How do we begin to know, carry, and grow faith? We start from the beginning. A newborn learns that faith can be trusted or can feel like a betrayal. The adults who care for the child teach this every moment of every day almost always without thinking about it.
Babies need a world they can trust including good care of their physical and security needs. They need to know:
- when they get hungry, the hunger will be relieved.
- when they hurt, the discomfort will be taken away.
- that they are safe from falling and from frightening experiences like sudden loud noises and bright lights.
- that their world has regular rhythm, in movement, and in their daily schedule, even in “Patty Cake” play. (The beginning of predictability)
These things are the essential beginning of knowing how to trust, how to build a relationship. They are the inescapable first lessons that either faith is good or it is cruel. Can the child trust?
The parents are the most important teachers, of course, but we in the faith community play a part. We support this learning when we support the parents and caregivers of these children. It won’t be long until the children are ready to reach out a little bit into the larger community. The faith community can be there ready and waiting to nurture their nascent faith.
At Lovely Lane, we have known for more than 60 years that the preschool years are golden moments for helping children develop a strong lifelong faith. Our Children’s Weekday Ministries program is one of the most powerful ministries we have in building faith from the start.