I still remember the scent of fresh books that arrived in our home the first year we began our homeschooling journey. After years of conviction, prayer, and research, I was finally holding in my hands the materials that would mark the beginning of something revolutionary. These were just books; they represented the hope of shaping a child’s mind and heart in truth.
But as I opened them, a strange mixture of excitement and apprehension gripped me. The preschool curriculum was literature-based, markedly different from conventional models with which I was familiar. It had no explicit goals for teaching letters or numbers. No worksheets, no rote memorisation.
Instead, it offered children’s literary classics—fairy tales, folk tales, fables and the Children’s Bible with illustrations. It saw the Bible as a core subject, not optional, but essential to the daily rhythm of study and learning.
It bewildered me.
Why fairy tales? And why so early? Did my four-year-old need to hear about a gingerbread boy who runs away from his creators, only to become a fox’s meal? Or tales of children being chased by witches and cruel stepmothers? I imagined a gentler, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” kind of world, filled with “Goodnight Moon” and soft lullabies. Not wolves, betrayal, and sacrifice.
Like any parent longing to give their child only what is good and gentle, I saw no need to trouble her with the darker themes of fairy tales or the weighty truths in some of the stories of the Bible.
What I did not yet understand was why it matters. Even early on, it matters to introduce a child to these deeper, more difficult realities through both stories and Scripture. It is part of discipling our children in the gospel.
Discipling Our Children
I grew up in an era where Sunday School lessons often portrayed Moses, David, and Daniel as larger-than-life heroes. Worship songs were cheerful, even if the theology was muddled. We memorised long Bible passages, sometimes without grasping their deeper meaning.
Sadly, this theme continues in many places around the world today. Children’s ministry has become a place to have fun. Songs are designed to entertain, not edify. Stories are simplified or sugarcoated, either because we underestimate a child’s ability to understand, or we are uncomfortable addressing difficult questions they might ask.
Children’s ministry has become a place to have fun.
As a result, children often grow up with a fragmented comprehension of God. I have met many who saw him as two very different beings—”the God of the Old Testament,” whom they perceived as stern and distant. Then the God of the New Testament, whom they see as gentle and loving. They struggled to reconcile God’s mercy with his justice.
Without a deep understanding of Scripture, when these children grow into teenagers or young adults, they are easily unsettled by the hard questions and doubts of a sceptical world.
Consider what Paul wrote to Timothy, saying: “From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:15–17).
Discipling Our Children in the Bible
Children must learn that the Bible is not a disconnected collection of moral stories, but a single, sweeping narrative—from Genesis to Revelation—of God’s redemptive plan. We must understand the central doctrines of our faith and discuss them with our children. They should grow up learning not just what happened in Scripture, but why.
Why did Jesus have to die? What did the sacrificial lamb in Exodus foreshadow? What does the word “redeemed” actually mean? When children are taught core doctrines like justification, sanctification, and the Trinity in simple, age-appropriate ways, they begin to see the bigger picture. They understand that God is holy, just, merciful, and sovereign—not in parts, but all through the Bible. They learn to love “the whole counsel of God.”
C.S. Lewis expressed his distaste at the thought of a visual adaptation of his Narnia series of books. He felt it would strip the story of its spiritual depth and moral weight. He, along with Tolkien, believed that fantasy and myth were meant to reveal deeper truths, not to entertain, but to shape the soul.
The Role of Stories in Discipling Our Children
Stories, whether biblical, historical, or fictional, have the power to help children wrestle with questions that matter: What is right? What is good? What does it cost to do the right thing?
These are not just literary questions; they are spiritual ones. A well-told story teaches children about good and evil, sacrifice, loyalty, courage, and hope. Fairy tales do not merely frighten or amuse, they prepare the heart for truth.
Children must learn that the Bible is not a disconnected collection of moral stories
The gospel, the greatest love story ever known to mankind, does not gloss over pain; it speaks directly into it. God’s redemptive story always pairs the truth of human sin with the deeper truth of God’s redeeming love in Christ Jesus.
As John 3:16 reminds us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
If we want our children to fully understand the depth of this gospel, we must share with them the Word of God in its wholeness; not to frighten them, but to form them. Being mindful of what is age-appropriate, we must be intentional in holding out the truth to them in love. We must teach them to see how every story in the Bible whispers the name of Jesus.
Practical Ways to Disciple Our Children
We begin with prayer, wisdom, and humility. And we proceed with intention—through stories, conversation, example, and shared faith practices.
Through Stories
Stories in the Bible and apart from it: parables, myths, fairy tales, and biblical accounts in their fullness. Do not gloss over the hard parts. Lead them skillfully through them to see how truth triumphs. Share with them personal testimonies, whether from your life or the lives of others. Let them see the gospel is real, intimate, powerful, and practical.
Through Conversation
Encourage thoughtful questions and offer faithful, grace-filled answers. Do not shut them down. Help them think through God’s Word and the world with clarity.
Through Example
Let them watch how we grieve our losses, confess our sins, forgive one another, and trust God—even after a heartbreak.
Through Shared Faith Practices
Read missionary biographies. Worship together. Let it be evident that God’s Word is the foundation of your home—more in action than just in speech. When we understand that our task as parents is to shepherd these hearts, we begin to see the importance of teaching children the whole counsel of God.
Then they learn not only what to believe, but why they can cling to this treasure when life becomes hard. As God’s Word says, “All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace” (Isa. 54:13)
God’s Sovereign Care
Children do not need to be shielded from all sorrow, not that we can do that anyway. Rather, they need to be formed by truth, something we can use to influence them.
As they grow, they might inevitably face sorrow, injustice, loss, and failure. If they meet life unprepared, confused, or even disillusioned, they will not know how to address these challenges. But when we introduce children to the gospel—its hard truths and enduring hope, we show them that light overcomes darkness.
We can trust God’s Spirit to guide them into the deeper truths of biblical doctrine as they grow in their walk with God. Teach them how God’s love is made manifest among us in Christ Jesus—through biblical stories, through honest conversations, and through the framework of the gospel, so they may meet life with the confidence, “God is good, all the time.”
