Towards a Biblical and Theological Framework for Child Participation in the Missio Dei

Introduction

Abstract

Children can declare and display the glory of God. In this Lausanne Occasional Paper (LOP), the authors present a compelling case for the ways in which mission to, for, with and by children is a precious gem which the church has a Biblical mandate to unearth, clean off and allow to shine in all its multifaceted splendor. The authors explore how the church’s mandate to engage in the mission of God, which the authors here will refer to as the missio Dei, is not an adult only mandate. Children have a valuable role in the kingdom of God, as kingdom builders. This paper presents a call upon the church in this season to renew her vision of the value and role of children in the kingdom of God and the missio Dei.

Definitions

Children 

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines children as those under the age of 18.¹ For the sake of this LOP, this is the definition which we adhere to. We acknowledge however that the parameters of what is culturally understood as ‘childhood’ and who are understood to be ‘children’ varies from one community to another.

Missio Dei

The term missio Dei denotes a profound theological understanding of mission. David Bosch wrote, ‘Theology, rightly understood, has no reason to exist other than critically to accompany the missio Dei,’ underscoring that mission originates not in the church’s works but in the very character and activity of the triune God.² Rooted in the Latin phrase meaning ‘the mission of God’, missio Dei highlights the dynamic sending relationship within the Trinity: God the Father sending the Son, the Son sending the Spirit, and the triune God sending the church as participants in the unfolding kingdom. ³ As the Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement observes, this paradigm represents a significant shift from understanding mission as ‘church-sending’ to ‘God-sending.’ ⁴  In doing so, missio Dei corrects the triumphalism and power imbalances of earlier missionary movements, where authority was too often centred in the sending church rather than the sending God. Instead, this framework emphasizes the church’s vulnerability and dependence, as a Spirit-empowered yet humble instrument in God’s mission. Within this vision, both adults and children are called to participate as ambassadors of the coming kingdom.

Child Participation 

A well-recognized definition of child participation is that found in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The UNCRC focus on a rights-based approach: that children have the right to express a view and the right to have the view given due weight—crucially, this is all in order to influence decision-making. However, for the purpose of this Lausanne Occasional Paper, the authors have worked with World Vision’s definition of child participation, which is: ‘when children under 18 years of age contribute to decisions and take action on issues that affect their lives.’⁵ The underlying assumption here is that the way that the global church engages with the missio Dei, as expressed by the local church, undeniably affects the lives of children and young people. If the church does not allow, encourage and facilitate the participation of children in the missio Dei, then it will make decisions which affect children’s lives, but without their contributions. 

Hart’s Ladder of Participation 

It is remiss to offer an adequate definition of child participation without referencing American Professor Roger Hart’s ladder of participation. Commissioned by UNICEF in 1992, the work of Hart on the ‘ladder of participation’ is still highly esteemed amongst social scientists, child development specialists, and those in the education sector, as a meaningful way of articulating the different extents to which children can participate in any given context. After conducting research with children in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Hart observed that; ‘. . . children’s participation is becoming fundamental to their [nations’] approach to improving children’s rights.’⁶ In analyzing the different extents to which children can ‘participate’, Hart categorized participation in the following terms:

A Biblical Studies Case for Child Participation

Do children participate in God’s unfolding purposes, or do they simply wait until they have matured enough to take part as adults? Is there biblical justification for wanting children to participate more fully in the church’s life and witness? In any case, who decides who gets to play a role in the life and witness of the church?

We begin with a story of Jesus’ anger. In Mark 10:13-16, children are brought to be blessed by Jesus but are barred from meeting him by the disciples. This act of exclusion by Jesus’ closest followers illustrates the ways children are often treated in society and, sadly, many churches. Following their cultural biases, the disciples assessed the children as unworthy of Jesus’ time and attention. They were to be contained and silenced; they had no business meeting with Jesus.

Jesus, however, saw the children and the situation very differently. He was not honoured by the disciples’ actions but offended. He rebuked the disciples and welcomed and blessed the children. He declared children to be the true heirs and exemplars of the kingdom and urged his followers to see and welcome them and look to them to learn about the kingdom.

This brief story shows us that children are seen by God and play an important role in God’s purposes. By appealing to Scripture, we demonstrate that children’s participation in God’s mission is not only a biblical possibility but a biblical necessity. We believe children to be active in God’s purposes now and not just in the future when they become adults. Reflecting on Scripture, we see that child participation will not always look the same as adult participation. Child participation may have elements of uniqueness, with children participating as children in ways that adults cannot or (perhaps) will not do. On occasion, the very things that might disqualify children in the minds of adults may, in fact, be what God requires at that moment. We, therefore, need to create space for this unique work to be realized.

To participate is defined as ‘to take part in or become involved in an activity’.¹⁸ Applied to the church’s life and mission, all are called to participate. Participation in God’s purposes, in the big story of God’s mission, is part of the DNA of what it means to be a follower of Christ and to be in a Christian community. Among other things, the church is, by its very nature, missional. Humans exist because we are called to take part in God’s mission to reconcile all things to himself (Col 1:19-20). Children are part of our churches, and so children are part of our missional calling, too.

Children’s participation in this mission is often overlooked or even dismissed by the adults around them. We see this as a self-inflicted weakening of the church’s witness, which is diminished by not including the participation of all members of our Christian communities. Put more positively, we are curious to know how the church’s witness could be even more fruitful if children’s agency were to be recognized more and enabled to flourish. In what exciting ways might we grow in number, breadth, and depth because churches recognized, made space for, and learned from the Spirit’s work through children whose participation was embraced and celebrated?

As we survey the biblical story, we see children in and behind the texts. Children and young people are present throughout the biblical narrative, though they are often not in the foreground^.¹⁹ They took part in the exodus from Egypt and witnessed the terrifying and awesome events as God freed the Israelites from slavery and established his covenant with them (Exod 1-14). Apart from Caleb and Joshua, only the younger wilderness generation was able to enter Canaan (Num 32:10-14). Children were present when Jerusalem was established as David’s city, when it became a city of oppression, and when it was destroyed by the Babylonians. Children experienced exile and return, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. They were, of course, present in the stories and communities featured in the gospels and Acts, and as the fledgling church developed, children would have been part of those small communities of God’s people. Children will also be part of the story when Jesus comes again, and God completes his work of making all things new.

What are we to make of their presence (stated or implied) throughout the biblical story? Are children simply passive figures in the unfolding narrative where adults are the ‘real’ actors? Are children just there in the stories as decoration? Writing about the role of children in biblical narratives, Esther Menn reflects:

We would like to suggest that contemporary readers underappreciate the agency and role of children in the Bible because they are undervalued today. ’Why have we overlooked this? We’ve overlooked it because it is telling something about the people we overlook now.’²¹ While we may pay lip service to valuing children, too often, they are ignored and marginalized and relegated to being passive recipients or, at best, secondary characters in our ministries. Perhaps we should be asking instead, ‘How can we adults support children in their ministries?’

Children’s Contribution to a Missional Hermeneutic 

The concept of positioning children as a theological hermeneutic is closely tied to the idea of a missional hermeneutic, as it invites the church to reframe its understanding of mission through the lens of children’s lives and experiences. A missional hermeneutic emphasizes the active participation of all members of the church, not just as recipients of mission but as agents of theological reflection and practice. By recognizing children as integral partners in the missio Dei, or the mission of God, the church can discover new insights into Scripture and mission that emerge from their unique perspective. 

Positioning children as a theological hermeneutic is a means of both generating and discovering new knowledge within the church, and beyond. Through their lives and active participation in mission, children can contribute valuable insights and challenge the church to embrace children’s role as vital agents of theological and missiological reflection.

The 2010 Edinburgh Missionary Conference signalled a shift in missiology by recognizing children not just as objects of mission but as active participants. The theological rationale for this shift lies in Jesus’ elevation of a child among his disciples, as well as the pivotal roles children have historically played in the biblical narrative.²² This important theme has been taken up by missiologists in recent years. For example, in, The African Church and the Child in the Midst: A Theological Reflection, Zimbabwean theologian Victor Nakah addresses the unique and pressing role of children within the African church, in light of both the continent’s youthful demographics and the recent shift of Christianity’s global centre to Africa. Nakah emphasizes that a church devoted to serving the entire world must mobilize the whole church, which he describes as encompassing all categories of people within society: ‘. . . children, young people, young couples, women, men, senior citizens, single parents, people with disabilities, [and] the strangers in our midst’.²³ Reflecting on the place of children within the church, Nakah asserts that, in light of these teachings, the church faces the critical challenge of reclaiming ‘the radicalness of Jesus’ teaching on children’ within different cultural contexts.²⁴ Moreover, Nakah advocates for a deliberate church response to integrate children as ‘partners in the gospel’, believing that children, like any other church members, possess the potential to receive spiritual insights valuable for the church’s collective growth.²⁵

In a similar vein, in Children as Theological Hermeneutic: Is There a New Epistemological Break Emerging?, South African scholar Nico Botha explores the growing recognition of children’s agency within theology and their emerging role as significant participants in Christian mission. Botha’s work is optimistic, observing an increasing number of theologians who take children’s agency seriously, considering them not only as recipients of theological teaching but also as contributors to the theological discourse. The article raises a critical question: ‘Have children become an indispensable theological hermeneutic themselves?’²⁶ Botha asks whether children are providing ‘a new way of believing and theologizing in the context of mission’.²⁷ Botha suggests that children may be ushering in a new epistemological framework, challenging traditional theological methods by embodying a new hermeneutic, or interpretative approach, to understanding Scripture. Through the perspective of children, however, a fundamentally different way of knowing the kingdom of God emerges—Botha asks whether adults within the church and academy are prepared to engage with this new theological insight.²⁸ Affirming the centrality of children in mission theology has transformative potential, placing those on the margins at the centre of theological reflection.²⁹ Botha describes this emerging perspective as a ‘. . . new epistemological break’—a paradigm shift in theology that considers the harsh realities of childhood and seeks to bridge theory with practical action.³⁰ This could transform missiology by grounding it in the lived experiences of children, especially those facing poverty and marginalization. Botha questions whether dominant theological frameworks—such as Latin American liberation theology, feminist theology, and Black theology—sufficiently incorporate the perspectives of marginalized children.³¹ Another scholar who has written along these lines is Ghanaian theologian Ebenezer Tetteh Kpalam, who emphasizes the importance of balancing these perspectives, arguing that children’s involvement in the missio Dei should compel faith communities to recognize and uphold children’s full humanity, just as Jesus did.³² 

What We Learn from Church History about Child Participation

It is notable that the issue of children’s participation in the life of Christian communities of faith (i.e. ‘the church’) is not a new challenge. This question has been approached by some scholars from a church history perspective, with interesting results. For example, Norwegian scholar O.M. Bakke, in When Children Became People, explores the question of how early Christians perceived and treated children.³³ His study centres on primary and secondary sources from approximately 100 to 450 CE. Bakke critiques twentieth-century church historians for largely overlooking children. Building on Bakke’s work critique, it is lamentable that the omission of children from church history which he notes is also true today—the omission of children from theology is a contemporary issue, not only a historical one.

A major contributing factor to the absence of child participation in church history is a methodological one. Since the early Christian sources which are available to historians are not authored by children themselves though, Bakke acknowledges a methodological limitation in accessing the experiences of children within the early church directly. Bakke aims to investigate children’s lived experiences in the early church—attempting to move beyond adult perspectives to understand how children themselves might have experienced life. In this regard, Bakke adopts a stance sympathetic to the notion of child participation. However, he concedes that it is methodologically challenging, if not impossible, to fully capture the thoughts and feelings of children from two millennia ago.³⁴ Arguably, having ethical access to children is still a major hindrance to child participation in theology today. Perhaps this has contributed to a lack of children’s voices in modern theology or in missiology. Certainly, a lack of recognized methods of listening to children both historically and today contributes to the lack of child voices in theology. 

Evidence shows that children’s participation in the church has historically been on a low end of the ladder of child participation. Notably, the practice of infant baptism is arguably the most formal way in which children participated in the church for decades. Bakke dedicates an entire chapter to children’s participation in worship, examining baptism, communion, and other practices.³⁵ He notes that since early Christian gatherings often took place in homes (oikos), children were naturally present, as they were part of the household. It can therefore be assumed that children’s participation in the sacramental life of the early church was frequent, although the depth of their engagement remains ambiguous. William Strange’s Children in the Early Church also reflects on this theme, contending that child participation in Christian sacraments, including infant baptism, was prevalent in the early church.³⁶  However, in terms of the ‘ladder of participation’, the baptism of infants—who are often too young to comprehend the ritual—could be seen as a minimal example of meaningful child participation. Anecdotally, the same can be said today of children’s involvement in church life and in theology—there is an ambiguity to it. Children are both present but not necessarily participants at the same time. To explore the place of children in the history of the church in further depth is beyond the scope and limitations of this paper. Yet noting the absence of and ambiguity around children in church history is itself interesting, and reveals that it is not only contemporary theology and missiology where children’s voices are absent, but in other academic disciplines to which the church looks, such as church history. There is a notable absence of meaningful child participation in church history and in contemporary theology alike.

How Children and Youth Participation is Presented in Scripture

Children’s participation in the biblical story is rich, varied, and nuanced. There are several ways that children and young people feature in the unfolding narrative of the Bible. What becomes clear is that their participation is at times passive and at times active, at times at the forefront and at times in the background. Nevertheless, their participation is necessary, sometimes in contrast to the adults around them.

This section focuses on times when children and young people are actively participating, by word or deed, in God’s purposes. While they may not always know the full significance of what they are doing or saying, this seems secondary to obedience or responsiveness. We highlight several verbs (perceive, speak, signify, and act), although we also recognize the overlap between these categories.

Children Perceive

At certain points in the biblical narrative, God chooses to be heard or recognized by children. When Samuel was a young boy serving and living at the Temple, it was to him that God spoke at a time when the word of the LORD was rare (1 Sam 3:1). We could argue that John the Baptist, while still in the womb, was the first person to ‘recognize’ Jesus, who was also in the womb (Luke 1:39-45). Indeed, Elizabeth declares that the baby in her womb ‘leapt for joy’ (verse 44).

Children Speak

When Jesus rides into Jerusalem for his triumphal entry, crowds accompany and celebrate him, shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ (Matt 21:9). The next day, after Jesus has cleared the temple, who is it that continues to declare and celebrate Jesus’ identity, much to the annoyance of the chief priests and scribes? Not adults, but children. These children are also defended by Jesus, seeing them as an embodiment of the celebration in Psalm 8 that ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’ (Matt 21:15-16; cf. Psalm 8:1-2). ³⁷

In Deuteronomy 6, when Moses instructs the Israelites about their future lives, children are expected to ask questions, and adults are expected to answer them (vv. 20-25). This intentional retelling of the people’s history becomes an important way of affirming their identity and shared story.

When just a boy, David speaks out against the blasphemy of the Philistines and the timidity of the Israelites (1 Sam 17). Indeed, in this story, it is the ‘young David, and none of the more mature and experienced characters, who articulates the theological dimensions of the challenge presented by Goliath.’³⁸

In a very different context, an Israelite girl, herself a slave in Syria, speaks up to advocate for the power and willingness of God to heal her foreign master, Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-4). She is listened to and believed in, and remarkable things occur. We could also reflect on another servant girl, Rhoda, the first witness of Peter’s release from prison (Acts 12:12-17). Isn’t it ironic that this girl is not believed, despite her repeated insistence that Peter is at the door?

Finally, we should acknowledge the theme of God hearing the voice of children. It is reasonable that some of the voices of outcry heard by God in Sodom (Gen 18:20) or Egypt (Exod 2:23-25) were those of children. More particularly, God himself pays attention, for example, to the cries of Ishmael dying in the wilderness (Gen 21:17).

Children Signify

Children can be seen as a sign of the unfolding narrative of the Bible; for example, Ruth gives birth to Obed, David’s grandfather (Ruth 4:17, 22). The prophets sometimes used child-focused imagery to depict the depths of Israel’s sin and circumstances, as well as the possibilities of a remarkable and renewed future. The treatment of the fatherless (along with the widow and the alien) was one way Israel’s covenant faithfulness was revealed (Isa 1:17, 23), and children were themselves participants in Israel’s suffering in times of judgement (Lam 4:4).

Children could be embodied in prophetic signs through their birth or names to convey something God wanted to say to his people (Isa 7:14-17; 8:3-4; 9:6-7; Hosea 1:2-11; 2:23). In powerful visions of the future, the prophets drew on the language and lives of children to communicate the depth of hope and life that would be experienced by the people. Zechariah, for example, looked forward to a time of restored shalom, when children at play would fill the streets alongside contented women and men enjoying old age (Zech 8:4-5). Similarly, Isaiah anticipated the messianic age when peace would be experienced, not least by children playing without fear or danger (Isa 11:8-19).

Children Act

In Exodus 2:1-10, Miriam, Moses’ older sister, plays a courageous and pivotal role in Moses’ rescue and protection. It is not clear whether she was acting on her mother’s instructions or took the initiative herself to approach Pharaoh’s daughter on behalf of Moses. Whatever the case, this girl acted with courage, wisdom, and boldness in a situation of great risk to ensure Moses survived.³⁹ Would an adult have been able to approach Pharaoh’s daughter like this or ask her such a presumptuous question that assumed she would take care of the baby? Only a child could get the job done at this critical moment in the biblical story.

We may also point to the pivotal role a child plays in Jesus’ feeding of the multitude in John 6:1-15. This boy is the only source of food out of the whole crowd (v. 9). Yet, Jesus can take this provision, which is both completely insufficient and more than anyone else contributed, and do something remarkable with it.

This brief review of how children are present and active participants in the biblical story demonstrates possibilities for children’s involvement in contemporary life and witness of the church. Adults should also learn humility from these passages, noting the way children were sometimes readily dismissed by them (such as Rhoda in Acts 12). In conclusion, we may say that these biblical passages suggest several questions for the contemporary church to consider:

Holistic Child Development and Child Participation

Holistic Child Development and Child Participation in the Missio Dei

Reflecting on child participation and the mission of God, I am reminded of an incident in my life. A few years ago, I (Bradley Thompson) was going through a very difficult season. It felt like I was being attacked from every side. My confidence seemed broken, and my faith was at an all-time low. Looking back, I think that I was probably struggling with early symptoms of depression. Full of self-pity, I woke up one August morning and did not want to get out of bed! As I questioned God and why I faced such challenges, my daughter Tirzah, who was about three and a half years old at the time, suddenly ran into the room, climbed up onto the bed and said, ‘Daddy, I want to tell you something. You know something, God really loves you!’ When she said it a second time, I was shocked! How could she have known what I was feeling? What did she know about God’s love? How did she say something so meaningful and profound just when I needed it? My daughter may not remember that incident herself today, but it has stayed with me over the years. When I feel low or discouraged, her statement rings in my ears. ‘Don’t you know God loves you?’ 

Children can be God’s mouthpiece, and his heart, hands, and feet can contribute to his mission on earth. The participation and engagement of children in every aspect of the mission must be central to how we, as the body of Christ, understand and express the kingdom of God. The holistic development of children includes us as a people of faith understanding and enabling children’s participation in the mission of God. 

Holistic Development of Children as an Expression of the Kingdom

The holistic development of children is an expression of the kingdom of God. The kingdom perspective of the holistic, purposeful, and sacred nature of children and their nurture so that they grow into individuals who experience love, reflect God’s image and contribute to his kingdom is important. Jesus himself grew and became strong: he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him (Luke 2:52). The Bible says that Jesus grew and developed mentally, physically, spiritually and socially. This is a template for child development, and if a child does not experience this development mentally, physically, spiritually and socially, they will be impacted negatively. 

Love is a fundamental need or hunger of every child, and children need to experience love to grow holistically.⁴⁰ Keith White discusses five needs that must be addressed for love to grow: being in a safe and secure environment, experiencing boundaries in relationships, knowing their significance, being nurtured in the community, and expressing their creativity as persons who have the image of God.⁴¹ When children receive and give love, they grow and develop well. Child participation recognizes the agency of children and provides opportunities to express themselves and give love in the way God intended it. 

Children, the Image of God, and the Kingdom

The Bible views children as gifts from God, and they are regarded as blessings from him.⁴² God’s heart for children is grounded in the fact that he created humankind in his own image. According to Christian rights advocates, human rights are rooted in the knowledge that every person is created in the image of God. In the book of Genesis, we see the story of the creation of humankind (Gen 1:26). So, by extension, children are created in God’s image and can have a relationship with God (Gen 1:26). The argument that every child is made in God’s image is a fundamental belief of Christian faith and teaching. The psalmist in Psalm 139:13 asserts that he was ‘knit together’ in his mother’s womb by God. Every person is unique and bears a God-given dignity because of the divine image.⁴³ Both girls and boys are created equal, and their identity is that they bear the image of God. This image should not be violated or destroyed but is meant to be cared for and protected at all costs.⁴⁴ Recognizing this image of God in every child helps us recognise the value, identity and dignity of every child irrespective of their circumstances and realise that children have a lot to contribute to their families, communities and the mission of God.

Children are an Expression of Kingdom Promises and Blessings

The Scriptures also recognize children as the fulfilment of God’s promises and a sign of his blessing. Children in the Bible are generally presented as God’s gifts, bringing joy and being recipients of God’s favour.⁴⁵ Human beings are created by God and are affirmed by him to be very good as created. Sin came in, and humans ceased to be where they had been created. But though the original image of God has been marred, it was not taken away. This means that we can see glimpses of God’s design in children. God’s promises to the patriarchs and the nation of Israel are often centred around blessings on individuals, families and their future generations. We see in Genesis chapters 12 to 50 the outworking of God’s promises to Abraham through his descendants. God’s promises are linked to Abraham’s children (Gen 15:1-6). Children’s birth relates to God’s blessing upon an individual or family. Children are presented as a source of joy and love and a sign of fulfilment of God’s promises.⁴⁶ This biblical view celebrating children and childhood, along with a call from God to nurture and care for them, forms a strong foundation for the Christian perspective. Enabling children to participate in God’s mission helps us see God’s promises and blessings in action. 

Children as God’s Agents for Kingdom Mission

Being made in God’s image, creativity and relationality is built intrinsically in every child. Children’s imagination is an ability given by God, along with the capacity to relate with others and grow. The stature of children given by God as creative human beings who can imagine and relate to the world around them is linked to this image and likeness of God himself.⁴⁷ 

We also see that in the Bible, children are important to the mission of God. They are both targets of mission as a key ‘missiological people group’ and carriers of God’s mission in this world.⁴⁸ We see several examples in the Bible of how God used children to do great works.⁴⁹ Children in the Scriptures are depicted as God’s agents or even his ministers to bring about change and transformation, demonstrating the grace, mercy and power of God. Children are not just recipients of ministry by adults but are also ministers.⁵⁰ For example, God selects Samuel to minister to Eli and the faith community. He brought the word of God to Eli and prophesied about the future. David, the young boy, slayed the giant Goliath and won the battle for Saul and Israel (1 Sam 17:31-34). Josiah became king when he was only 8 and he contributed to the nation’s stability (2 Chronicles 34:1). Chapter 8 of the book of Psalms proclaims the majesty and power of God. God is so powerful that he uses the children and infants to silence the enemy.

This Psalm demonstrates that children are powerful when they proclaim God’s greatness and power. God uses poor and weak children to make his power known and glorify himself.⁵¹ This Psalm is quoted by Jesus himself when children praise him in the temple (Matt 21:1-16). Children have the capacity to participate in the mission of God, and the community of faith has a God-given responsibility to nurture children to enable them to join his mission and fulfill his purposes.

The Bible also conveys the idea of the agency of children and God’s desire to use them for his glory. Jesus himself was born as a baby (bringing value to childhood), and he treated children with love and care. We see that Jesus is presented as a child born in a poor environment to Mary and Joseph. This child is the redeemer and saviour of the world (Luke 2:28). God identified with and represented the weak, the poor and the oppressed in Jesus.⁵² The child will grow up in stature and in favour with God and man as a model for nurture and growth (Luke 2:52). Even at a young age, he learns wisdom and can engage with adults discussing the Scriptures. This child will grow up in a relationship with his father to save the world from sin. Thus, God ascribes and affirms value to children and childhood through the incarnate birth.⁵³ The idea that God, through the incarnation, places value on children and childhood is important and aligned with the concept of child rights, which, at its essence, is rooted in the concept that each child born in this world has inherent dignity and value.

In the New Testament, children are also seen as God’s agents of change. The Bible recognises that children can actively fulfil God’s purposes. Jesus himself esteemed children and considered them to represent the kingdom of God and its values. In Matthew 18:3 and 19:13-15, he places a child amid his disciples and says, much to their astonishment, that the child represents the kingdom and anyone who receives the kingdom must become like a child. This meant that one needs to become lowly, vulnerable, dependent, and teachable like a child to receive the kingdom.⁵⁴ Children can be effective agents of change, bringing about change and transformation in the lives of those around them, depending on their age and circumstances.⁵⁵ It is therefore important to explore ways of involving children in the work of mission.

Children as Examples to Follow in the Kingdom of God

In Mark 10:13-16, Jesus is ministering to people, and there is an account of people bringing children so that he may touch them and bless them. When the disciples try to stop the children, Jesus rebukes them and says, ‘Let the children come to me.’ In a context where children were recognized as not important, Jesus bestowed value and dignity. In his eyes, they were important. Children thus have the right to be seen as individuals with intrinsic worth and dignity. In John chapter 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he needs to be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesudason Jeyaraj says that in giving the example that Nicodemus needs to be reborn as a little child, Jesus describes the new birth as the ‘innocence, dependency and vulnerability of a child’.⁵⁶ Jesus called his disciples to welcome children (Mark 9:35-37) in a way that shows love, acceptance, care, and concern. Jesus also said in Matthew 18:5 that when we receive a child, we receive him. 

Justice and Advocacy for Children in the Kingdom of God

The year was 1996. I (Bradley Thompson) was in my first year of a master’s programme in Chennai, enthusiastic and full of zeal to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable people. This was when I came across a group of street-connected children on a metro railway platform one evening on my way back home after a busy day at college. Everything was normal until the train came in. As the train was entering the station, a group of young boys aged between 10 and 15 years ran to get in. One of them slipped and went between the train and the platform. We only heard a loud cry and then all was silent. A life was lost unnecessarily. I was heartbroken and entered the train, wondering how this could have been prevented!

Children face the brunt of poverty and conflict. In many countries, child labour forms part of the nation’s economic structure. Children are often recruited and trained as soldiers. Child sexual abuse is rife and is seen as an alternative to starvation. Thousands of children die of starvation every day. Even when starvation is avoided, malnourishment is such that bodies are stunted and minds permanently damaged. Vulnerable children need to be not just protected and nurtured but also empowered to become advocates and agents of change.

The book of Zechariah articulates an aspect of God’s vision for children. ‘And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof’ (Zech 8:5). Children playing on the streets and actively engaged in an environment of peace and security is an expression of God’s kingdom. As people of faith, we have a responsibility to ensure that children are provided with an environment that enables the nurture, development and empowerment of children, including their active engagement and participation.⁵⁷ Empowering and engaging children gives them a sense of respect, dignity and hope. When children are nurtured, and they encounter the love and grace of Jesus, they become sources of blessing and healing in their homes and communities.

Child Spirituality

Children’s Spiritual Nature and Spiritual Development 

At this stage, it is widely acknowledged that human beings, children included, are complex beings composed of different dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual. The Convention of the Rights of the Child refers to this idea of’ holistic development’ in article 27: ‘The child has the right to a standard of living which will allow physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development’.⁵⁸ As a result, public and private, global and local entities are increasingly adjusting their proposals to provide a more multi-dimensional approach to their programmes for children. However, among these human dimensions, there is one that is not well enough understood and tends to receive less attention than the others: the spirituality of children. There are some reasons for this: first, there seems to be confusion between concepts such as ‘spirituality’, ‘religion’ and ‘faith’. Second, the spiritual dimension is intangible by nature, which makes it difficult to assess, measure, and control. These dimensions are essential for acceptance as ‘true’ in the modern scientific world and for being attractive to supporters in the nonprofit world.⁵⁹ Finally, because of the adult worldview, as young children communicate in ways that adults are incapable of fully understanding, their experiences of God and the sacred are often discarded and denied. Peter Benson puts it in other ways: issues related to religion and spirituality are ‘politically sensitive and philosophically difficult’.⁶⁰

Understanding Spirituality

Spirituality comes from the Latin spiritus which means ‘breath of life’.⁶¹ It differs from religion, as religion is ‘an organized system of beliefs, practices, rituals and symbols designed: 1) To facilitate closeness to the sacred or transcendent, and 2) To foster an understanding of one’s relationship and responsibility to others in living together in the community’.⁶² Faith, on the other hand, according to Christian British theologian and philosopher John Hick, is ‘The human response to the divine initiative. It is not a mere intellectual assent to certain propositions but a trustful commitment of the self to the God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. Faith involves an act of will as well as of understanding; it is an obedient trust and not just an intellectual conviction.’⁶³ In contrast, although words and emphasis may vary, spirituality has been associated, by faith and non-faith settings, with the ‘search for meaning and purpose, through connectedness with other people, the natural world and (in the experience of many) the Divine.’⁶⁴

Dr Christina Puchalski, founder and director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, provides a broad and useful definition of spirituality: 

Thus, some conclusions can be made according to wider research, and notably from these definitions. First, two main elements stand out when talking about spirituality: life’s meaning and purpose and the sense of connectedness (with the sacred, the self, other humans and the environment). Second, spirituality is broader than religion and is inherent to all human beings regardless of their ethnic origin, gender, social status, or faith tradition. In that sense, a person can be ‘spiritual’ despite not identifying with a religion. Third, spirituality is an intrinsic human capacity, just like the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual human dimensions.⁶⁶ In that sense, spirituality is an anthropological and universal phenomenon. In addition to these conclusions, further theories, such as the ‘God Spot’ (Leonardo Boff)⁶⁷ or emerging fields of research, such as ‘neurotheology’ or ‘spiritual neuroscience’ (Sayadmansour),⁶⁸ are trying to map out the brain’s reaction to spiritual experience. They emphasize that the Creator created human beings with a predisposition towards spirituality⁶⁹ in such a way that they are ‘wired for spirit.’⁷⁰ Furthermore, Maria Andrade’s research found that spirituality can be nurtured in every culture and every faith and non-faith setting through sacred practices and non-sacred daily activities. In that sense, ‘ordinary can be spiritual’ if there is awareness and intentionality.⁷¹

Finally, this quote from Brazilian theologian Ivonne Gebara summarizes the meaning, scope and potential of spirituality in a beautiful way:

Nurturing Children’s Spirituality

We have seen that spirituality, faith, and religion are three different concepts, but they are still related. Because spirituality is inherent to human beings, it can be nurtured through non-sacred, ordinary, daily life activities and personal attitudes. This means that spiritual development can take place in any setting without a particular infrastructure or additional costs. For children facing forced migration, for example, basic activities such as resting, sharing a meal, walking outside (without hiding), or playing can be spiritually nurturing. This is because these activities can help these children ‘find sense from their suffering, rebuild their identity and connect to themselves, to the moment they are living to others and to transcendence.’⁷³

Dr Christina Puchalski, founder and director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, provides a broad and useful definition of spirituality: 

However, the fact that spirituality is not restricted to religious people and settings does not mean that faith and religion do not play an important role in strengthening it. In fact, especially in faith-based settings (like churches and Christian schools) and among religious individuals and communities (many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, which have become the new poles of Christianity), activities like prayer, worship, Bible reading and verse memorizing, liturgies, pastoral care, and fellowship are, without doubt, extremely powerful. An example of this is provided by World Vision and Viva’s joint research, a conversation around the Mustard Seed engendered very profound reflections in children: 

Finally, Rebecca Nye proposed six criteria for ensuring children’s spiritual foundations: Space, Process, Imagination, Relationship, Intimacy, and Trust–S.P.I.R.I.T. ‘Space’ includes physical and emotional space, while ‘Process’ stresses the image of spirituality as a journey in which the present moment is as important as the future outcome. ‘Imagination’ refers to facilitating creativity, questioning and inventing answers. ‘Relationship’ recalls the already-mentioned component of connectedness within spirituality. ‘Intimacy’ provides a sense of safety to experience, and, finally, ‘Trust’ refers to the environment that needs to be fostered among children and adults, expressed through attitudes, actions and verbal and non-verbal language.⁷⁶

The Role of Spirituality in Helping Children at Risk Be Resilient 

When spirituality is not cared for

Experience and research have demonstrated that, although very tangible responses like Maslow’s bottom layer (shelter, food, clothing) and even humanitarian assistance related to physical and mental health, access to education, opportunities to play and vocational training are important for children experiencing adversity, they are not enough for children to effectively thrive in the midst of the obstacles they face. In fact, psychologist Ronnie Janoff-Bulman affirmed that traumatic events shatter three inherent assumptions: the overall benevolence of the world, the meaningfulness of the world, and self-worth.⁷⁷ As a result, children are led to deal with very deep questions about the existence of God, the purpose of their life, their sense of being alive, and their worth as human beings, which, as it was explained in the previous section, ultimately relate to their spirituality.

Janoff-Bulman’s theory resonates with Gillian Mann’s findings through ethnographic research with Congolese children living in Tanzania as refugees. Mann found out that, despite having access to humanitarian aid and being technically less at risk than in their country of origin, children experienced feelings of betrayal, humiliation, and having been cast aside. These feelings were exacerbated by a sense of being suspended in a boring and meaningless present in which the future was so uncertain and beyond control that it was sometimes unimaginable.⁷⁸ ‘Lost generation’, ‘a waste’, ‘a miserable life’, ‘worse than anything ever experienced’, and ‘boring and meaningless’ were some of the shocking expressions that these children used to describe how they view themselves and their lives. This led Mann to talk about a state of spiritual death, in which life has no meaning.⁷⁹ As these children had lost the meaning of their lives, and their sense of connectedness (with God, themselves, others and their environment) was deeply damaged, their spirituality was broken; then healing, nurturing and caring for their spirituality had the potential to instill hope and build resilience.

World Vision and Viva’s recent research with children from six different countries found out that, in order for children to flourish and grow as kingdom builders, they have to fulfil different types of needs, including very tangible assets (like safe spaces, food, clean water) and services (health care, education), as well as other less tangible needs, like coping skills and a connection with God.⁸⁰ This is consistent with other findings that have proven that these ‘less-tangible’ strategies related to mental and emotional health, hope engendering, resilience, relationship building, advocacy, and, of course, nurturing spirituality are crucial to ensuring holistic, child-focused, and sustainable development.⁸¹ This is true for every child, but it is particularly useful for ministries focused on children experiencing some adversity, like violence, neglect, abuse, deprivation, loss, discrimination and trauma, because it means that focusing on the tangible needs will never be enough to help children overcome the adversity they face. 

In the specific case of Christian and church ministries, not acknowledging and intentionally addressing children’s spiritual needs would prevent them from fulfilling their most meaningful and unique role, as faith communities are the most legitimate ‘experts’ in the field of spirituality from all societies. In other words, across all the different stakeholders who can potentially be interested in responding to children’s needs, there is no one, not the government, secular NGOs, or enterprises, who will know how to nurture children’s spirituality as faith communities do. So, if faith communities don’t do it, they lose the opportunity to serve God through serving children in a unique way, but, more importantly, children and the whole society lose.

The Magic Triangle for Children at Risk: Spirituality, Hope and Resilience

Research on the relationship between spirituality, hope, and resilience has increased in recent years, especially in contexts of trauma, violence, poverty, disease, and death. Resilience is the capacity for children facing adversity to respond to the challenges they face and turn from ‘passive victims’ to ‘active survivors’.⁸² Hope, on the other hand, ‘is an intuition, an expectation that something good will happen, that the worst will be over, and a new beginning will dawn.’⁸³ Hope is extremely powerful for children at risk because it allows them to imagine possibilities other than those that surround them, gives them the determination to transform and fuels them with the strength to move forward despite the obstacles. However, spiritual awareness helps engender realistic hope because it helps people find meaning in life, make sense of suffering, find a sense of support and protection, feel valued and accepted, and cope with uncertainty.⁸⁴ In this regard, Mike Dugal proposed the term ‘spiritual resilience’ to express the ‘capacity of the spirit (loving, understanding, forgiving or generously serving others), the mind (to think rationally, objectively and in a balanced way) and the body (to operate healthily).⁸⁵

Existing research on the role of spirituality in building resilience among children and youth facing adversity is varied and is increasing. A study of Australian adolescents attending a religious organization revealed that spiritual well-being contributed to resilience through encouraging healthy behaviours, providing social support, fostering family connectedness and engendering positive emotions. ⁸⁶ Janine Jones, in 2007, investigated 71 Afro-American children living in a poor neighbourhood in Texas and found that spirituality, expressed through a strong sense of connectedness with other people—notably with adult role models—contributed to children’s adaptation and reduced symptoms of traumatic stress. Another study was conducted by Wahl, Cotton and Monroe (2008) with two adolescents from the Juvenile Justice System in Arizona who had experienced loss and neglect and now presented a high risk of suicide; one of them was a Christian, and the other was a Native American. This study evidenced that spiritual care, provided by spiritual leaders from their respective religious traditions, was key in reducing suicidal tendencies, healing their emotions and overcoming their existential crises. Similarly, Sundararajan-Reddy’s research with 274 adolescents from two secondary schools in 2005 suggested that adolescents who find meaning and purpose in their lives in difficult situations have more potential to build resilience and not develop behavioural problems.⁸⁷ 

A 2017 investigation with migrant children in Central America pointed out that the hope for a better life, together with the certainty that God is the migrant’s ‘travelling companion who blesses and protects them’, created such a strong narrative that it is very hard to dissuade them from migrating.⁸⁸ A more recent study on the role played by African spirituality in the provision of kinship care in the South African context found that African spirituality helped children and youth preserve both their cultural and personal identity and experience a positive upbringing through their kinship caregivers and tribal community. African kinship caregivers were found to offer care as a spiritual duty to help children and youth who need protection in the absence of their birth parents: ‘I (kinship caregiver) could say this is where (a family that observes African spirituality) a child (in kinship care) learns more about their background, which subsequently leads to the realization of their true self and the ways they are expected to carry themselves amongst other people.’⁸⁹ In general, a closer look at existing research shows that in the Global South—unlike the Global North—spirituality is particularly rooted and nurtured in community and through cultural practices, which makes sense given the great importance of the sense of family and relationships.

Embracing one’s spirituality as an unconditional ally is a powerful truth for all children facing adversity: when everything seems to be taken away—everything that provides physical, emotional, social, and intellectual well-being—spirituality will never go away. Spirituality cannot be taken away or discarded because it is inherent to every human being, which means that it will always be possible to heal, nurture, and benefit from it. Spirituality can always be the ‘internal engine’ that propels the search for connectedness, meaning, purpose, and contribution, which are key to engendering hope and building resilience.

A Case for Child Participation from a Child Spirituality Lens 

Children as spiritual subjects and agents of their own spirituality

In order to illustrate the perspectives, depth and potential of children’s spirituality, this section will use the parable of the soil and the mustard seed, also used by Ana Berástegui.⁹⁰ From Aristotle’s time, adults have considered children too young and incapable of understanding and experiencing something as deep as spirituality, which resonates with Piaget’s cognitive development theory.⁹¹ According to this perspective, children are ‘incomplete adults’ and ‘empty vessels’ that need to be filled out by adult knowledge, so spirituality needs to be taught, introduced, and transmitted. Following the metaphor of the soil and the seed, this perspective considers children as ‘potential spiritual beings’: they are like fertile soil that needs adult people—family, religious leaders, and other meaningful adults—to sow the spiritual seed. In order to do it, the soil needs to be prepared, weeded, and fertilized, so that in adult life, the seed can germinate. This assumption not only comes from a very adult perspective, but it also comes from a Western worldview which considers knowledge to be superior to experience; therefore, children’s pre-religious spiritual experiences go despised or unrecognized because they are not expressed in adult religious language and codes.

This perspective permeated James Fowler’s stages of faith,⁹² but it was challenged by other perspectives that viewed children not as ‘potential spiritual beings’ but as ‘full spiritual beings’. Using Berástegui’s⁹³ metaphor of the seed and the soil, children would be like good soil where God has already planted a seed, which has started growing from the very beginning of life. As such, it can be a small green sprout, childish, like every other system in their body. However, ‘childish’ should be seen as a specific way of perceiving, experiencing, connecting and relating to the world, but not an inferior way of doing so: 

Aiming to nurture children’s spirituality without acknowledging them as full spiritual beings can lead to overprotection or mistrust, placing it in spaces ‘just for children’, giving them everything pre-chewed, in small portions, in trivial, superficial and ‘infantile’ ways. Doing this can stifle the need for exploration and wonder that are inherent in the spiritual quest. 

Jesus’ church transformed by Jesus’ children: implications of child participation in the church

Following Berástegui’s thinking, Rebecca Nye made a case for children’s full and legitimate spiritual dimension. She went further still: she claimed that children from a young age have experiences of God’s presence but, furthermore, she affirmed that childhood is a particularly sensitive stage for spiritual awareness:

This has two implications for theology, mission, pastoral care, and ecclesiology. First, the issue is not if children have spiritual experiences but how adult people can acknowledge, understand, and accompany children as agents of their own spiritual development. Second, if children are more spiritually awakened than adults, instead of adults ‘pouring spirituality out’ in children, it is adults who might need to learn from them.

A beautiful passage that illustrates children’s spiritual identity and its agency to transform adult people is in Luke 1:39-56. Here, pregnant Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, who is also pregnant. The passage narrates the encounter of two very young children, baby Jesus and baby John, connecting from their mothers’ wombs. The experience is more than physical, and their reaction goes beyond language: ‘The baby (John) leapt in the womb’. Although ‘leaping of joy’ may not be considered a sign of spiritual awareness according to adults’ religious codes, it is undeniable that baby John experienced a spiritual connection with Mary and baby Jesus as soon as Mary’s greetings reached Elizabeth’s ears. But this is not all: baby John’s spiritual experience led his mother to also experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In that sense, baby John was a channel of his mother’s spiritual conversion. Once Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, she becomes the prophet who declares a blessing upon Mary as well as upon the child that she bears, who she calls ‘my Lord’. Elizabeth’s confession often goes unnoticed—the one that church tradition mostly recalls is Peter’s—but the fact that Elizabeth’s spiritual conversion took place because of her baby boy in her womb is usually even less seen. The fruit of the encounter of these four human beings, all of them in their full spiritual capacity expressed in their very own ways, is one of the most beautiful, powerful and prophetic poems of the Scriptures: Mary’s Magnificat.

Conclusion

Children’s spirituality is like the growth of the mustard seed in children’s fertile soil, which is cared for by God’s hands: it is a mystery, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden, but it exists, and it brings hope to the world. Children’s spiritual development requires trust in God, who cares for the good soil and makes the seed grow, but also trust in children themselves, as full and capable beings who have agency in their own development. The small seed, through sacred moments but also during the most ordinary life, grows to become a big mustard tree; it can even grow amidst the most difficult situations. Because spirituality is a special type of seed inherent to children’s fertile soil, it will always be there as a unique and unavoidable resource to help children flourish holistically. In this process, adults are called to be children’s companions, journeying with them with intentionality, celebration and awe, as they grow spiritually too.

What is the Status of Child Participation in Missiology? 

One of the foremost challenges that the church faces today is to seek to participate in God’s mission and to do so ‘to, for, and with children.’⁹⁶ Missiology, as a discipline whose aim is to equip the church to faithfully and effectively live out her calling as she participates in God’s mission, faces the same challenge insofar as children are concerned. It is within this challenge that the issue of child participation has become a critical reflection issue for missiology. Although missiology has traditionally not been significantly focused on the role of children in missions over the past few decades, there’s been a shift towards recognizing children’s value in mission work. The Lausanne Movement, for example, has continuously emphasized the message that the church needs to ‘take children seriously, through fresh biblical and theological enquiry . . . and . . . seek to train people and provide resources to meet the needs of children worldwide.’⁹⁷ Other groups like the 4/14 Window Movement have also created spaces such as their Missiology Conference held in Seoul, Korea, February 26-28, 2013, for stakeholders to deepen their understanding of the role of children in missions. 

This section explores the current state of child participation in missiology, analyzing critical issues and challenges. It also looks at the status of child participation in missions within the NGO sector and the lessons that missiology could learn from that. The section argues that child participation in missiology is gaining traction, but limited focus exists. Scholars are now focusing on understanding children’s perspectives within missiology. It must be noted, though, that complex issues are faced when dealing with children and Christian missions. In addition, despite the shift, child-related missiology literature remains scarce in major mission journals. 

The Evolving Status of Child Participation in Missiology

Although children have been part of God’s mission for centuries, missiological research only began to prominently focus on them during the ‘later part of the nineteenth century.’⁹⁸ Early missiological literature on children often portrayed them as passive recipients of mission work and charity beneficiaries rather than active contributors.⁹⁹ William Prevette et al. emphasize this, further stating that children were traditionally seen as needing salvation but not actively involved in mission work.¹⁰⁰ 

Nonetheless, by the mid-20th century, there began to be a turning point, particularly with the introduction of children-focused Christian organizations such as World Vision and Compassion International in the 1950s. While these organizations did bring more attention to the needs of children globally, David Scott argues that much literature is still ‘focused on the needs and concerns of adults rather than the needs and concerns of children.’¹⁰¹ In fact, it was only after the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was developed in the 1980s that conversations around children’s right to participation in religious life and the recognition of child agency really began to take shape.¹⁰²

The 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a significant shift in theological and missiological scholarship, with a growing focus on children’s perspectives, their experiences and participation in missions. Two key factors influenced this shift.  Firstly, the rise in global conflict and reports such as Graça Machel’s 1996 UN report on ‘The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children’ drew significant attention to the plight of children at risk.¹⁰³ It is then that missiologists such as Doug McConnell, Jennifer Orona and Paul Stockley began to explore biblical and theological frameworks for ‘supporting children at risk’ ¹⁰⁴ while ‘further strengthening the call for child participation within mission work.’¹⁰⁵ In addition, the multidisciplinary expansion of childhood studies to incorporate fields such as sociology, anthropology, history, geography and theology offered new understandings of children and their agency. Works such as those of Marcia Bunge’s edited volume The Child in Christian Thought ¹⁰⁶ and contributions of people such as Keith White and Haddon Wilmer of the Child Theology Movement provided a foundation for understanding children’s perspectives within theology.¹⁰⁷‌

Understanding the Historical Context of Limited Child Participation in Missions

Before delving into contemporary trends of child participation in missiology, it is important to examine the historical context that led to their limited involvement or lack of prioritization within missions. 

Throughout history, changing cultural and religious views about children have significantly impacted their roles within society and their involvement in mission work.¹⁰⁸ According to Prevette et al., five key images have historically shaped how missiology has viewed and engaged children: ‘inherently innocent; inherently sinful; situated in the family; vulnerable and suffering; and Christian-adult-in-the-making.’ Unfortunately, these images have often taken away children’s agency and rendered them passive participants in missions until they are adults.¹⁰⁹

The above views have further been exacerbated by debates on whether children are able to grasp what it means to have faith and as such make an informed choice in religious matters.¹¹⁰ These debates have drawn on various perspectives. For example, studies adopting a psychological lens have looked at cognitive development theories such as those of Piaget¹¹¹ and Erikson¹¹² to examine how each development stage can influence a child’s understanding of faith and their participation in religious activities.¹¹³ In addition, scholars interested in children’s rights have explored how children’s participation in religious matters should enhance and contribute to their sense of self, but this participation must be balanced with upholding their rights.¹¹⁴ Despite the various schools of thought, scholars such as Scott have concluded that there needs to be a fundamental shift in theological thinking about children, a shift that recognizes children’s inherent value and dignity within the faith community.¹¹⁵

Beyond developmental and cultural considerations, it is also important to note that adult resistance has significantly limited children’s participation in missiology. As Scott states, ‘Adults tend to resist the potential value of child participation most strenuously’ and quite often are ‘unlikely to’ take the perspectives and contributions of children ‘very seriously’.¹¹⁶ Some scholars have attempted to justify this using frameworks such as Hart’s Ladder of Participation. However, Reddy and Ratna argue that this framework rather focuses on adult control over children’s participation.¹¹⁷ Shaw and Constantineanu further exemplify this notion, arguing that churches and mission fields often have limited and pre-defined spaces for children and youth that are ‘planned, established, and run by adults’.¹¹⁸ Ultimately, such limitations hinder their potential to actively participate in shaping faith and missions.

Understanding the historical context of child participation in missions reveals a complex interplay between evolving perceptions of childhood, adult resistance, and theological debates. These factors significantly shaped the limited opportunities children traditionally had to participate actively in mission work. Examining these historical underpinnings is crucial for exploring and advocating for a more inclusive approach to child participation in contemporary missiology.

Current Trends and Concerns

Today, the landscape of child participation in missiology has undergone a radical shift with regard to not just how children participate in missions but also how their contributions are encouraged and viewed. As Prevette et al. illustrate, children are now recognized as capable of being witnesses to their faith through their actions and interactions with others, not just in ‘traditional mission fields’ such as churches but also in their day-to-day lives.¹¹⁹ This shift has brought both opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, modern mission programs have become more professional and have begun utilizing technology and advanced evaluation and fundraising methods to amplify their reach and effectiveness.¹²⁰

However, these programmes have also been subjected to growing social, political and legal complexities that have made it more difficult for Christian missions to be strictly religious.¹²¹ This has been largely shaped by two key reasons. Firstly, while missiological programs have predominantly had a positive impact on children worldwide, there have also been instances of harm caused by religious organizations promoting discriminatory programmes.¹²² As a result of this, ensuring children’s safety and well-being has become paramount in any mission activity. Missiologists now grapple with crucial ethical questions such as how do they ‘proclaim the Gospel without alienating minors from their families and exploiting their vulnerabilities’ or how do they ‘safeguard the personal integrity of juveniles and show respect for their upbringing and not betray the missionary mandate’?¹²³ Ultimately, as Mark Oxbrow argues, successful child participation in missions requires the development of new missionary models that prioritize child safety, autonomy, and well-being.¹²⁴

It is also worth noting that a rise in theological divisions between evangelical and liberal Christians has also complicated how children ‘get exposed to and encounter the Good News today’.¹²⁵ Both groups diverge in their views on social issues, interpretation of the Bible and approaches to sharing faith. One could argue that the lack of a unified approach can lead to confusion, uncertainty, and difficulty in developing a clear understanding of Christian beliefs and practices. 

Key Missiologists in Child Participation 

An important thing to remember as one considers the issue of key missiologists in child participation is learning from other disciplines in the general area of child participation. Research in education, development and psychology related to child participation has helped to enrich the area. For example, Anne E. Streaty Wimberly is known for her pioneering work in child theology and religious education.¹²⁶ 

Some people have contributed to discourses on child participation or theology, such as Elizabeth Waldron Barnett, John Baxter-Brown, Rosalee Velloso Ewell, Stephan de Beer, Paul Joshua Bhakiaraj, Marcia J. Bunge, Mark Oxbrow, etc., who contributed to a seminal work ‘Theology, Mission and Child: Global Perspectives’ in contribution to Edinburgh 2010, the centenary of the World Missionary Conference, and specifically on ongoing studies in mission.¹²⁷ It would be good also to highlight people such as Kirsteen Kim, a leading voice in global missiology who has written extensively on issues related to children, youth, and mission.¹²⁸ Her work on contextual theologies of childhood and youth ministry, which highlighted the diversity of children’s experiences and perspectives in different cultural contexts, is of particular importance. 

Bill Prevette and his colleagues have been instrumental in highlighting the potential of children as active witnesses to their faith, moving beyond traditional views of children as passive recipients.¹²⁹ Hans-Georg Grundmann offers a critical perspective, acknowledging the positive impact of Christian missions on children’s lives globally while also confronting the documented cases of harm.¹³⁰ He delves into the theological complexities of integrating children into mission work, prompting discussions on ethical considerations and safeguarding practices.  

While these are recent contributions, the foundation for this field stretches back further.  Martin Luther’s creation of the first children’s catechism and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s advocacy for religious education for children laid earlier groundwork.  The Child Theology Movement, with its edited volume Theology, Mission, and Child: Global Perspectives,¹³¹ further demonstrates the growing interest in this area. Additionally, figures like Phyllis Kilbourn, a missionary whose work provided practical guidance for Christians working with vulnerable children globally, and scholars like Dan Brewster, who explored the intersection of children, church, and mission, all contribute to this evolving conversation.¹³² There are also good contributions in God’s Heart for Children¹³³ that emphasize the importance of integrating children into mission efforts while offering a broad view of how this can be achieved across different cultures and contexts.

What is the Status of Child Participation in Missiology in the NGO Sector? 

Research on child participation, specifically within missiology in the NGO sector, remains scarce, with more scholarship exploring the use of religion in international aid.¹³⁴ Nonetheless, there has been a rise of Christian NGOs whose mission to children is ‘responding to their physical and social as well as their spiritual needs.’¹³⁵ Many of these organizations’ mission strategies are influenced by the ‘4-14 Window’ concept, which suggests that this age is more receptive to religious beliefs. ¹³⁶ Despite this, it is important to note that the efforts of many of these organizations primarily target child welfare, education, and children’s rights rather than explicit spiritual conversion or growth. As a result, many of these NGOs tend to be humanitarian and relief aid organizations such as World Vision and Compassion International, which run various child sponsorship and relief aid programs globally.

Beyond humanitarian organizations, Christian education has emerged as a powerful strategy for reaching children and youth, as evidenced by the global proliferation of faith-focused schools and extracurricular programmes.¹³⁷ This approach aims not only to provide basic needs and education but also to nurture young minds and hearts in a Christian worldview, fostering potential future missionaries and leaders within the faith.¹³⁸

Current Trends Shaping Child Participation in Missiology 

Several key trends are emerging within the discourse on child participation in missiology. These trends highlight the evolving nature of faith formation and engagement in the contemporary world.

Decision-making

First and foremost, there is a growing emphasis on including children’s voices in decision-making processes within faith-based organizations.¹³⁹ Reports published by NGOs such as World Vision¹⁴⁰ and Plan International¹⁴¹ have repeatedly emphasized the need to empower children to participate in key decision-making. This shift aligns with broader movements advocating for children’s rights, agency and participation in spheres that directly impact them. Furthermore, as various studies suggest, child participation in religious activities can have positive benefits, including fostering a sense of agency, ownership, and responsibility.¹⁴² However, it is important to note that, as alluded to above, further exploration is needed to understand how different NGO contexts can effectively integrate child participation while ensuring age-appropriate engagement and respecting children’s rights.

Child missions

In addition to the above, the rise of the interconnected world fostered by globalization has brought both opportunities and challenges for child missions.¹⁴³ On one hand, the emergence of the internet and social media has expanded boundaries and made it easier for children and youth to connect with others globally. Short-term mission trips have also facilitated the space for youth to foster an understanding of faith in other contexts.¹⁴⁴ However, globalization has also created tensions, particularly as people navigate between cultural and Christian identities.¹⁴⁵ Furthermore, the uneven distribution of globalization has also bred the assumption that all children are equally participating in missiology. Ultimately, to increase child participation in this field, missiologists will need to navigate these complexities while prioritizing cultural sensitivity and fostering a faith that celebrates diversity while transcending geographical boundaries.

Technology

It is also worth noting that the rise of technological advancements and the digital age have reshaped the missions landscape, particularly in relation to Generation Z.¹⁴⁶ This generation is characterized by factors such as increased exposure to social media, a prevalence of moral relativism, and potential resistance to traditional methods of faith-sharing.¹⁴⁷ The rise of a globally interconnected youth, shaped by social media, has forced mission organizations to adapt. This necessitates not only resonating with younger generations’ concerns and communication styles but also mitigating the potential risks of social media exposure, such as cyberbullying and negative influences.¹⁴⁸  

Parenting in a secularized world 

Another key trend is the fact that parents—particularly those actively involved in their faith—are grappling with effectively disciplining and raising their children in an increasingly secularized environment.¹⁴⁹ While clergy acknowledge the importance of parents, churches, and Christian communities in a child’s spiritual development, there seems to be a disconnect between this belief and the level of support churches offer parents.¹⁵⁰ This points to a need for faith-based organizations to develop more robust resources and programmes that equip parents to effectively disciple their children and encourage them to participate in missions. These trends underscore the dynamic nature of child participation and youth missions in the contemporary context. As these areas continue to evolve, further research is needed to explore effective strategies for fostering meaningful engagement with children and youth in the ever-changing landscape of faith formation.

What could Missiology Learn about Child Participation from the NGO Sector?

The field of missiology, which traditionally focuses on adult missions and their related issues, is experiencing a shift towards acknowledging the potential of children as active participants in faith formation and mission work. While missiology grapples with integrating children’s voices, the NGO sector offers a wealth of experience in fostering child participation, presenting valuable lessons that can be adapted to the missiological contexts. This section explores key areas where missiology can learn from the NGO model while acknowledging the challenges and opportunities for collaboration. 

Empowering Children’s Voices and Rights-based Approaches

One crucial lesson is the importance of empowering children’s voices. Organizations such as World Vision and Plan International have illustrated that prioritizing children’s perspectives in decision-making is imperative to ensure that children’s voices are heard and empowered.¹⁵¹ As many scholars argue, ‘children must be fully respected as persons . . . viewed as agents’ with the potential to impact missiology greatly.¹⁵² Therefore, missiologists need to adopt frameworks that enable them to create spaces for children to participate and to be heard. However, as they create these spaces, it is important that they ensure participation is age-appropriate and respects children’s rights, as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.¹⁵³

Safeguarding Measures and Contextualization

Another key area of learning lies in safeguarding children. NGOs operate within a framework that prioritizes child safety through robust policies and procedures. Missiologists can learn from these best practices to develop comprehensive safeguarding frameworks for child involvement in missions. This includes creating safe spaces for children to express themselves and ensuring informed consent from both children and their parents.¹⁵⁴ 

Contextualization 

Furthermore, just as effective NGO programmes consider children’s specific needs and contexts, missiology can also benefit from a contextualized approach, recognizing the diverse cultural and religious backgrounds of children participating in missions.¹⁵⁵ While a contextualized approach can be beneficial, it is worth noting criticisms regarding the risk of it diverting from biblical truth and identity to make it more palatable to others.¹⁵⁶ 

Mentorship and Peer Support

NGOs frequently utilize mentorship programmes to empower children.¹⁵⁷ Missiology can adapt this approach by creating mentorship opportunities within faith communities. Pairing older youth or adults with younger children can provide guidance, role models, and a sense of belonging.¹⁵⁸ Additionally, fostering peer support networks among children involved in missions can create a sense of community and shared purpose.

A Focus Beyond Humanitarian Aid

While humanitarian aid dominates the NGO-child participation landscape, missiology can glean insights from other areas. The proliferation of faith-based schools by NGOs offers a model for ‘education as mission’.¹⁵⁹ Here, missiology can explore how educational institutions can nurture young minds and hearts in a Christian worldview while fostering future missionary leaders.¹⁶⁰  

Technology and Innovation

NGOs are increasingly leveraging technology to engage children and young people.¹⁶¹ Missiologists can learn from these strategies to develop innovative and engaging ways to connect with younger generations shaped by the digital age.¹⁶² This could involve creating interactive online platforms for faith exploration similar to ‘The Bible Project’ or ‘YouVersion’ utilizing social media for positive outreach by fostering online discussions and promoting cultural sensitivity in mission trip campaigns, or developing age-appropriate mobile apps for daily devotionals, virtual volunteering, or learning about different cultures and religions.¹⁶³ However, it is crucial to acknowledge the potential pitfalls of technology, such as cyberbullying, which may negatively affect a child’s faith and spirituality.¹⁶⁴ By prioritizing responsible online practices and fostering critical thinking skills, missiology can leverage the digital age to empower young people to be active participants in shaping the future of faith.

Collaboration and Mutual Learning

Collaboration between missiology and the NGO sector can further enhance child participation.  Developing joint programs could combine the strengths of both sectors. Missiologists can contribute their theological expertise, while NGOs offer their experience in child-centred approaches and safeguarding.¹⁶⁵ This collaboration should also be expanded to other key actors, such as schools, governments, and parents, who contribute to children’s development and spiritual formation.¹⁶⁶ Regular exchange of knowledge and best practices through conferences, workshops, and online forums can foster mutual learning and innovation in child participation strategies. Furthermore, collaborative research can delve deeper into the impact of child participation in both mission and NGO contexts and inform future program development and advocacy efforts.¹⁶⁷ 

Conclusion

The landscape of child participation in missiology is undergoing a transformation. While the potential benefits are significant, there are challenges to navigate.  One key challenge lies in power dynamics.  Ensuring genuine child participation within hierarchical structures of Christian organizations and churches requires careful attention. Missiologists need to create safe spaces for children to express their views without fear of judgment.¹⁶⁸  Furthermore, theological debates within Christianity regarding children’s capacity for faith and appropriate methods of religious instruction need to be addressed to ensure inclusive and respectful participation.¹⁶⁹ Finally, respecting diverse cultural perspectives on childhood and religious education is crucial. Missiologists can learn from the intercultural competence fostered within the NGO sector.¹⁷⁰ Ultimately, further research is needed to explore the long-term impact of child participation on both children and mission endeavours. Additionally, developing collaborative research initiatives with the NGO sector and other stakeholders can offer valuable insights on how missiologists can embrace a more inclusive approach to child participation and empower future generations to become active shapers of faith. 

A Case Study on Child Participation in Ecotheology / Creation Care 

The increasingly critical and undeniable environmental crisis has made the world more aware of the impact of the human race in provoking it. At this stage, there is enough evidence to affirm that, although the planet has experienced eras of massive extinction in the past, unlike the past six, this one is provoked by human activity. The irony of this global crisis is that those who experience its most deadly effects are those who contribute the least to causing it;¹⁷¹ This includes women and children, especially those living in poverty. General attitudes and responses are mixed: some people deny it, others are mostly indifferent to it, but others are becoming increasingly aware and taking concrete action, from looking for innovative solutions to clean or reuse to changing their consumption behaviours and advocating with decision-makers. 

The Effect of Environmental Destruction on Children 

The destruction of the planet affects children’s present and future, as it harms every aspect of their lives, including their physical habitat, their health, their wealth, their access to education and health services, their food security and their family life. In fact, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), by 2050, there could be anywhere from 44 million to 216 million climate migrants, of which an important number are children.¹⁷² However, it would be untrue to say that children are only victims when, in fact, children, adolescents and youth are among the bigger movement builders and greater defenders of the Earth of our times. Greta Thunberg (Sweden), Vanessa Nakate (Uganda), Xiye Bastida (México/EE.UU.), Autumn Peltier (Anishinabek Nation, Canadá), Licypriya Kangujam (India) are some of the most well-known young defenders of the planet, in addition to many others who are anonymous and unnoticed by the world, but definitely, not by God.

Children’s Participation in Creation Care

Children’s participation in creation care is a fruitful field for exploration, but it is not necessarily new. In fact, because they hear about climate change at school, in the media, at home, or they experience its consequences themselves, many children have developed a solid environmental ethic and are already driving change in their own circles of influence. They are pushing their families, schools and neighbourhoods to adopt more environment-friendly practices like adopting the ‘3 Rs’ (recycling, reusing, reducing), growing a home garden, changing their food habits or innovating to create more sophisticated technology to clean rivers and oceans. Children have put their agency at the service of God’s wide creation and are challenging adults to change.

However, without despising them, these environment-friendly efforts are not enough to save the planet: it is like scratching at the iceberg’s surface when the real issue remains hidden under the water. What is needed is not better technology but a deep mindset change, a metanoia: an internal transformation that leads to an external transformation—as Romans 12 speaks about. Caring for God’s whole creation in the way God commands requires human beings to be able to conceive and relate with non-human creation in a completely different way: not treating them as ‘mere resources’ waiting to be exploited but as living beings created with love by the same divine God that created the human community (Gen 1:27). If everything that lives in the universe comes from the hands of a sacred God, then damaging it is destroying what belongs to him alone, which is a sinful action against the Creator. Therefore, if failing to see God’s presence in his creation is at the heart of the ‘cosmic brokenness’ (Gen 3) that led humans to possess, exploit and destroy nature, then the solution is in the reconciliation of that ‘cosmic brokenness’, or the restoration of the original sense of connectedness through Christ (Col 1:15-20). 

This ‘cosmic reconciliation’ is, ultimately, a spiritual issue, and if it is true that children are spiritual beings by nature from the very beginning of their lives, then ‘restoring their sense of connectedness’ is actually going back to their original condition. In other words, children have an innate affinity with the nature surrounding them and have a special way of connecting with it through a vibrant sense of awe and wonder, which seems to disappear with adulthood. As spiritual agents, children have the capacity to relate to the natural world in ways that promote its care and a deep love for it. An adult’s role, then, is to respect, learn and accompany this God-given innate instinct.

Child Creation Care in Scripture 

An approach to the very well-known passage of Matthew 18:1-9 through the lenses of children’s participation in creation care can be revealing in many ways. 

In the first place, Jesus stresses the need to experience a deep change to enter the kingdom of heaven: superficial actions without a metanoia-type transformation are not what Jesus is asking for. What is required is a worldview change, not any worldview but a child’s way of looking at and experiencing life. As it has been said: human beings are ‘wired to spirituality’ and children may have that spiritual instinct more vibrant and alive than adult people so, ‘becoming like children’ could be understood as being more spiritually aware and more deeply connected with God, self, other human communities and wide creation, in a relationship of interdependence and mutual care.

A second aspect to note is Jesus’ expectation to ‘take the lowly position’, which is particularly meaningful in the light of human beings’ strong sense of superiority compared to the rest of creation. In other words, one of the reasons why human beings think that they can destroy the planet is because there is a deep belief that their lives are worthier than the lives of the rest of God’s creatures—animals, trees, rivers, soil. This idea of superiority has traditionally been wrongly justified by biblical narratives like Genesis 1:28 (especially the interpretation of verbs like ‘subdue it’ and ‘rule over’). Therefore, taking a ‘lowly position’ is a counter-cultural mandate in a world that is founded on a dominion ethic as it addresses the very heart of the environmental crisis: human disconnection and a sense of superiority in the face of the wider creation. Being aligned with Jesus’ mindset and entering the kingdom of heaven includes rethinking and reshaping the relationship with God’s entire creation to turn it into a relationship of interconnectedness, interdependence and mutual care.

A Concluding Call to Action 

The insights presented in this Lausanne Occasional Paper illuminate the critical and transformative role of children in the missio Dei. The evidence is both biblically and theologically compelling: children are not merely recipients of mission but active participants and agents of transformation in God’s unfolding purposes. Their unique perspectives, spiritual sensitivity, and innate capacity to influence their communities challenge long-standing paradigms that often marginalize their contributions. We have shown that children can participate in mission with and without adults.
In a previous Lausanne Occasional Paper—Mission with Children at Risk, we emphasized mission to, for and with children. We have shown that mission can be to, for, with and by children.

Throughout Scripture, children emerge as vital contributors to mission and ministry. They are not only carriers of God’s message but also embody the kingdom values of humility, dependency, and faith. The biblical narrative, from Miriam’s courage to the child who provided loaves and fish for a miracle, reminds us that children are indispensable to the story of God’s redemption.

Holistic child development that encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions is not only a reflection of the kingdom of God but also a prerequisite for empowering children to participate meaningfully in God’s mission. This paper underscores the church’s responsibility to foster environments where children are heard, valued, and equipped to fulfill their roles as kingdom agents.

As missiology increasingly embraces child participation, significant opportunities arise to reshape our theological frameworks and missional strategies. The church must continue to learn from children, acknowledging them as full spiritual beings with profound insights into faith, justice, and hope. Moreover, the church’s mission will only grow in breadth and depth as it intentionally includes and celebrates the voices and agency of children.

This conclusion serves as a call to action for the global church to repent of past omissions, reimagine its approach to mission, and boldly commit to raising a generation of children who, empowered by the Spirit, embody the hope and transformation of the gospel in a broken world. Let us move forward, championing child participation as a biblical imperative and a missional necessity, ensuring that the kingdom of God flourishes through the voices and lives of the youngest among us.

Endnotes

1. UNICEF, “Summary of the UNCRC”, UNICEF, accessed 2 September 2022, https://www.unicef.org.uk/rights-respecting-schools/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/01/Summary-of-the-UNCRC.pdf.
2. David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books,1991, 2011),494.
3. Bosch, Transforming Mission, 420.
4. Lossky, Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement, 688. s.v. “Mission Dei” by Tom Stransky.
5. “Defining Child Participation”, World Vision International, accessed 15 October 2024, https://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/Defining%20Child%20Participation.pdf.
6. Roger Hart, “Children’s Participation: From Tokenism To Citizenship”, Innocenti Essays, vol.4, 3.
7. Hart, “Children’s Participation: From Tokenism To Citizenship”, 9.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid,11.
11. Ibid,12.
12. Ibid,12.
13. Ibid,14.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid, 8.
16. Ibid.
17. OPHI,”Half of World’s Poor Are Children”, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Institute, OPHI (blog), 19 September 2018, https://ophi.org.uk/news/half-worlds-poor-are-children.
18. Dictionary accessed June 5, 2024, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/participate. 
19. 19.Esther M. Menn, “Child Characters in Biblical Narratives: The Young David (1 Samuel 16-17) and the Little Israelite Servant Girl (2 Kings 5:1-19),” in The Child in the Bible, ed. Marcia Bunge et al., (William E. Eerdmans PublishingCompany, 2008), 324.
20. Menn, “Child Characters in Biblical Narratives: The Young David (1 Samuel 16-17) and the Little Israelite Servant Girl (2 Kings 5:1-19),” in The Child in the Bible, ed. Marcia Bunge et al., 325.
21. Katie Edwards, ‘Bible Society #shetoo Podcast: Hagar’, accessed 10 October 2024, https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/explore-the-bible/shetoo/?source_code=98001_post&fbclid=IwAR10ceG1e9ha9Sc3Hvkg6QyDfQdUzClZoK3cHPs75l-XwpP5cEAj0bKygoc#episode2].
22. Nico Botha, “Children as Theological Hermeneutic: Is There a New Epistemological Break Emerging?”, HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 72, no. 1 (4 February 2016): 2, https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v72i1.3110.
23. Victor Nakah, “The African Church and the Child in the Midst—A Theological Reflection”, International Congregational Journal, (2012):170.
24. Ibid.,123.
25. Ibid., 127.
26. Botha, Children as Theological Hermeneutic, 2.
27. Ibid.,1.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid., 3.
30. Ibid, 5.
31. Ibid, 6.
32. Ebenezer Tetteh Kpalam, “Honouring Children,Towards a Theological Anthropology of Children Informed by a Relational View of the Trinity”, The Thinker, vol.98:1 (2024): 25.
33. O.M. Bakke, When Children Became People: The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity (Minneapolis, MN:Fortress Press, 2005).
34. Bakke, When Children Became People, 104-109.
35. Ibid.
36. William Strange, Children in the Early Church: Children in the Ancient World, the New Testament and the Early Church. (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2004).
37. Keith White, ‘”He Placed a Little Child in the Midst” in The Child in the Bible, ed. Marcia Bunge et al., (William E. Eerdmans PublishingCompany, 2008), 366 [full article 353-374]
38. Esther Menn, “Child Characters in Biblical Narratives: The Young David (1 Samuel 16-17) and the Little Israelite Servant Girl (2 Kings 5:1-19),” in The Child in the Bible, eds. Marcia J. Bunge, Terence E. Fretheim and Beverly Roberts Gaventa (Grand Rapids, MI: William E. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), p. 337.
39. Paba Nidhani De Andrado, ‘A Resilient Reading of the Young Miriam in Exodus 2’ in Violence Against Women and Children in the Hebrew Bible: Between Trauma and Resilience, eds. Kristine Garroway, Paul Kim and John Martens (T&T Clark: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024), 15-34.
40. 40. Keith J. White, Introducing Child Theology—Theological Foundations for Holistic Child Development, 2nd ed. (Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary, Compassion International, and the Global Alliance for Advancing Holistic Child Development, 2012), 207.
41. White, Introducing Child Theology—Theological Foundations for Holistic Child Development, 208.
42. Jesudason Baskar Jeyaraj, Children, Development and Training: Theological and Sociological Challenges for Mission (Delhi:Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK) & Jubilee Institute, 2018), 5.
43. Douglas McConnell, “God Creates Every Unique Person as a Child with Dignity,” in Understanding God’s Heart for Children: Toward a Biblical Framework, ed. Douglas McConnell, Jennifer Orona, and Paul Stockley (Authentic Publishing, 2007), 13-22.
44. Jeyaraj, Children, Development and Training: Theological and Sociological Challenges for Mission, 6.
45. Ibid, 5.
46. Terence E. Fretheim, “‘God Was with the Boy’ (Genesis 21:20): Children in the Book of Genesis,” in The Child in the Bible, ed. Marcia J. Bunge, Terrence E. Fretheim, and Beverly Roberts Gaventa (Grand Rapids, MI: William E. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 6.
47. Fretheim, “‘God Was with the Boy’ (Genesis 21:20): Children in the Book of Genesis,”5.
48. Crocker, Gustavo, and Karissa Glanville, “Children and God’s Mission” in Understanding God’s Heart for Children: Toward a Biblical Framework, eds. Douglas McConnell, Jennifer Orona, and Paul Stockley (Authentic Publishing 2007), 263.
49. Jesudason Baskar Jeyaraj, Children, Development and Training: Theological and Sociological Challenges for Mission (Delhi:Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK) & Jubilee Institute, 2018), 9.
50. Ibid, 9.
51. Ibid, 10.
52. Ibid, 12.
53. Ibid.
54. Ibid.
55. Thomas Paul, “Child Rights Approach and Child Participation,” in Children at Risk: Issues and Challenges, eds. Jesudason Baskar Jeyaraj, Chris Gnanakan, Thomas Swaroop, and D.R.J. Prasad Phillips (Bangalore: Christian Forum for Child Development, 2009), 93-103.
56. Jesudason Baskar Jeyaraj, Children, Development and Training: Theological and Sociological Challenges for Mission (Delhi:Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK) & Jubilee Institute, 2018), 12.
57. Wendy Sanders, Tri Budiardo, and Paul Stockley, “Let Love Be Genuine and Relational,” in Understanding God’s Heart for Children: Toward a Biblical Framework, ed. Douglas McConnell, Jennifer Orona, and Paul Stockley (Authentic Publishing, 2007), 135–51.
58. United Nations, Convention of the Rights of the Child. (United Nations, 1989).
59. Maria Andrade, “Spirituality and Hope: The Extraordinary Hidden within the Ordinary,” God’s Heart for Children, eds. R. Tan, N.A. Petallar and L.A. Hefford (Cave Creek, AZ: Langham Partnership, 2022), 130.
60. Peter L. Benson, Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, and Stacey P. Rude. “Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence: Toward a Field of Inquiry.” Applied Developmental Science, 7:3 (2003): 206.
61. David Elkins, L. James Hedstrom, Lori L. Hughes, and J. Andrew Leaf. “Toward a Humanistic-Phenomenological Spirituality: Definition, Description, and Measurement,” Journal of Humanistic Psychology FALL 28 (1988): 10.
62. King, M.B., Koenig, H.G. Conceptualising spirituality for medical research and health service provision. BMC Health Serv Res 9, 116 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-9-116
63. John Hick, Faith and Knowledge. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press 1966), 20.
64. International Association of Children’s Spirituality, 2015.
65. Christina Puchalski, “‘Physicians and Patients’ Spirituality: Ethical Concerns and Boundaries in Spirituality and Health”. Virtual Mentor, 11(10) (2009): 804.
66. M. De Souza, 2012; 291.
67. Leonardo Boff. La base biológica de la espiritualidad. (2012).
68. Alireza Sayadmansour, “Neurotheology: The Relationship between Brain and Religion,” Iran Journal of Neurology 13(1) (2014): 52.
69. Myriam Rodríguez, Martha Liliana Fernández, Mirna Luz Pérez, Reinaldo Noriega. “Espiritualidad Variable Asociada a la Resiliencia,” Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos de Psicología, 11(2) (2011): 28. 
70. Jimmy Kyriacou, “Are We Wired for Spirituality? An Investigation Into the Claims of Neurotheology,” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 74(3) (2018): 12.
71. 71. Maria Andrade, “Spirituality and Hope: The Extraordinary Hidden within the Ordinary,” God’s Heart for Children, eds. R. Tan, N.A. Petallar and L.A. Hefford (Cave Creek, AZ: Langham Partnership, 2022), 139.
72. 72. Ivone Gebara, “Una espiritualidad en lo cotidiano,” Alternativas 6, No. 14, 2000: 32. 
73. 73. Maria Andrade, “Spirituality and Hope: The Extraordinary Hidden within the Ordinary,” God’s Heart for Children, eds. Rosalind Tan, Nativity.A. Petallar and Lucy A. Hefford (Cave Creek, AZ: Langham Partnership, 2022), 139.
74. Andrade, “Spirituality and Hope: The Extraordinary Hidden within the Ordinary,” 56.
75. Rosalind Tan, Children and the Kingdom of God: A Listening Exercise (World Vision Intl USA and Viva Network, UK Unpublished, 2024). 
76. Rebecca Nye, Children’s Spirituality: What It Is and Why It Matters (London, UK: Church House, 2009), 41.
77. Ronnie Janoff-Bulman, “Assumptive Worlds and the Stress of Traumatic Events: Applications of the Schema Construct,” Social Cognition 7, no. 2 (1989): 113-136
78. Gillian Mann, “Beyond War: ‘Suffering’ Among Displaced Congolese Children in Dar es Salaam,” Development in Practice, 22(4) (2012): 451.
79. Mann, “Beyond War: ‘Suffering’ Among Displaced Congolese Children in Dar es Salaam,” 458. 
80. Rosalind Tan, Children and the Kingdom of God: A Listening Exercise, World Vision Intl. USA and Viva Network, UK. Unpublished, 2024.
81. M Wessells and Kathleen Kostelny,“Child Friendly Spaces: Toward a Grounded Community-Based Approach for Strengthening Child Protection Practice in Humanitarian Crises.” Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal, 37S (2013): 1272.
82. Muireann Ní Raghallaigh and Robbie Gilligan, “Active Survival in the Lives of Unaccompanied Minors: Coping Strategies, Resilience, and the Relevance of Religion,” Child & Family Social Work, 15, (2010): 227. 
83. M. Andrade, “Spirituality and Hope: The Extraordinary Hidden within the Ordinary,” God’s Heart for Children, eds. Rosalind Tan, Nativity A. Petallar and Lucy A. Hefford (Cave Creek, AZ: Langham Partnership, 2022), 128.
84. Ibid., 135.
85. Mike Dugal quoted in Rodríguez, Fernández, and Pérez, 2017; 27.
86. Lindsay M. Smith, Ruth Webber and John DeFrain, “Spiritual Well-Being and Its Relationship to Resilience in Young People: A Mixed Methods Case Study,” SAGE Open, 3 (2) (2013): 12. 
87. M. Rodríguez et al., “Espiritualidad Variable Asociada a la Resiliencia.” Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos de Psicología, 11(2) (2011): 33. 
88. M. Andrade, “The Role of Spirituality in Building Resilience of Migrant Children,” Thesis for MA in International Child Studies, (KCL, 2017); 49.
89. Mshayisa, Langa & Bhagwan, Raisuyah & Dewan, Fathima. (2024). The Role of African Spirituality in the Provision of Kinship Care in the South African Context. Religions. 15. 1-10. 10.3390/rel15010108.
90. Ana Berástegui Pedro-Viejo, “Reconocer la espiritualidad del niño” Sal terrae: Revista de theologia pastoral, ISSN 1138-1094, Volume 107, No. 1243 (2019), 298.
91. Aristotle, Politics.
92. J. W. Fowler, Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. (Manhattan, NY: Harper & Row, 1981).
93. A. Berástegui Pedro-Viejo, Reconocer la espiritualidad del niño (2019), 300.
94. A. Berástegui Pedro-Viejo, Reconocer la espiritualidad del niño (2019), 301.
95. Nye, Children’s Spirituality: What It Is and Why It Matters, 9.
96. Desiree Segura-April, Susan Hayes Greener, Dave Scott, Nicolas Panotto and Menchit Wong. Lausanne Occasional Paper 66, Mission with Children at Risk.
97. Lausanne Movement, The Cape Town Commitment.
98. Christoffer Grundmann, “Children and Christian Missions: Historical Aspects and Missiological Challenges,” Mission Studies 33 (2) (2016): 5.
99. David H. Scott, “Where Are Children in Missiology? English-Language Publications over the Past Decades,” Mission Studies 40 (2): (2023): 209-30 
100. William C. Prevette, Keith J. White, C. Rosalee Velloso Ewell and D.J. Konz, Theology, Mission and Child: Global Perspectives (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2014).
101. Scott, “Where Are Children in Missiology?”, 215. 
102. Ibid., 217, https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341911.
103. United Nations, “1996 – Graça Machel Report, ‘’The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children’’ (United Nations, 1996).
104. Douglas McConnell, Jennifer Orona, and Paul Stockley (eds.), Understanding God’s Heart for Children: Toward a Biblical Framework (Authentic, 2007).
105. Scott, “Where Are Children in Missiology?, 218, https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341911.
106. Marcia J. Bunge, The Child in Christian Thought & Practice (Grand Rapids. MI: Eerdmans; Northam, 2000).
107. Child Theology Movement, “Home.” 2021 
108. Grundmann, Christoffer, (2016). “Children and Christian Missions: Historical Aspects and Missiological Challenges.” Mission Studies. 33. 163-186. 10.1163/15733831-12341446.
109. Prevette et al., Theology, Mission and Child: Global Perspectives, 24.
110. Christoffer Grundmann, “Children and Christian Missions: Historical Aspects and Missiological Challenges,” Mission Studies 33 (2) (2016): 163-86, 3, https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341446.
111. James Brynes, “Piaget’s Cognitive-Developmental Theory” In Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood Development, 87th ed., (Elsevier Inc. 2008), 543-52. 
112. Gabriel Orenstein, and Lewis Lewis. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development (Treasure Island, FL: StatPearls Publishing, 2022).
113. Yvonne B. Tate and Steven Parker, “Using Erikson’s Developmental Theory to Understand and Nurture Spiritual Development in Christians.” Journal of Psychology and Christianity 26 (3): 218–26; Stanley N. Ballard, and J. Roland Fleck,“The Teaching of Religious Concepts: A Three Stage Model,” Journal of Psychology and Theology 3 (3): 164-71.
114. Nandana Reddy and Kavita Ratna, eds. A Journey in Child’s Participation. (The Concerned for Working Children) 
115. Scott, “Where Are Children in Missiology? 223 https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341911. 
116. Ibid, 223, https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341911.
117. Nandana Reddy and Kavita Ratna, eds. A Journey in Child’s Participation. (The Concerned for Working Children) 
118. P.W.H. Shaw and C. Constantineanu, “Space and Community, Engagement and Empowerment: The Missional Equipping of Children,” Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies 33 (3): 219 
119. W. C. Prevette, et al., Theology, Mission and Child: Global Perspectives; A. Dillen, “Children’s Spirituality and Theologising with Children: The Role of ‘Context,” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 25 (3-4): 238-53
120. Grundmann, “Children and Christian Missions.”
121. Ibid.
122. Grundmann. 2016. “Children and Christian Missions”; W. C. Prevette, et al., Theology, Mission and Child: Global Perspectives; A. Dillen, “Children’s Spirituality and Theologising with Children: The Role of ‘Context,” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 25 (3-4): 238-53..
123. Grundmann, “Children and Christian Missions.”, 24.
124. Mark Oxbrow, “A Critical Review of Modern Missions Movement,” Children & Youth as Partners in Mission: A Compendium of Papers, Dan Brewster and J. Baxter-Brown eds. (2013), 49-72.
125. Grundmann, “Children and Christian Missions.”, 20.
126. 126. A.E.S. Wimberly, “Worship as a Model for Faith Formation,” edited by John Roberto and Mary C Kendzia. Approaches to Lifelong Faith Formation, no. 2: 3.
127. W.C. Prevette, et al. Theology, Mission and Child:Global Perspectives
128. Kirsteen, Kim, and Andrew Anderson. 2011. “Mission Today and Tomorrow.” Edinburgh Centenary Series 15 (January).
129. Prevette et al., Theology, Mission and Child: Global Perspectives
130. Grundmann, “Children and Christian Missions.”
131. Mark Oxbrow, 2013. “A Critical Review of Modern Missions Movement.”
132. Kilbourn, P. 1995. Healing the Children of War. MARC Publications; 1996. Children in Crisis: A New Commitment. Monrovia, Calif.: Marc; 1997. Street Children: A Guide to Effective Ministry. Monrovia, Calif.: Marc; Kilbourn, P, and McDermid, M. 1998. Sexually Exploited Children: Working to Protect and Heal. Monrovia, Calif: MARC.
133. Rosalind Tan, Nativity A. Petallar and Lucy A. Hefford, eds. God’s Heart for Children (Carlisle, UK: Langham Publishing, 2022).
134. A.V. Tønnessen, “Faith-Based NGOs in International Aid: Humanitarian Agents or Missionaries of Faith?” Forum for Development Studies 34 (2) (2007): 323-42. 
135. D. Brewster, Child, Church and Mission: A Resource Book for Christian Child Development Workers (Compassion International, 2011).
136. L. Bush, The 4/14 Window: Raising up a New Generation to Transform the World. (Compassion International, year); D. Meyers, “Rise up Church—for Children and Youth” edited by Marv Newell, Evangelical Missions Quarterly 54 (1) (2009): 66-75. 
137. C. Grundmann, “Children and Christian Missions: Historical Aspects and Missiological Challenges,” Mission Studies 33 (2) (2016): 163-86, https://doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341446; K. O. Gangel, Christian Education: Its History and Philosophy (Eugene, OR: Wipf And Stock Publishers, 2002).
138. S. Bevans, T. Chai, J. N. Jennings, and K. Jorgensen, “Reflecting on and Equipping for Christian Mission,” Edinburgh Centenary Series, Vol. 21 (2015); F. I. Widjaja, et al., “The Role of Christian Religious Education as a Mission Development in 4.0 Era,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Theology, Humanities, and Christian Education, (Atlantis Press SARL, 2022).
139. C. Boyatzis, “Agency, Voice, and Maturity in Children’s Religious and Spiritual Development,” in The Study of Children in Religions: A Methods Handbook, (New York University Press, 2011), 19-32
140. World Vision, “2023 Global Report on Child Participation in World Vision Decision-Making Processes,” (World Vision, 2023),.
141. Plan International, et al. “Children’s Participation in Decision Making,” (2007)
142. N.A. Gardner, “Does Religious Participation Help Keep Adolescents in School,” American Youth Policy Forum, June 2024. (2024)
143. T. M. Johnson, “Globalization, Christian Identity, and Frontier Missions,” International Society for Frontier Missiology 27 (4) (2010): 165-69; J. M. Vorster et al. eds. Powers, Inequalities and Vulnerabilities, (AOSIS, 2020).
144. C. Nagel, “Christian Short-Term Missions: Creating Global Citizens?” Geopolitics 26 (5) (2018): 1-21.
145. T. M. Johnson, “Globalization, Christian Identity, and Frontier Missions,” 27 (4) (2010): 165-69.
146. A. Bogdan, The Church’s Mission in the Digital Age: Challenges and Opportunities, (Oradea University Press, 2024); J. M. Vorster et al. eds. Powers, Inequalities and Vulnerabilities (AOSIS, 2020). 
147. J. Erlacher, and K. White, Mobilizing Gen Z Challenges and Opportunities for the Global Age of Missions (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Publishing, 2022).
148. B. Lewis, “Social Media, Peer Surveillance, Spiritual Formation, and Mission: Practising Christian Faith in a Surveilled Public Space,” Surveillance & Society 16 (4) (2018): 517-32. 
149. Barna, “Who Is Responsible for Children’s Faith Formation?” Barna Research (blog), (Barna, 2019), https://www.barna.com/research/children-faith-formation/.
150. Ibid.
151. Marcia J. Bunge, ed. The Child in Christian Thought. (Johanneshov, Sweden: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2015).
152. Bonnie J. Miller-Mclemore, Let the Children Come: Reimagining Childhood from a Christian Perspective (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2019).
153. Nandana Reddy and Kavita Ratna, eds. A Journey in Child’s Participation. (The Concerned for Working Children).
154. Arigatou International, Faith and Children’s Rights: A Multi-Religious Study on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Arigatou International, 2019).
155. Prevette et al. Theology, Mission and Child: Global Perspectives 
156. Krikor Haleblian, “The Problem of Contextualization,” Missiology: An International Review 11, (1) (1983): 95-111,; Craig Ott, “Globalization and Contextualization: Reframing the Task of Contextualization in the Twenty-First Century.” Missiology: An International Review 43, (1) (2014): 43-58.
157. Eddie C. W. Ng, Man K. Lai and Charles C. Chan, “Effectiveness of Mentorship Program among Underprivileged Children in Hong Kong,” Children and Youth Services Review 47, (3) (2014): 268-73.
158. Perry W. H. Shaw, and Corneliu Constantineanu, “Space and Community, Engagement and Empowerment: The Missional Equipping of Children,” Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies, 33 (3) (2016): 208-17, https://doi.org/10.1177/0265378816633611. 
159. Kenneth O. Gangel, Christian Education: Its History and Philosophy (Eugene,OR: Wipf And Stock Publishers, 2002).
160. S. Bevans, T. Chai, J. N. Jennings, and K. Jorgensen, “Reflecting on and Equipping for Christian Mission,” Edinburgh Centenary Series, Vol. 21 (2015).
161. J.M. Vorster, Johannes Knoetze, and Valentin Kozhuharov, (eds.) Powers, Inequalities and Vulnerabilities, (Cape Town, South Africa: AOSIS, 2020).
162. Fransiskus I. Widjaja, Maria P. Tjasmadi, Gernaida K.R. Pakpahan and Haposan Simanjuntak, “The Role of Christian Religious Education as a Mission Development in 4.0 Era,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Theology, Humanities, and Christian Education, (Atlantis Press SARL, 2022); C. Edward et al., Footprints of God : A Narrative Theology of Mission, Charles Van Engen (ed.) (Eugene,OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2011).
163. 163. Emily Hunt, “Whiteness on Mission (Trips): Analyzing Voluntourism as a Racial Project,” Thesis, (University of Oregon, 2021).
164. 164. Anastasia Apostolides, “Cyber Bullying: Child and Youth Spirituality,” HTS: Theological Studies 73 (3) (2017).
165. Lindsey A. Huang, “The Role of Associational Life in the Development of Social Capital: Theoretical Considerations for Christian NGOs Engaged in Development Initiatives,” Missiology: An International Review 51 (2) (2022): 009182962211165.
166. Barna, “Who Is Responsible for Children’s Faith Formation?” Barna Research (blog), (Barna, 2019), https://www.barna.com/research/children-faith-formation/.
167. A. Balog, Toward an Evangelical Missiology of Humanitarian Aid Ministry (Evangelical Theological Seminary, 2007).
168. Scott, “Where Are Children in Missiology? English-Language Publications over the Past Decades,” 209-30.
169. Grundmann, “Children and Christian Missions: Historical Aspects and Missiological Challenges,”,5.
170. Prevette et al, Theology, Mission and Child: Global Perspectives 
171. OXFAM: https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/climate-equality-planet-99#:~:text=The%20world%20faces%20twin%20crises,are%20those%20impacted%20the%20hardest.
172. International Organization for Migration, https://emergencymanual.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl1956/files/2023-03/iom_global_data_institute_thematic_brief_1_evidence_summary_on_climate_change_and_the_future_of_human_mobility.pdf.

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