Catechism Introduction
Welcome to the Bay Ridge Christian Church Catechism blog. Over the next 2 years, we will be posting a weekly blog showing you our catechism, question by question.
By way of introduction, we would like to explain why we believe we should use a catechism with both children and adults, and how we developed this catechism. Hopefully, this brief introduction will lead you to a greater desire to not only catechize your children but yourself as well.
First, the concept of catechizing is biblical. The word “catechize” comes from the Greek word katacheo which meant to instruct or catechize. It is used eight times in the New Testament. Perhaps most significantly for our purposes, it is used in Galatians 6:6 which reads
“Let the one being catechized in the Word share all good things with the one catechizing him.”
(personal translation)
For other pertinent examples, see Luke 1:4 and Acts 18:25. The New Testament church catechized, or systematically instructed, believers, and so should we.
Second, the concept of a catechism to teach fundamental beliefs is ancient, and it has been proven throughout the centuries to be a very successful method of instruction. Catechisms are meant to start in the early years of a child’s life (we will begin around 3-4 years old) and continue to build and develop as the child grows older. This is done because in these early years children are capable of memorizing vast amounts of information, and it is all quickly stored into their long term memory. In fact, younger children are better at this type of memorization than most adults. Therefore, we believe it is very important to get many of the basics of the faith ingrained into a child’s memory as early as possible. If this is done in early childhood, when they are adults these foundational truths will simply be a part of their worldview and will affect all that they believe and do. As a result, we see this catechism as an essential part of not only teaching children the essential doctrines of the faith but as a means of raising adults who stand upon a very solid foundation of biblical teaching.
Third, because the idea of catechism is not new, there is a sense in which it ties us to our past. We as individual believers are all tied to this family called the Church. We have a history that we must remember, and we must properly teach our children that history. Our past is primarily rooted today in the early church, and particularly in the Church of the Reformation. Therefore, we have looked to the early church, and especially the Reformers, for guidance in the development of this catechism. All of the early reformers saw the need to catechize children, and some, such as Luther, even developed their own catechism to teach proper doctrine to both children and adults. Thus, although this catechism has been developed by the elders and ministry staff specifically for Bay Ridge Christian Church, we have based much of the catechism on two well known early reformed catechisms. The majority of the catechism has been based on the Heidelberg Catechism, because the heart of it’s structure and questions is the gospel of Jesus Christ and a proper doctrine of salvation (soteriology). The other old catechism that we have used is the Westminster Shorter Catechism, because of both its solid doctrinal basis and its important place in this history of the Church. Both of these catechisms have withstood the test of time and are very solid in their teachings, and therefore we thought it best to build upon that solid foundation in developing our own catechism. (We have also consulted more recent catechisms, especially the New City Catechism, which is available online or as an iPad app. The New City Catechism is also a new catechism that draws heavily upon the Heidelberg and Westminster Catechisms, but uses updated language and contains a few questions that are not covered in the Heidelberg or Westminster Catechism.) Finally, these catechisms are so widely used that there are a variety of resources available which can aid your own study of these questions.
Therefore, in the development and use of this catechism we are seeking not only to teach our children a foundation of doctrine that they can stand upon as adults, but we are also tying them and our adult members to the past of which they are a part. We are instructed in the Scriptures to renew our minds daily through the Word of God. Our Catechism is intended to be another means of renewing our minds, enabling us and our children to love and serve God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. May God bless its use for His glory and our good.