Catechism Schmatecism

Idk if this is you, but a LOT of parents ask me, “why is catechesis so important?” Or…even better, “what is a catechism?”

Once I explain that a catechism involves memorization, the objections only intensify.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard some version of “I hated memorization when I was little. I don’t want to make my kids memorize things.”

I get that. Memorization can be difficult and dull. It doesn’t have to be, and we’ll get to that, but even if it WERE dull, it would still be essential. Why?

Because none of us gets to decide whether or not our kids will do memorization work. All kids, all people, are memorizing things all the time!

When it comes to memorization, we only get to make one decision: Are we going to control what our kids memorize or is the world going to control what our kids memorize?

Every single time your kids read a book, see a show, hang out with their friends, they’re going to memorize something. Something is going to stick with them for a lifetime. It may be something you approve of; it may be something that horrifies you. It may have a positive impact; it may have a negative impact. But one thing is for sure. They are memorizing things, and those are the things that will stick with them for a lifetime.

Once you truly confront this reality, I won’t have to explain why memorization is important anymore. And if you want to control what your kids memorize, catechesis is just what you need. It’s a systemized set of truths to memorize! 

When we choose to catechize our kids, we are choosing determine what it is that is going to stick with them throughout a lifetime rather than allowing the world to determine that for us.

This is how Cross Formed kids came into existence. As a teacher in a classical school, I learned the power of memorization as I watched my sixth graders memorize and retain information. At the same time, I learned the power of parental involvement. One of the reasons our school was great was because our parents were great. Their investment at home ensured their kids’ success at school. 

I knew almost instantly that I was called to create a catechism that would equip parents to help their kids obtain real biblical literacy. In a world where 2/3 of “christian” kids leave the faith once they leave high school, we need a way to ensure that we are setting our kids up with a solid foundation! The same surveys that show kids leaving the faith at an astounding rate ALSO show a generation of Christians who do not understand Scripture. The two go hand in hand. The solution? Real and robust biblical literacy. 

Over and over again, Scripture points to itself as THE SOURCE of sustenance for a lifelong faith. If we can teach our kids to draw from that Christ-saturated well, they’ll never thirst. That’s why the Cross Formed Kids catechism is different from any others you’ll find. The other catechisms out there are designed to teach the doctrinal preferences of a church or denomination. That is a really good thing. Theology is a really good thing. But the Cross Formed Kids catechism is different. It doesn’t teach doctrinal preferences at all, not even my own. Rather, it teaches how the Bible itself holds together. It teaches the covenant framework of Scripture. 

This is essential for biblical literacy because it is precisely this covenant framework that ALL of the biblical authors had in mind as they thought about God, read about God, sang about God, and most importantly, WROTE about God. This covenant framework informs every book of the Bible. In fact, you’ll struggle to find a single page of Scripture that isn’t shaped by a reference to this framework. 

Cross Formed Kids makes this covenant framework IMPOSSIBLE to miss. Every question and answer of the catechism moves kids another step closer to being able to read fruitfully from the whole Bible. The net result is a child who understands and loves God’s revealed Word, the the Holy Scriptures. 

If you want to raise kids whose faith endures for a lifetime, Cross Formed Kids can help. Get started today with a free trial. After all, raising Christian kids is always a miracle, but it’s never an accident. 

For Further Reading: 

10 Things You Should Know about Catechesis