Family Catechism

It is a term scarcely used in most churches and often makes people think of Catholicism, but a catechism can be a very helpful way of developing your children's, your spouse's, and your understanding of who God is and what He has accomplished.

What Is a Catechism? 
A catechism is "a summary of principles of [the] Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians" (Lexico.com). There are many different types of catechisms used by Catholic and Protestant churches. One of the most famous catechism questions comes from the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The first question is, "What is the chief end of man?" The answer that follows is, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."

What Are the Advantages of Using a Catechism? 

This is where I would like to spend most of my time. I believe there are several good reasons why Christian families should be using a catechism in their homes. This list is not exhaustive and it is not ranked by importance.

1. Children Enjoy It: This one may be one of the most surprising, but most children enjoy learning the catechism--especially if you start early in their lives. Humanity is hardwired to learn. As a teacher, I see the desire of my students to learn and think every day. You might think that children would rebel against learning a catechism, but so long as the child feels a sense of accomplishment in learning and it doesn't feel like a duty, most children will find it enjoyable. 
2. It Teaches Doctrines: There are things one needs to know in order to be a Christian. A good catechism teaches those important doctrines and a lot more. 
3. It Builds a Framework: In education, one of the most important things a teacher must understand about his students is what they already know. We use the term instructional scaffolding when thinking about what to teach and how to teach our students. Just like when building a scaffold, you cannot add the third level without the second level. In addition, a scaffold isn't a ladder--it doesn't just go straight up. There are multiple support beams and pipes that go diagonally to add support. Similarly, in learning, many foundational concepts must be understood and supporting concepts along the way that help create an understanding. A good catechism helps create the foundational knowledge and connecting supports that make the truth of Christianity hold together. 
4. It Gives Children a Safe Answer: Not that other centuries and decades didn't have their issues, but our children are being bombarded by false ideas that can really damage their souls and lives. A good catechism allows a child to have safe answers to some of life's difficult questions. When the child is faced with unbelief or a challenging idea, knowing good answers to difficult questions helps build their confidence in God's Word. 
5. It Provides a Curriculum for Family Worship: Families should make family worship a priority. God has gifted the Christian with pastors and teachers, but the responsibility of teaching children rests primarily in the father, secondarily in the mother, and then in the church. However, for a parent like most who've never been formally trained in the Scriptures, teaching Christian doctrine may be a scary idea. A good catechism is a good place to start. 
6. It's Useful in Teachable Moments: There are so many teachable moments. There's the time when a child throws a fit because her sibling broke a toy. There's the time when a child comes home crying because someone said something rude to him at recess. Every day, there are so many teachable moments when a child needs to hear the good news of who God is and what He has accomplished for them. A good catechism gives you touchpoints from God's Word to launch into those conversations so that our words are truly effective and not simply superficial wisdom of our age. 

What Are the Dangers of Using a Catechism?

By what I've written above, I expect you realize that I'm a fan of using a catechism. However, some dangers should be addressed. 

1. Using a Poor Catechism: The quality of instruction is largely based on the quality of the curriculum. If a bad catechism is used that has doctrinal inaccuracies or is poorly written, it could cause damage. 
2. Catechism = Scripture: Any catechism is only as good as it faithfully teaches God's Word. A danger with teaching a catechism is that one believes the answer to a question is right because it is in a catechism. An answer given by a catechism is only good when it is supported by Scripture. Just as creeds and statements of faith can be good, they are only good when they are in line with God's Word. 
3. Knowing the Catechism = Knowing God: My daughter is growing in her knowledge of the Bible and she is getting to where she knows the right answer to a lot of gospel questions. Learning a catechism is helping her even more. However, memorization of the catechism is not the same thing as being born again. Knowledge of God's Word may lead to conversion, but conversion does not happen when enough biblical knowledge is mastered. Parents should be careful not to assume that a child has been united to Christ through faith because he can answer 80% of the catechism questions.  

What Catechism Should I Use? 

I'm a Baptist; a Reformed Baptist more specifically. Therefore, if I were asked to recommend a catechism, I would recommend the Baptist Catechism, a revision of the Baptist Catechism by John Piper, or the Westminster Catechism. Yet, there are other good ones. However, I don't want to recommend a catechism here. I think there is room for each father, or mother if necessary, to create a catechism for his family. Right now, I'm sort of creating my own catechism with questions taken from our family Bible study curriculum and the Baptist Catechism. But, I can imagine there may be other questions that I need to answer in a concise way that is supported by scripture. Topics like abortion, homosexual relations and marriage, transgenderism, racism, and others will need to be addressed. 

I plan to write more about using a catechism soon. Until then, may God bless you richly in the study of His Word and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.


Written by Michael Naaktgeboren