The Shema Injunction and the Challenge for Children Ministry

Abstract

Nurturing children to grow and become well-integrated into the faith community is one of the greatest and most rewarding or satisfying duties of every community. This paper focuses on the clear instruction that God gave the Jews and by extension to all Christians on the necessity to groom the young ones in the way of the Lord. It explains the critical components of the Shema and its implications for children ministry which include the caregivers, the children and the ministry approach. The paper further elucidates a little on the nature of children as it affect how they are to be ministered to, noting that their developmental realities determine the teaching content and approach. The last part focuses on the challenges that the Shema injunction has for the modernday children ministry. It concludes by firmly noting that the historical point in which the Shema was given makes it very important to observe.