A – Z Tell me about God

About this Downloadable PDF Book

This book had its beginnings with a group of people, largely unchurched, half of them being children between the ages of 2 and 13. My husband Keith and I were planting a church with the NSW/ACT Baptists. It was an experimental model of “doing church” differently. At our weekly meetings, after sharing our lives over a meal, we would have an “Altogether Time”. Adults and children together would participate in activities and Bible discovery before a time of prayer. As we journeyed with this group we realised how little, both children and adults, knew and understood who God really was and what He was like.

I had been reading some great books, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions by George Barna and Teaching Kids Authentic Worship by Kathleen Chapman. Both books reminded me of the importance of providing children with biblical precepts to protect them and to help them focus on God in worship… to grow in worship. I was challenged by the fact that many reach adulthood without a rm knowledge of the attributes of God or in many cases, a distorted view. Hence, when life’s experiences got too challenging, they had no foundation on which to stand… many leaving the church… some even abandoning their faith. My own experience of teaching scripture in public schools con rmed a growing lack of knowledge about God. Even children of church families seemed to show limited understanding.

We became convinced that this was an important focus for us… for adults as well as for children. The Lord reminded me of a great book we had used when our children were little… Learning about God from A to Z by Mary Erickson. This book was a great resource (especially Bible passages), as I attempted to write material that would be inter-generational and keep active children (and adults!) interested.

Together as a group, we were blessed as we journeyed on a glimpse of the incredible greatness of our God. He is far more than what we can portray in a book this size… but it was a beginning. It brought us joy to see children grasping a bigger picture of God and growing in their worship of Him. It helped the adults either discover more about the Lord or be refreshed and renewed in that which they did know about Him.