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“What is it the church does that leads to lasting faith in kids?” That’s the central question I explore in my book, The Faith of Our Children: Eight Timely Research Insights for Discipling the Next Generation. It’s also a question Awana has been asking for over a decade. Why? Because by finding the answer, we can reach and disciple more children for the kingdom of God no matter the cultural context.
And here’s the reality: if we as parents and ministry leaders don’t disciple the children in our care, someone or something else will. It’s not a matter of are our children being discipled, but rather who or what is discipling our children. That’s why it’s so important for us to understand the cultural context in which today’s kids are growing up and to give them a strong faith foundation—one that enables them to confront any lies or false messages that come their way.
Belong, Believe, Become
To help kids become resilient disciples—young people who thrive in their faith in the midst of a secular age—Awana commissioned 11 research studies focused on children’s ministry and child discipleship over the course of a decade.
These research projects asked questions like:
- How do you define success in children’s ministry?
- What are the desired outcomes of children’s ministry?
- What was the factor that sparked a child’s faith to move from little to no relationship with God to a growing relationship with God?
By asking these and many more questions, we discovered three primary factors that shape lasting faith in kids: relationship, Scripture engagement, and experiences (practices). Out of these factors came Awana’s focus on the three B’s: Belong, Believe, and Become.
Belong refers to the highly relational process led by loving, caring adults—parents, church leaders, mentors, volunteers, and teachers. Believe means helping kids discover the reality and truth of the gospel in the Bible. And Become describes the experiential process of helping children and students learn how to participate in the world around them by practicing the ways of Jesus.
When churches and parents partner to create an environment where these three factors are consistently present, children grow into stronger, more resilient disciples of Christ. Our research shows this kind of disciple-making environment is exactly what both ministry leaders and parents want:
Making disciples is the central work of the church. When a church community homes in on this craft of disciple-making with children, it is doing the most important work on the planet. This is what parents want, and this is what children’s ministry leaders want. More than any other research finding, this emerged as the singular, most unifying goal of those who care about the faith of our children.
Unmet Expectations
Even though the desire to make disciples is strong, obstacles often stand in the way. One research study revealed that the way children’s ministry leaders spend our time does not match our desired objectives. Many leaders shared that administrative tasks dominate their weekly schedules, the areas with the greatest ministry impact receive the least time, and there’s a gap between message and method.
So what are children’s ministry leaders to do? How can our actions better align with our objectives? To begin with, churches must have a clear grasp of the primary factors that form child disciples—and the key metrics within those areas. In other words, we need to evaluate our ministries honestly and assess where we may be falling short in providing the three B’s.
Some helpful diagnostic questions include:
- Do we focus more on creating a fun environment (belong) than on teaching kids how to engage Scripture (believe)?
- Do we teach kids how to engage Scripture but not how to apply it to daily life (become)?
- Do we teach the Bible in a theologically rich way and show kids how to live out their faith, yet fail to help them feel like they truly belong in their church?
In addition, children’s ministry leaders must recognize that our “deadline” for preparing kids to face the world is earlier than we often think. Research shows that a human being’s worldview is largely shaped and firmly in place by the age of 13. Yet many churches operate as if age 18 is the goal:
In most churches, our entire system functions as though 18 is the deadline. The data tells a different story. We’re up against a deadline—and it’s earlier than we thought. It’s not 18, it’s 13. That means what happens before age 13 is some of the most powerful work of the church.
Combatting the Bible-Lite Strategy
At the same time churches are trying to form children, the world is doing the same. Our children are immersed in powerful secular cultural narratives that form a storytelling superstructure centered on hyper-individualism. In an increasingly secularized, post-Christian West, we need greater intentionality—not less.
Unfortunately, what I call the Bible-Lite Strategy—which many churches have drifted toward in recent years—does not give children a faith foundation strong enough to withstand these pressures. When ministry prioritizes entertainment and moral principles unrooted from the gospel, children are left with an incomplete picture of Scripture. This approach unintentionally reinforces secular narratives by offering virtues without the careful, nuanced gospel story that gives them meaning.
To disciple children toward lasting faith, we must teach the Bible in a Christ-centered way that makes the gospel’s overarching story crystal clear. We need to saturate children’s lives with Bible-rich environments.
Just as importantly, churches must partner with parents—not only by providing resources, but by equipping and strengthening them to protect their children and prepare them to live for Christ in today’s world and tomorrow’s. When churches and families work together, resilient disciples are the result.
Hopeful Optimism
While the research findings in The Faith of Our Children reveal concerning trends and real shortcomings in children’s ministry, I remain optimistic. Although we may not be meeting our expectations or be where we need to be, I’m filled with hope.
Why? Because the research doesn’t just reveal what’s broken—it also points to a clear path forward. When we depend on the power of God’s Word and the work of the Holy Spirit, and when we commit to gospel-focused strategies—teaching children the Bible, helping them engage Scripture, modeling prayer and service, and providing mentorship, conversation, life experiences, and other discipleship practices—children can respond to the gospel, trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and mature in their faith over time.
It’s a hopeful picture. And it starts with honest evaluation.
More Resources
To see more research results and learn more practical advice, evaluation tools and strategies to improve child discipleship in your ministry, check out The Faith of Our Children, available here. For additional child discipleship resources including insights, books and more, check out childdiscipleship.com.
Matt Markins serves as the President and CEO of Awana, a global leader in child discipleship. As a researcher in child discipleship and children’s ministry, Matt has commissioned 13 research projects since 2013, including a study conducted by Barna Group, called Children’s Ministry in a New Reality. He’s a board member at large for the National Association of Evangelicals and is the author or coauthor of several books, most notably The Faith of Our Children: Eight Timely Research Insights for Discipling the Next Generation, RESILIENT: Child Discipleship and the Fearless Future of the Church and Forming Faith: Discipling the Next Generation in a Post-Christian Culture. He’s also the cofounder of the Child Discipleship Forum and D6 Conference. Matt and his wife, Katie, have been involved in children’s ministry for more than 25 years and spend their time in Nashville with their two sons. For more information go to www.ChildDiscipleship.com and www.Awana.org.
