Growing Up Christian: A Congregational Strategy for Nurturing Disciples

McGuffey’s Readers. Public school. Family prayers. In the 1800s, these were primary—and successful—strategies by which children learned to become Christians. Sunday school was developed simply to support Christian education at home and in school. Despite a radically changed culture, many churches still rely on the nineteenth-century model to encourage Christian discipleship. In Growing Up Christian and the accompanying discussion guide, C. Ellis Nelson explores why these strategies are inadequate for the twenty-first century and offers practical, specific guidance for congregations who wish to nurture disciples of Christ more effectively.

C. Ellis Nelson, research professor of Christian education at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, has written many books and articles about the biblical and theological basis for Christian education. Dr. Nelson has been a research fellow at Oxford University and has lectured in many seminaries and universities in North America, Australia, and Europe. His book How Faith Matures was named one of the ten best religious books of 1989.