In this episode, Melanie Cave speaks with the Reverend Dr. Mark Griffiths about how churches can share faith with children and young people. Drawing on his research into Robert Raikes and the beginnings of the Sunday School movement, Mark reflects on how children’s ministry can go beyond teaching or asking for a one-time decision. He makes the case for combining education with opportunities for children to encounter God, grow in community, and take an active role in sharing faith.The conversation also explores peer-to-peer evangelism, intergenerational church, and how adults can model open, everyday conversations about faith.
Key takeaways:
- Act on the needs you see. Robert Raikes began the Sunday School movement after noticing children in his community and finding a practical way to serve them.
- Take a holistic approach to children’s ministry. The early Sunday Schools combined learning, faith, and community rather than separating children’s spiritual lives from their wider development.
- See faith as a journey. A child’s faith may grow through many experiences and relationships; it cannot always be reduced to one moment or decision.
- Make room for encounter, not just education. Children need opportunities to pray, reflect, and speak to God themselves—not only hear adults talk about faith.
- Equip children to share faith with one another. Peer-to-peer conversations can help children express and deepen what they believe.
- Model ordinary conversations about God. When adults speak naturally about their faith, children can learn that it is something they can share with others, too.
- Connect children’s ministry with the wider church. Mark highlights the importance of children seeing adults worship and taking part in a shared, intergenerational community.
- Look beyond attendance figures. Churches may need broader ways to recognize discipleship and ministry happening outside Sunday services.
Chapters:
00:00 – What do we mean by sharing faith with children?
00:31 – Meet Mark Griffiths and his PhD research
01:13 – Why Mark set out to question the Sunday School model
03:11 – The Sunday School movement’s early reach
05:38 – Robert Raikes, prison reform, and “vice is preventable”
10:44 – Sunday School and the growth of the church
18:52 – Making space for children’s own prayers
22:50 – The role of peer-to-peer evangelism
28:12 – Normalizing conversations about faith
38:49 – Mark’s Sunday School experiment in Milton Keynes
41:32 – Raikes’s approach to following up with absent children
43:30 – Connecting children’s ministry with church life
47:43 – Intergenerational ministry and discipleship
Show Notes:
Mark's article https://www.rootsforchurches.com/worship-and-learning-support/articles/creating-confident-christians
www.rootsforchurches.com
