Table of Contents

FOREWORD -- pg. 8

WHY CHILD, CHURCH AND MISSION? -- pg. 9

SECTION ONE: DEVELOPMENT IN BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES -- pg. 13

Introduction -- pg. 13

Lesson One: Why Children? -- pg. 15

All Children Are at Risk -- pg. 16

Millions of Children Suffer from Poverty -- pg. 16

Millions of Children Suffer from Prosperity -- pg. 18

Children Are Strategic Because “The Clay” Is Still Soft -- pg. 20

Trailing Clouds of Glory -- pg. 20

Summary -- pg. 23

Lesson Two: What the Bible Says About Children -- pg. 25

Children and Childhood in the Bible -- pg. 25

Children Are Created With Dignity -- pg. 26

A Defender of the Impoverished and Fatherless -- pg. 26

Children Can Understand the Things of God -- pg. 28

God Uses Children for Special Tasks -- pg. 29

Old Testament Themes Regarding Children -- pg. 29

New Testament Themes Regarding Children -- pg. 30

God’s Expectations of Adults Regarding Children -- pg. 31

Conclusion -- pg. 33

Summary -- pg. 34

Lesson Three: The Ministry of Child Development -- pg. 37

God’s Heart for the Poor and Oppressed -- pg. 37

What Is Holistic Child Development? -- pg. 40

What Christian Holistic Child Development Is Not -- pg. 42

A Key Result of Development: Self-Reliance -- pg. 42

Facilitating Good Development -- pg. 45

Summary -- pg. 48

Lesson Four: A Spiritual Understanding of Poverty -- pg. 51

The Nature of Poverty -- pg. 51

What Is Poverty? -- pg. 52

The Causes of Poverty: All the Usual Suspects -- pg. 53

A Spiritual View of Poverty -- pg. 56

Biblical Response to Hollow and Deceptive Philosophies -- pg. 59

Summary -- pg. 64

CHILD, CHURCH AND MISSION

SECTION TWO: THE CHILD AND THE CHURCH -- pg. 67

Introduction -- pg. 67

Lesson Five: The Role of the Church -- pg. 69

Some Theological Foundations -- pg. 69

The Mystery of the Role of the Church -- pg. 73

Evangelism or Social Action: The Great Debate -- pg. 75

Two Structures, One Function -- pg. 78

Summary -- pg. 80

Lesson Six: Why Caring for Children Is the Particular Responsibility of the Church -- pg. 83

Because Only the Church Can Respond to the Needs of the Whole Person -- pg. 84

Because God Hears the Children Crying -- pg. 85

Because Caring for Children Dispels Disbelief -- pg. 88

Because Only the Church Can Remove the Curse -- pg. 89

Summary -- pg. 90

SECTION THREE: THE CHILD IN THE CHURCH -- pg. 91

Introduction -- pg. 91

Lesson Seven: Faith Development in Children -- pg. 93

Is There an Age of Accountability? -- pg. 94

Faith Development in Children -- pg. 95

How Faith Grows -- pg. 97

Is There a “4/14 Window” of Receptivity? -- pg. 98

Checklist for Spiritual Training -- pg. 99

Summary -- pg. 101

Lesson Eight: Characteristics of Child-Friendly Churches -- pg. 103

A Child-Friendly World Where a Child Can Love and Be Loved -- pg. 104

Basic Things That Children Should Get from the Church -- pg. 104

Making Church Programs More Child-Friendly -- pg. 105

Making Church Compounds More Child-Friendly -- pg. 107

Making the Church Staff More Child-Friendly -- pg. 107

Responsibilities of the Church at All Levels -- pg. 108

Covenant on Ministering to Children -- pg. 109

Summary -- pg. 112

Lesson Nine: Child Protection in Church Environments -- pg. 115

Protecting Children from Ourselves -- pg. 116

Recognizing Child Abuse -- pg. 116

General Guidelines for Protecting Children -- pg. 118

Nine Components of an Effective Child Protection Policy -- pg. 121

Summary -- pg. 123

SECTION FOUR: THE CHILD AND MISSION -- pg. 125

Introduction -- pg. 125

Table of Contents

Lesson Ten: Mission — What the Church Is Called to Do -- pg. 127

A Short History of Modern Missions -- pg. 128

Seven Important Missiological Concepts -- pg. 130

The Child and Mission -- pg. 133

Summary -- pg. 134

Lesson Eleven: Practical Issues in Mission and Children -- pg. 137

Conversion or Proselytism? -- pg. 138

What About “Buying” Converts and the Danger of “Rice” Christians? -- pg. 138

Evangelism or Exploitation? -- pg. 138

Cautions for Child Evangelism in Sensitive Situations -- pg. 139

Strategic Mission to Children -- pg. 140

A Window Within the Window -- pg. 141

Children as Agents of Mission -- pg. 142

Summary -- pg. 146

SECTION FIVE: AVENUES FOR ADVOCACY -- pg. 149

Introduction -- pg. 149

Lesson Twelve: Non-Confrontational Advocacy -- pg. 151

Advocacy: The Biblical Mandate -- pg. 151

Non-Confrontational Advocacy -- pg. 152

Advocacy and Development Go Together -- pg. 152

Advocacy in Compassion International -- pg. 153

Definition of Advocacy for Compassion -- pg. 154

Avenues for Non-Confrontational Advocacy -- pg. 155

Summary -- pg. 157

Lesson Thirteen: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child -- pg. 159

Content and Intent of the CRC -- pg. 160

Some Christians’ Concerns About the CRC -- pg. 162

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) -- pg. 166

A World Fit for Children (WFFC) -- pg. 167

Summary -- pg. 168

Lesson Fourteen: Networking on Behalf of Children -- pg. 171

Benefits of Networking -- pg. 171

Getting Connected — The Viva Network -- pg. 173

Summary -- pg. 175

BIBLIOGRAPHY -- pg. 177

ABOUT COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL -- pg. 181

CONCLUSION -- pg. 187

THE M.A. PROGRAM IN HOLISTIC CHILD DEVELOPMENT -- pg. 189