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Head to the Heart (H2H) Class for Teens

No More Catechism Class!

Hopefully the title of my article grabs your attention. For some there may be utter shock involved. Others (mainly students) will be rejoicing.

The effectiveness (or lack thereof) of catechism classes may be seen by observing how connected our confirmands (someone who completes two years of catechism classes) are to the Redeemer community. How often are these young men and women involved in worship? How connected are they to other youth in S.H.O.U.T.!?

Does their faith show forth in acts of service to their church, community and world?

Cancel catechism classes completely?!

That's preposterous! After all, the Bible is quite clear that training is important in the life of God's children (Deuteronomy 4:9-10, Proverbs 22:6 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17 to name a few). And I agree with your assessment.

Therefore, even though catechism classes are being canceled there will still be much training in righteousness. Catechism classes were originally designed to use a method of instruction called catechesis. This method, which Martin Luther used almost 500 years ago, uses a series of questions and answers to help children learn the truths of doctrine. Yet while many catechumens are able to spout off answers and recite Bible passages flawlessly the reality of that knowledge reaching their hearts has been quite the contrary. In recent years I would even question whether the knowledge has reached their brains. So what are we to do?

Redeemer is taking a bold step this year in our instruction of young Christian men and women (a.k.a 6 th , 7 th and 8 th graders). We have canceled catechism classes. What has worked in the past now falls on deaf ears and not-so-open hearts. The time has come to reach out to our children with a method of instruction that will meet them where they are. They're plugged into a multi-media world, a barrage of television shows and commercials, supplemented by the constant stream of music from an iPod and the constant dialogue with others via text and instant messaging. It's no wonder that they zone out or act out when planted in a classroom desk for an hour of lecturing about Christian doctrine by a pastor. Well, this year we begin with a fresh new model of instruction. Catechism is no more.

We are moving forward to bring Christian doctrine from the Head to the Heart (H2H).

H2H is a program of Christian instruction that allows our children to soak up a lot of Christian doctrine like sponges. Using exciting activities and small group discussions the information is firmly planted in their heads. And then the fun begins!

Through regular outside-of-classroom activities and servant events those sponges will be squeezed and all that wonderful knowledge will be moved from the head into the heart where it will transform lives. In case you can't tell, I'm excited! I love our children and I can't wait to experience the power of God working in their lives as

He moves the truths of His Word from their heads into their hearts. I believe H2H will be a great tool to help us achieve our goals with our young men and women.