitment attached. Anna”s statement that she wanted Jesus to be in her heart was an acknowledgment of her developing faith in Christ, but a faith still heavily reliant upon the direction of adults.
In part 1, I described three problems in the understanding and approach to baptism as it relates to children. Without a New Testament model to follow or a specific command about the right age for children to be baptized, parents and churches have relied on trying to determine a child”s “age of accountability” to indicate his or her readiness for baptism. Many parents and churches are seeking guidance for discussion about children and baptism. Let me suggest a new model that will help.
Part One:
Nurture through Education and Discipleship
The first step in helping parents and churches is to shift our focus toward educating children for discipleship in Christ. The baptistery too often is the destination rather than a landmark in our journey of becoming a disciple. Our new model would emphasize baptism, while also placing equal importance on the education of children in preparation for their baptism. In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus calls us to make disciples through baptism and instruction.
Teaching children must be both formal and informal. Children need to learn about the Word of God, life of Christ, and the symbols of baptism and the Lord”s Supper. Young children should hear the stories of Jesus as their friend and Good Shepherd. Kindergartners and early elementary-aged children hear of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but need time to connect with other stories they are learning.
As a child”s understanding of conscience grows, so does his or her awareness of sin and the ability to consistently choose right over wrong actions. A child can then begin to draw connections between the teachings about Easter and the weekly participation in the Lord”s Supper as a reminder of the forgiveness of sins received through the cross.
A child introduced to the symbols of baptism described in Romans 6:3-7 learns the meaning of dying to the sinful nature and walking in a new life following Christ, but it will take time for this information to lead to comprehension resulting in transformation.
In addition to specific instructions, children need education through informal means. Parents should have conversations with their children to be aware of how their knowledge of God is growing and changing throughout their childhood. Children need opportunities to observe their parents and other Christians modeling a life that follows Christ. Additionally, children should periodically participate in worship alongside their parents to experience how baptism and the Lord”s Supper function within the life of the church and believer. These informal opportunities will help children build upon the information learned; as time goes by they will make connections between their knowledge, feelings, and behaviors.
Part Two:
Process of Conversion
Our new model must recognize that the development of children is a process of nurturing them toward conversion. Instead of viewing children as either innocent or accountable, we need to recognize that children develop incrementally in their awareness of God and in understanding their need for forgiveness. Using labels that signify an individual”s status before God is not appropriate, because only God can identify our status before him.
A child does not move from innocence to accountable in the blink of an eye. The change within a child”s understanding happens slowly as he or she learns new information, observes adults, adopts new values, and practices behaviors.
Timothy is a New Testament example of the process. Paul writes about this young man”s faith:
But as for you [Timothy], continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:14, 15).
Timothy became convinced of the Scriptures through the years by reading them, hearing them read, and studying them, all the while observing the faith of his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Likewise, children need the opportunity to learn and grow through a process rather than being identified as innocent in one moment and guilty the next.
A child”s educational development is a process, and so is faith development. This might place children in a position of disequilibrium as they shift from a faith that was shared with them by their parents and church community to a faith that becomes their own. It is during this time of disequilibrium that children desire to live in obedience to Christ, yet their actions do not always demonstrate what they have learned.
Rather than rushing children through this time, I believe it”s best to cherish it as part of discipleship. This process might be likened to the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly; the most important time occurs in the cocoon.
While in this process, children grow and change by using new vocabulary, testing out new thoughts, and practicing behaviors that reflect their desire for the lordship of Christ. If we are attentive to the individual”s development of faith during this time, a child can be nurtured toward a decision to follow Christ, and to be baptized, as a result of education and experiences.
Parents and educators must realize, though, that it is not alone the work of the child or the adults around the child that guides them through this process. The Holy Spirit actively participates in the nurturing of children toward conversion.
Implementing the New Model
Last week I mentioned Susan and Kevin and their phone call question about their son, Nathan. “He told us he wants to be baptized, and we don”t know if he is ready. What do you think?”
Had I followed the old model when they approached me, I would have quizzed Nathan about his knowledge about God, awareness of sin, and his desire for baptism to try to discern if he had entered the “age of accountability.” Instead, during the years that followed, I came alongside Susan and Kevin to help them nurture Nathan”s faith.
The first tactic was formal education. Nathan and his parents participated in a class with other elementary and middle school children and their parents. Children studied material we designed with their parents each day, and then gathered with other parents and children weekly to review and discuss the information with me. The curriculum covered a broad range of topics over a six-week period to provide a solid educational base for conversations about baptism and discipleship.
All this helped Susan and Kevin nurture Nathan”s faith through informal opportunities. Susan and Kevin, now equipped with these materials and additional resources, grew more confident in their ability to have faith conversations with Nathan and their other children.
They, along with other parents in our class, were encouraged to share their own faith journey and baptism story with their children. Probing questions were provided that engaged thoughts and beliefs rather than allowing children simply to repeat the answers they had learned. This helped parents hear the depth of their child”s belief and faith, while also listening for spaces where more instruction and development needed to take place. Susan and Kevin said they were able to engage Nathan in fruitful discussion, had a better awareness of their son”s knowledge, and observed his spiritual growth.
Over the next two years, those who surrounded Nathan continued to encourage him as he studied, asked questions, spent time in worship, and shared Jesus with his friends at school. When Nathan approached his parents about his desire to be baptized, they knew it was the result of education, nurture, and the work of the Spirit. There was no need to question whether he was accountable, for they knew their son had been in the process of making this commitment. With his baptism, Nathan stepped into a new process, that of lifelong discipleship, but it was a step placed on a solid foundation.
Churches are filled with children who need love, nurture, encouragement, and education. May we be more attentive to the needs of the little ones in our midst and make the most of our opportunities to guide them toward a commitment to baptism and lifelong discipleship.
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1For further study see James Riley Estep”s article “Childhood Transformation” Stone-Campbell Journal, Fall 2002.
Teresa Welch is assistant professor of Christian education at Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tennessee.
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