The dear sweet neighbor lady who patiently taught so many of us to swim when we were kids turned 98 last week. I haven’t talked to her for decades, but seeing her picture on Facebook next to the announcement about her 98th birthday brought back so many memories of those summer mornings where with each lesson, she stretched us to swim further and swim deeper. I found a picture of her demonstrating form that took me back to those lessons. . . lessons which helped me to not only overcome my timidity, but which gave me confidence in the water. I remember three things that advanced in my swimming abilities with each and every lesson: I could swim more laps, I could hold my breath underwater for an increased period of time, and I could dive down further and further in the deep end to pick up objects she had thrown in the pool for us to retrieve. Great memories came back to me last week. I’m glad she didn’t just succeed in getting us in the water. She trained us to Confidently “live” in the water.
Sometimes we hear youthworkers and even entire churches state that the goal of their ministry is to lead kids to Jesus. That’s well-intentioned and should be a goal. But functionally, if all we are doing is getting them to willingly step up to the ticket booth to get a “get-out-of-hell-free” admission pass, we are pursuing their justification while forgetting their sanctification. The two cannot be untethered! There is no justification without sanctification. Our ministries are only in the beginning stages when our students take that first step in following Christ. Now, we are to diligently and intentionally walk with them down the difficult path of whole-life discipleship.
This is why we must do the hard work of both learning and teaching theology. Yes, your kids can handle it. Set the bar high! In his book Daily Doctrine, Kevin DeYoung says this about teaching theology, that it’s an “invaluable way” to learn about God and His Word. “It builds on the insights of church history and seeks to defend the historic doctrines of the church. Systematic theology helps us put together the whole counsel of God. Even more importantly, it helps us see more of God. Our goal must never be the bare minimum amount of knowledge necessary to get us into heaven. We want to move from platitudes to particulars, from generalities to technical terms and concepts, from seeing the hills of God’s glory to seeing the mountains of God’s glory. That’s why we study, why we learn, and why we need systematic theology.”
The spiritual nurture of our kids – in the home, in the church, and in the Christian school – is not just about getting them into the pool and counting that as success. It’s about seeing them grow in their faith both now and throughout the course of their lives as under the guidance of God’s Spirit they integrate that faith into every second, corner, and square inch of their lives.
If you are desiring to further your ability to take kids deep into a fully-integrated faith, come and join us at NYMS. . . The Northeast Youth Ministry Summit. . . in Ligonier, PA from March 16-19, 2026. Learn more and register here.
