Over the past several years, I have had the privilege of teaching church history to several groups of high school students. One of my favorite parts of teaching is witnessing the lightbulb moment that occurs when a young person reads words written over one thousand years ago and, rather than finding them dry, technical, or inaccessible, the lives of saints like Jerome, Augustine, Justin Martyr, or Eusebius leap from the page and draw them into their world.
I distinctly remember one high school freshman in my Introduction to Church History class standing to give her primary-source presentation. She had chosen to read Athanasius’s On the Incarnation, and, while I can’t remember her exact words, her opening reflection went something like this:
What surprised me about this book was how relatable it was. I expected this to be hard to read, but it just sounded like a Christian talking about what we believe. I found the book to be very encouraging for my faith, and I look forward to reading it again.
Moments like these are precisely why I’m passionate about teaching church history to believers of all ages.
As Christian parents and educators, we want to be the ones to introduce our children to life’s big topics. We want to be there for their initial forays into questions of religion, politics, worldviews, sex and gender, and the like because we know that if we don’t present them with the truth and train them in the practice of godly discernment, other teachers and voices will step in to fill the gap. Church history is no different. Questioning institutions and the assumptions with which one has been raised is a normal, healthy part of growing up. At some point, most Christian teens (or pre-teens) will ask questions such as these:
Such questions should not be seen as antiauthoritarian challenges to the faith but rather as healthy curiosity and an invitation to deeper study and exploration. If we do not offer substantive, honest, thoughtful responses to such questions, our teens will go elsewhere for answers. If we do not teach church history to our children, someone else will, whether that teaching is direct and explicit, coming from Christians of other theological backgrounds, or subtle and implicit, taking the form of a secular interpretation of the legacy of Christianity.
Even if teens have not yet asked questions about justification, sanctification, veneration of saints, election, or differing views on the Sacraments, teaching church history presents the truths of systematic theology in their originating context, making otherwise abstract topics concrete and memorable. Learning the history of theological controversies demonstrates the importance and relevance of doctrine in the life of the church. It is difficult to maintain that theological distinctions don’t matter when one has been exposed to the lives and works of men and women who were willing to die for those convictions.
There are good reasons to teach church history, but how exactly is it done? We learn and teach our history so that we may be encouraged in the faith, know how the church has come to be where she is today, and understand why and how the church has clung to her confession of faith through the centuries. The people we meet in church history lived interesting lives marked by conviction, sacrifice, and faithfulness to Christ. Their examples inspire us and remind us that Christians have faced many challenges and difficulties before but that God is always faithful and His Word endures forever. There are as many ways to incorporate a study of church history into the home as families, but here are a few concrete thoughts about how one might approach the task.
I recommend beginning as early as the elementary years by familiarizing children with church fathers, key events, ecumenical councils, and the overarching plot of church history, showing how the history of the church connects to other historical events they have studied. I wrote Journey Through Church History with this stage of learning in mind. In short, with conversational chapters that assume no prior knowledge, it serves as a gentle “first exposure” to the church fathers while also addressing many of the most common historical questions about Christianity.
In the high school years, students should be encouraged to read primary sources—works written by the church fathers themselves. Young adults should also be encouraged to read and study the Book of Concord. In my experience teaching the confessions to high school students, even those who are hesitant or intimidated at the outset are deeply appreciative of the richness, comfort, and clarity of Lutheran theology by the time they finish a course of study on the Lutheran Confessions. When I ask my students what they most appreciate about studying the Book of Concord, they respond that they valued the deep faith conversations their reading prompted them to have in their families, the chance to ask questions, the opportunity to grow in their understanding of Scripture, and their increased confidence in being able to articulate their own theological convictions when asked. These are no minor victories!
When I began my own study of church history, I did so because I had specific historical questions that needed answers. What I found as I met and spent time with the church fathers through their writings was deep encouragement for my own faith walk. The answers to my questions about doctrinal development and historical circumstances may have been academic, but the confidence and joy that comes from witnessing the struggles and faith of the saints of generations past has had a profound impact on day-to-day life. It is deeply encouraging to know that no struggle we face in this century is unique. It is useful to see how various passages of Scripture were read in different cultural contexts. It is amazing to behold the remarkable consistency and clarity of the Christian confession, despite the schisms and heresies that distress Christ’s Bride. A study of church history allows us to zoom out and see the Spirit’s work in the world through a different lens. My conviction is that providing such a study to our young adults will not only increase their intellectual confidence in the teachings of the church but will also encourage them spiritually, helping them to look to the future with joyful expectation, to the past with honesty and respect, and at the present with a confidence that “laughs at the time to come” (Proverbs 31:25).
Scripture: ESV®.