CDF 22: Putting All of Us On the New Map of Child Discipleship

We anticipated the Child Discipleship Forum for so long and now it’s past. If you attended in person or online, you know what a rich two days it was, filled with information, inspiration and encouragement. If you were not able to attend, you don’t have to miss out on all the great sessions. Fortunately for all of us, each session is now available on-demand at childdiscipleship.com.

A Brief Recap of Each CDF 22 Session

Each speaker filled their talk with valuable lessons, encouraging us to take what we learned back to our church families to process with those we work with.

• Matt Markins stressed that since a person’s worldview is primarily shaped and is firmly in place by the time someone reaches the age of 13, then we’re up against a deadline – and it’s earlier than we thought. 
• Andy Crouch’s warning to be careful of our reliance on technology – “our Precious” – to fill our kids’ lives has us rethinking the importance we have put on it to raise our kids.
• We were challenged by the testimonies of Sam Alberry and Trillia Newbell that we must first understand who we are in Christ before we can pass on our faith to those we disciple. While Cindy Bultema‘s story illustrated how, “Every child is ONE caring adult away from having their life changed for eternity.”
• David Kinnaman inspired us, the tired leaders who have come through two years of a pandemic and who continue to give their all without much recognition that, “It’s not whether we got it right or the church got it right but that God is able to speak into the hearts of these young children.” 
• Sam Luce reminded us of what we are working toward: “What we do is not temporal, it is eternal. We have to focus less on moralism and more on Christlikeness. There is a world of difference between our kids being good, kind and friendly and our kids being holy, righteous and Christlike.”
• David Kinnaman and Catherine Hwang-Jin shared data from recent surveys that will shed light on the relationship you have with your senior pastor and with the parents of the kids in your ministry. There is so much to unpack, it is worth another look.
• Andrew Peterson treated us with his beautiful music and stories of God’s creation in all of us, especially those He gifted with the ability to communicate through the arts.
• John Mark Comer acknowledged something obvious: We are leaders. But then the kicker: What are we leaders and followers of? He stressed the only way to stay in line with Christ is to spend time with Christ. 
• Rebecca McLaughlin, Carl Trueman and Derwin Gray challenged us to think about how we perceive those who are different from us – in race, skin color, affiliation, sexual identity, etc. “Christianity is the most diverse belief system in the world,” said Rebecca. “We must reclaim diversity.”
• Among the many nuggets of truth Carl spoke, is this one: “We all need a place where we can find validation and support. We need the church to be … a safe place where [anyone] can go to be encouraged that [they] have done the right thing even if it may have cost [them].”
• Derwin inspired us to pursue reconciliation. “It is intrinsic to the Gospel and must be normalized in the formation of our kids and our local churches. But you cannot give away what you do not possess.”
• Shelly Melia educated us about children who have come from or are still in hard places. She asked us to consider moving away from thinking all kids fit into a mold and are formed into Christlikeness merely by going through an assembly line in our churches and, instead, to put relationships first and create environments that are relationally rich and healing.
• Ray Ortlund encouraged us with his words that as leaders, we matter. We need to do the hard work of discipling kids. And “when we feel small and defeated, we’re not at a dead-end. We’re at a threshold of the greater power of Christ.”

Your Place for Child Discipleship Tools and Resources

During CDF, we introduced the launch of ChildDiscipleship.com, built just for you! Besides being the place where you can access CDF 21 and CDF 22 sessions, you can also visit the site to download speaker slides and free resources mentioned during the Forum, as well as learn more about upcoming training opportunities. It’s our go-to site for all things related to child discipleship. Check it out today!

What You Told Us About This Year’s Event

• “Sam Luce’s talk was really helpful. Our church doesn’t have a current children’s pastor; we have a youth leader. After seeing what the other churches here have and what they’re doing, we’re going to go back to our church and discuss opening up a position.” Ty, Mount Mariah, Clinton, Kentucky
• “The Lord is teaching me to go from great Scripture and God-centeredness instead of Bible characters.” Joy, New Sing Church, Oklahoma
• “The walls in my church are blank canvasses, so I’m going to put intentional words up to tell the kids who they are and how they’re created by God and that they belong.” Dan, Madison Bible Church, Madison, Alabama
• “Last year I participated with one friend online. This year we have 44 participants representing 12 different churches here in Brazil. We have a technician and two translators helping us out to catch the most of this time.” Val, online participant from Brazil
• “I think one of the biggest take-aways is what we can do as a ministry to create and maintain an environment where children feel safe, connected and valued.” Josh, Deer Run Camp and Retreat Center
• “We did these things [the old map] because of the way we grew up. But kids are in a new place, so I’m asking myself, ‘How do we serve them well?’” Jamie
• “We have good curriculum, but we’re not necessarily pointing back to Jesus. We need to move to the new map.” Suzanne
• “Ending the first night with Andrew Peterson was perfect. We could just sit back and relax. We didn’t have to think.” Erica, Madison Bible Church, Madison, Alabama
• “Thank you for an amazing two days. … I cannot wait to share this with my team and our church staff! To God be the glory. Thank you for ALL you are doing for the next generations! God bless you all!” Betsy, online participant

Register for CDF 23 at a discounted rate

Please join us for next year’s Child Discipleship Forum, Sept. 21 and 22 in the Nashville area. Take a look at the speakers for 2023 and register today at a discounted rate.

It was our pleasure, honor and blessing to provide the Child Discipleship Forum for all of you, and we look forward to serving you throughout the year and through next year’s Forum. 

In the words of Carl Trueman: “We aren’t just fighting for God’s people, we’re fighting for the world.”