Dear Parent,
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6
The goal of Religious Education is to pass along the Christian Faith. The Christian Faith is the only thing that is going to last beyond your life and the life of your child, and for that reason it is a precious commodity, so precious in fact that the most important thing, that you as a parent can do is nourish the faith in Jesus Christ that God created in baptism.
Of course the difficult question is, How do we do that? We get some help in Deuteronomy 6: 6&7 “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” In fact this is so important that God shares almost the exact same words again in Deuteronomy 11:19. Children cannot learn the Christian faith by osmosis. Moses points out that we DO something in passing along faith to a child.
Redeemer is your close partner in passing along the Faith to your child. We are here to give you the resources, the encouragement and training. This is why we have Sunday School, Confirmation, Youth Group, Family Unity Night and even Sunday worship. As you lay out your fall, winter and spring schedules be mindful of keeping first things first.
You are the primary religious educator of your child. You teach by what you say and also how your family chooses to spend time. Invest your time in helping your child come to know the saving love of Jesus better as you undertake your task of training up a child in the way they should go.