• 1. My children are learning truths now that I did not learn until I was an adult. (I'm so proud of my 5 year old, who has memorized 50 questions, and my 2 year old, who has memorized 5!)
• 2. By learning these terms now and how the Bible fits together, my children will be able to develop a biblical worldview and understanding at an early age.
• 3. It naturally fits into family worship and can involve everyone.
• 4. Each time we learn a new question and answer, I take the time to explain what it means to them. This becomes my time of instruction for my kids.
• 5. When opportunities arise in daily life, I have been able to go back to the catechism, remind my daughter of what she learned, and then apply it to the situation. Because of this, I have had several wonderful opportunities to share the Gospel with my 5 year old.
• 6. Applying the catechism is a helpful way to demonstrate to your children that the Bible is about real life and life eternal.
• 7. This is a different teaching method than Sunday School and VBS. Catechism does not teach Bible stories; it teaches the theology of the Bible. It provides the background that helps tie the Bible stories to the Gospel.

Make family worship part of your New Year's resolutions, and enjoy the fruit of teaching your children the glorious Gospel!

* An example of family worship. Presently, my family worships together Monday-Friday mornings right after breakfast. We go over the catechism (this is where I teach any lessons), read some in a children's Bible, sing a hymn or chorus together, take prayer requests, and then each one prays.

* An example of a catechism. For our purposes, I revised A Catechism for Young Children: An Introduction to the Shorter Catechism in order to teach the Scripture from a Baptist perspective. You can find my version, A Baptist Children's Catechism, here or the original Presbyterian version here.