Discipling children and young people


When we talk about nurturing children in faith and discipling young people, what do we mean? And when it comes to doing it, how can we really make a positive difference in young lives?


How can we help children and young people to grow and develop in their faith? Can we walk alongside them as they figure out how to let their beliefs influence their lives? How can we influence, teach, inspire and model a Christian way of life? Is discipleship an acceptable concept in the 21st Century or will our efforts be misconstrued as manipulation?


As we work with children and young people in church groups, SU groups, on holidays, missions and at weekends, these are the questions that come up again and again. Sharing our faith often means regular commitment, taking an interest in young people’s lives, fostering relationships that grow over time, taking the trouble to challenge behaviour. It might mean teaching from the Bible but it also means demonstrating love, joy, peace, patience and the rest, and living with integrity - on or off the pitch! It’s about modelling our own faith, consistently and for the long term… no small challenge!


So how to explore this demanding subject? We asked a few people to talk about some aspects of discipleship that are important at SU Scotland, and of course (putting the modelling principles to work) we took time to discover what’s actually happening on the ground…


What does discipleship look like in the 21st century?


Andy Bathgate talks about nurturing children DIME celebrates 10 years of discipling in Muirhouse Amy Hume takes on the great COmMISSION Rosie Bowker talks about discipleship


Read on overleaf... @SU Spring 11 | 7


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16