Question Box
◼ What must children learn in order to grow to spiritual maturity?
1 Christian parents do much to bring their children up “in the discipline and instruction of Jehovah.” (Eph. 6:4; ftn.) For example, parents have found it beneficial to consider the daily text with their children each morning. During family worship and on other occasions, families may watch and discuss a video together, talk about specific material from Young People Ask articles, reenact a Bible account, or have practice sessions. However, in order for children to “press on to maturity,” they must also be taught deeper Bible truths.—Heb. 6:1.
2 Consider what we teach those we meet in our territory. On the initial call or on a subsequent visit, we generally endeavor to start a Bible study using What Does the Bible Really Teach? After completing that publication, we use “Keep Yourselves in God’s Love.” Why? The Bible Teach book gives students a basic knowledge of the Scriptures. The “God’s Love” book teaches them how to apply Bible principles in everyday life. Consideration of both publications helps new ones to become “rooted” in Christ and “stabilized in the faith.” (Col. 2:6, 7) Would this material not also benefit our children? They too need to be taught about the ransom, the Kingdom, and the condition of the dead. Children also need to know why God permits suffering and how to identify the last days of this system of things. They must be convinced that Jehovah’s Witnesses have the truth. Young ones also need to understand Bible principles and how to train “their powers of discernment.” (Heb. 5:14) Of course, parents must consider the age and comprehension level of their children. However, many children have the ability to begin learning deeper Bible truths even when they are quite young.—Luke 2:42, 46, 47.
3 To help parents, study guides that are based on the Bible Teach book will appear on jw.org. Families can find these on our Web site by looking under BIBLE TEACHINGS > TEENAGERS. In the future, additional study guides will be prepared based on the “God’s Love” book. Of course, the printed version of these books can also be used. Parents can determine whether they will use this material during a portion of their Family Worship evening, when conducting a separate study with one of their children, or when training a child to do his own personal study.