Introduction
It has long been understood that the period of early childhood is crucial to much of an individual’s long-term development. Research has shown that these early years are also critical and foundational to a person’s faith formation. Because of the rapid development that happens during this period as well as the unique ways that young children make meaning of and engage with the world, special attention ought to be dedicated to how to communicate faith to children between the ages of birth and five years old.
What Does Early Childhood Generally Mean
The term “Early Childhood” generally refers to the period before birth through age five (or eight) years old, characterized by rapid growth and development in all spheres of life, including physical, social, emotional, and spiritual. However, while churches often offer childcare for children in this age bracket, it is not uncommon for the spiritual nurture of children to be neglected, even in church-sponsored programs. New parents who want to share their faith with children either tend to try to do too much that is not at a child’s developmental level or are overwhelmed by all the options and feel paralyzed to do anything at all to nurture their children’s faith.
CFC’s Vision for Early Childhood
At the Center for Faith and Children, Early Childhood Faith Formation is an important part of our work. Dr. Mimi Larson, our Executive Director, has spent much of her career researching, teaching, and writing on topics related to prenatal and early childhood faith development and its important place in the child’s growing life with God. Because we believe that young children make meaning in God-designed ways that are unique to their age and stage of development, we want to help the church recognize and share faith with children in ways that they can connect with.
Why Our Approach to Early Childhood Matters
The seeds of faith that are planted in early childhood have the potential to blossom into a healthy, vital, growing faith. Because we never “grow out” of faith, but our early experiences of faith remain a part of us. Anything a church does to provide for and nurture a young child’s faith also has the potential to nurture the experiential faith of any person in the congregation. It is not only true that the church has something to offer young children, but that young children have something to offer the church. We’ve explored how children make meaning of faith, and listed practical ideas for how families and churches can help children engage their faith in ways that will help them to grow. This year, we will focus on things that research has shown are beneficial for a young child’s development–things like play, art, story, music, and movement; and explore both how these practices help young children to make meaning of and connect with faith but also how they can provide opportunities for children to make meaningful contributions to the congregation and nurture the faith of the entire community.
Embracing the Meaning
Young children are capable of engaging with rich theological concepts and with God himself. We believe that God desires to be known by children as children. Early childhood offers us a host of opportunities to explore how we might engage with God in ways that go beyond the cognitive and words-based expressions common in evangelical churches today. We invite you to join us as we explore how the church can both nurture and be nurtured by a young child’s expression and experience of faith.