Teaching Kids Theology Part 4
TLDR: While kidmin leaders are often thought of as glorified babysitters, nothing is farther from the truth. Kidmin leaders are some of the best theologians in the church. They are charged with communicating big truths in simple terms to kids, but without watering them down.
I’ve got a pet peeve. Well, I have more than one, but a particular one is in mind right now. Far too many churches operate as if their kidmin leaders are sitting at the Thanksgiving kids table.
Far too many churches operate as if their kidmin leaders are sitting at the Thanksgiving kids table
If you aren’t familiar with the Thanksgiving kids table, that was the smaller table—often a folding card table—that was set up to accommodate the kids at Thanksgiving dinner. All the adults ate at the “real” table. It was covered with a fancy tablecloth, had candles, and was where all the food was. But because there wasn’t enough room for everyone, the kids were relegated to a small table in the kitchen or some random room. Now, as a little kid, that wasn’t all that bad. You got to relax and have some fun with your cousins or friends. But when you became a preteen—and especially when you became a teen—it was the worst. It made you feel like a little kid—like a second-rate Thanksgivinger.
And that’s exactly how many kidmin leaders are made to feel—as if they are second-rate ministry leaders. This is often done because people see kids ministry mostly as babysitting or playing games. Oh, kidmin leaders share a cute devotional thought at times, but kids ministry isn’t real ministry.
Nothing can be farther from the truth.
The Depth of Kids Ministry
Pragmatically, because most people come to faith in Christ as children, kids ministry is of utmost importance for that reason alone. But kids ministry is far more than evangelism—it’s ministry. And that includes discipling kids.
Pragmatically, because most people come to faith in Christ as children, kids ministry is of utmost importance for that reason alone.
Discipleship is far more than telling Bible stories. That’s a big part of it, of course, but discipleship is helping a child to grow in his or her faith, developing a deeper love for Jesus and finding ways to live like him in the power of the Holy Spirit. And that requires theology. And that requires a kidmin leader to be a solid theologian. Indeed, kidmin leaders should be among the best theologians we have. Why? Because the mark of a strong theologian is being able to take complex doctrines of our faith and distill them down to understandable truths for kids without compromise. Good theologians can discuss theology in theological terms; great theologians can discuss theology in kids’ terms.
Good theologians can discuss theology in theological terms; great theologians can discuss theology in kids’ terms.
That’s why kidmin leaders should be among the best theologians we have. These are the men and women who are tasked with explaining to a child how God is three in one, without lapsing into error.1 These are men and women who are tasked with teaching how and why Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. These are men and women who are tasked with helping kids understand how Jesus is the eternal Son of God who became fully human without mixture of those two natures.
The Master Theologian
Jesus is, of course, the master theologian. Consider one of his favorite teaching methods: the parable. Jesus taught in parables to take lofty truths and bring them down to a level the people of that day could understand. That’s why his parables centered on what they knew, like farming. These parables were life-giving to the Jews of Jesus’ day, and they are life-giving to us today. They remind us that beauty and power and weightiness can be wrapped in simple packages. And that’s what kidmin leaders are to do.
If you’re a kidmin leader, take this to heart. You’ve been given a critical assignment. What you do matters today and into eternity. You’re not at the Thanksgiving kids table of God’s kingdom. You’re at the main table with the rest of your family. Right were you belong.
If you are looking for a resource to help you grow as a theologian and to help you teach your children theology, Faith Foundations is for you. These ninety-nine devotions use an ancient tool called a catechism to teach the core doctrines of the faith. Each devotion features a Bible reading, a devotion, several engaging questions, a Jesus connection, and a suggested family activity. Faith Foundations releases October 21, 2025 but you can preorder a copy today.
- To this end, all object lessons must be rejected. The Trinity is not like a three leaf clover—each leaf is not a full clover, but each person of the Trinity is fully God. The same is true of an apple or an egg. The Trinity is not like ice, water, and steam—the same water particle cannot be in each state at the same time, but all three persons of the Trinity exist eternally at once. And the Trinity is not like a man who is a father, a brother, and a husband all at once—he is only one man playing different roles at times while God is not one Person playing different roles. ↩︎
brian dembowczyk 