Generational Seeds of Discipleship

By Christina Goss

One of the first things that drew our family to Oak Hill was the uniquely inclusive approach to children’s ministry and how truly intergenerational the church purposed itself to be. This spring I was offered the opportunity to begin teaching our elementary Sunday school (1st–5th grade), and what a privilege it has been to get to know this group of young hearts in our church. We have recently made the switch to a new Sunday School curriculum that takes a deeper and more intentional step towards discipleship and continuity in the resources we’re equipping both our kids and families as a whole with.

One of my goals every time I enter the classroom with the elementary students is to ask, “How can I plant generational seeds of discipleship that will prepare them for the next season of their faith?” But also, “How can I do this in a way that meets them where they are currently at in their own walks of faith?”

A few ways I’ve personally tried to do this are through three simple practices: engage, equip, and encourage.

ENGAGE - I engage them by providing a learning activity page that matches our lesson and includes a word search that they can work through while I’m teaching the story. This simple activity gives their hands something to do while allowing their minds to stay connected to what we are learning.

Throughout the lesson, I use the keywords from the word search to invite them into the story along the way — asking questions, making connections, and helping them recognize the important truths we are learning from God’s Word. My hope is that they aren’t simply hearing a Bible story, but actively engaging with Scripture and beginning to understand how God’s story connects to their own.

EQUIP - I aim to equip them by intentionally introducing discipleship tools and practices that they will continue to encounter as they grow within our church body. One example of this is our prayer time together each morning. We use the ACTS prayer model — Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication — which is a model we also use within our Gospel Communities.

One of my reasons for teaching them this model is because I want to help introduce them to an important discipleship tool that is already part of the rhythm of our church. My hope is that as they grow into older believers, these practices feel familiar and they recognize that they have been invited into something much bigger than just a Sunday morning classroom.

ENCOURAGE - I encourage our time to be a space for them to interact with one another throughout our class time. I recognize that this is as much their own time of fellowship as it is their time to learn.

Discipleship happens through relationships, and I want to foster an environment where they feel comfortable asking questions, sharing their thoughts, and learning from one another. We spend time discussing how each week’s story connects to the larger biblical narrative as a whole and how God’s Word continues to point us toward who He is and what He is doing.

My prayer is that these students would not simply remember lessons, activities, or stories from Sunday mornings, but that they would grow in their understanding of God, develop rhythms of discipleship, and recognize that they have an important place within the life of our church right now.

Generational discipleship happens when we intentionally pour into the next generation while also walking alongside them. It happens when children are seen, known, and invited into the story God is writing through His people.

What a gift it is to have the opportunity to plant these seeds — and what a privilege it is to be part of God’s story in the lives of the young hearts within our church.