1. Introduction 

The book of Judges warns, “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel” (Judg 2:10). Is this to be our current legacy as well? What needs to take place in the spiritual development of children and youth that would lead to a generation firmly committed to faith in Jesus and armed with the necessary resilience in today’s world? We believe the time has come to embrace Marcia Bunge’s conviction that “honoring the dignity and full humanity of children” will help “deepen theological reflection, cultivate meaningful relationships, and enliven faith communities and their work in the world.”[1]

This article advocates including the study of child theology in the global academic space. As such, it participates in a crucial ongoing global conversation that includes practical, biblical, and theological concerns.

Practically, there are more children than ever in the world, many of them without the adult guidance needed to flourish fully.[2] Throughout the world, “the plight of migrant and refugee children is compounded by war, violence, border crossings, and separation from families.”[3] Yet childhood is precisely when relational attachment, spirituality, and worldviews are being foundationally formed. It is also the stage of human brain development when neurology exhibits the most plasticity.[4] According to Ivone Gebara, failing to prioritize the child is not just a “programming error”;[5] it is internalizing patriarchy and authoritarianism that “stifles the autonomy of children.”[6]

Biblically, holistic development of children is kingdom work. “The Bible says that Jesus grew and developed mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially . . . if a child does not experience this development . . . they will be impacted negatively,”[7] writes Bradley Thompson. He reminds us:

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.[8]

The church’s failure to integrate the holistic development of children into theological conversation is a missiological blind spot.[9]

Theologically, Annemie Dillen names an intriguing possibility:

Within theology, a heightened interest in children might have arisen from the increased presence of female theologians and theologians with families. The life situations and general interests of those who determine the research agenda might have had some influence on theology as well.[10]

There may be a positive correlation (perhaps even causation) between this changing demographic of theological scholarship and the relatively new inclusion of and even emphasis on children. Regardless of cause, including children as worthy of serious theological reflection is important.

Yet biblical higher education has not kept pace. Much of it lacks adequate programming to train emerging leaders to engage this global need. This article amplifies this pivotal conversation while highlighting global academic endeavors—theological endeavors (§2 below), motivational endeavors (§3), and curricular endeavors (§4)—that could pave the way for better representation of child theology in biblical higher education. To “think big” about this huge need, we need to start by thinking more deeply about the smallest among us.

2. Theological Endeavors: Movements to Increase Next-Generation Ministry Leader Training

Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries have long been pipelines for trained ministry leaders. These leadership pipelines face a two-pronged crisis: inadequate theological training and fewer people seriously considering a call to ministry (§2.1). Additionally, there are significant theological reasons to increase robust training of next-generation ministry leaders (§§2.2–3).

2.1  Leadership Pipeline Crisis: Two Problems

Seminaries around the world have been grappling with how to attract prospective students. There is a concern over the ministry leader pipeline. John Huh admits, “We know the trends are not promising, with dwindling numbers in churches and seminaries. If we do not adapt, we will have a very difficult time in the next decade and beyond.”[11]

Interestingly, a Barna survey of over 130,000 adults in the United States showed that “for the first time in decades, younger adults—Gen Z and Millennials—are now the most regular churchgoers, outpacing older generations, who once formed the backbone of church attendance.”[12] While this is good news for the church in the United States, it does not seem to be translating to more young people seeking professional development as ministry leaders. As the Barna survey also notes:

Our research clearly shows that churchgoing alone does not in itself create devoted disciples. Even with the increasing participation of younger generations, there is still the challenge of shaping hearts and minds to live out their faith beyond church participation.[13]

One concern among Bible colleges and seminaries, then, stems from the notion that fewer young people seem to be seriously considering God’s call on their lives. More needs to be done to help young people consider integrating their faith with vocation.

This leadership deficit is compounded by the fact that most ministry leaders working with children and youth lack professional training. Susan Payne’s work on core competencies for children’s ministry professionals observes:

Because of the rapid growth in the field and the nature of Children’s Ministry jobs, many who are hired into these positions have little formal education (college, graduate school, seminary) or non-formal education (seminars, workshops, in-service training programs) in ministry to children. Even those with college or seminary degrees often have had little education in children’s spirituality, children’s ministry, education, theology, biblical studies, or management.[14]

Payne pinpoints the problem arising from the educational lack:

The quality of Children’s Ministry in our churches is dependent on the staff leading those ministries. If churches continue to hire “whoever is willing” to fill positions, the children have a program but not necessarily one that meets their spiritual, developmental, and emotional needs.[15]

As Bunge calls out: “Many congregations lack a strong religious education program for children: the lessons are theologically weak and uninteresting to children, and qualified teachers are not recruited and retained.”[16] These observations emphasize the urgency of professional development for those who lead children and youth ministries.

The point of biblical higher education is to equip the next generation of Christian leaders. The combination of inadequately trained leaders and the declining number of people willing to answer the call to professional ministry significantly hinders the creation and implementation of meaningful discipleship pathways across generations, contributes to impaired discipleship of young people, and fuels the trends mentioned above. The question at the heart, then, is this: What message can be shared that might generate the deep interest and passion that move people toward leadership in ministry and also toward becoming well-trained in that leadership on behalf of the children and youth?

The most obvious answer is the gospel message itself! The good news of Jesus and his redemptive work is good news for everyone, including the very young. The good news that is Jesus necessarily contains Jesus’s perspective and teaching, not least on children. Moreover, Jesus is not simply nice to children. As he theologically trains his disciples, he chooses to include the realities that children are essential to his kingdom and worthy of protection by voicing the following warning:

Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like the children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matt 18:3–6)

What if we could do a better job of seeing and valuing children as Jesus did? With an incomplete theology of children, we cannot fully grasp God’s heart for the youngest among us and thereby help future leaders within the church grasp it, an issue to which we now turn.

2.2 God Takes Children Seriously

Those who teach in Bible colleges and seminaries are well-positioned to see that God takes children seriously. Children are found everywhere in the pages of Scripture, not just in their happenstance. When there was an important job to do, God often chose a child or youth. For example:

•  
  • when God wanted to preserve the infant Moses and set him up in his position in Pharaoh’s house, his sister used her ingenuity (Exod 2);
  • when the nation’s spiritual leader needed to hear the word of the Lord, God sent the child Samuel (1 Sam 1);
  • when God’s own reputation was at stake among the nations, God sent a young David, armed with his sling (1 Sam 17);
  • when David, as king, wanted to magnify God, he confessed that God has chosen to “establish strength” on account of his foes “out of the mouths of children and infants”—not just once (with David himself), but as a general theological maxim (Ps 8);
  • when an enemy army general needed to know that there was a God in Israel who could heal, God sent a little servant girl (2 Kgs 5);
  • when the fullness of time had come, God chose Mary, most likely at an age fitting for our youth groups, to bear and raise his Son and anointed King and Savior (Luke 1);
  • when Jesus wanted to feed more than 5,000 people, he partnered with a nameless child who offered his own fish and loaves (John 6).

God has always taken children seriously. In fact, when Jesus’s disciples asked for more theological education, wanting to think about very big and great things, Jesus drew attention to the small one, to the child’s model nature, and to the extreme weight of relating to children:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matt 18:1–6; emphasis added)

God has always taken children much more seriously within his plan and ways than do most systems of theological education. Some reforms, though, have been brewing outside of the United States and Europe.

2.3 Global Paradigm Shifts

Marcia Bunge argues that child theology is essential to systematic theology and ethics. Children are not just future members of the church but are fully human beings now, and ones who already provide a unique lens through which we should view God and the community.[17] The church in the Majority World, outside of the United States and Europe, has been the most active in addressing the current blind spot in child theology frameworks. While not every aspect of the following paradigms should carry over, several emphases arising from Majority World contexts provide structure for the conversation. We will briefly explore insights from four child-inclusive theological lenses that have been used to inform and challenge Western thinking: decolonial discipleship, African communalism, child liberation, and pneumatology. Each of these lenses magnifies the importance of seeing children as worthy of deep, theological reflection.

2.3.1 Decolonial Discipleship

An overarching theme in the following emerging paradigms from outside the States and Europe is the need for a decolonial approach to formation and discipleship.[18] Valerie Michaelson (Canada) points out that “colonial systems and structures are fundamentally in conflict with the biblical teachings of love, justice, and liberation.”[19] Decolonial theology works to “realign Christian thought and practice with the message and example of Jesus.”[20] This work is in response to the marginalization of indigenous peoples through colonial structures. By decolonizing curricula (e.g., addressing ethnocentric and racist themes in children’s ministry materials, evaluating service projects for cultural awareness, and incorporating themes of biblical justice), theological institutions can actually restore the natural spiritual agency of children that Western models have historically overlooked.[21] With this in mind, the following explores elements of three more specific lenses from the Majority World that are instructive for seeing children as worthy of our attention in theological education.

2.3.2 African Communalism

Kenneth Mtata (Zimbabwe) advocates for a more “robust theology of personhood [that] recognizes the agency of children and their vital role in communities.”[22] He argues that hierarchical, adult-centric patterns of thinking, often present in Western ministry contexts, diminish the value of children and overlook God’s heart for them. The call is to see children as symbols of the community’s continuity. This concept, referred to as ubuntu (I am because we are), stands in direct contrast to Western individualism.[23] The child, then, is not an individual in the Western sense but a vital link between ancestors and the future community. This idea resonates with many biblical passages that highlight both the unity across generations and the childlike perspective as instructive for understanding the kingdom of God.

Similarly, Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator (Nigeria) challenges the church to see the imago Dei (image of God) in the face of all children.[24] He notes that children are essential to the family of faith “with stories and voices of their own” and that “honoring their agency” leads to a more lively, engaged, and intergenerational worshipping community.[25]

2.3.3 Child Liberation

Writing with a liberation focus, Gebara (Brazil) presents children through the lens of vulnerability to systemic evil.[26] She explores how patriarchal religious systems can stifle the agency and spiritual autonomy of children. Gideon (South India) speaks to the need for “a more holistic and expansive understanding . . . that takes into account the vulnerability and suffering of children as well as their own agency.”[27] He points out that, “Many children are also forced into [forms of] slavery ... such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, serfdom, or forced compulsory labor.”[28] These realities call for a new focus within liberation theology that elevates a child-centric lens, moving us from basic care to a justice requirement for all church leaders. Aspects of this movement align with the imperative in Scripture to champion children—as illustrated by Jesus, who always included children, sometimes even centering them—and support the validity of a shift in theological thinking.

2.3.4 Pneumatology

The relationship between the Spirit and children cannot be ignored either. Amos Young (Malaysia) observes that “the Spirit is liberally available to all,” including children.[29] There are references throughout scripture to being known by God even before we are born (e.g., Jer 1:5; Ps 139:13; Eph 1:4);[30] Jesus spoke of the importance and faith of children (e.g., Matt 18:1–6; 21:15–16; Mark 10:13–16); and the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit includes the young as well as old (e.g. Acts 2:16–21 quoting Joel 2:28). Young suggests, “It may even be that children are the most receptive of the human species to the dawning of the reign of God.”[31] When considering the place and importance of the topic of children in theological discussion, it is Young’s question that invites response: “If children are the point of entry into the reign of God and if the reign of God is characterized at its core by children, what does this tell us about how God not only sees but wishes us to structure the world?”[32] As demonstrated above (in §2.2), God places greater value on children within his plan and ways than do most systems of theological education.

2.3.5 The Need for New Lenses

There is movement toward new thinking around the place of child theology in higher education, and Majority World scholars lead the way from different perspectives (§2.3). Awareness of global, cultural, and contextual factors can be combined with new strategies to equip leaders to meet those challenges. Researchers at World Vision state: “Adult involvement is crucial in nurturing children to be Kingdom builders.”[33] Seeing children as Jesus does—non-negotiable, integral priorities in his kingdom—will not happen on its own. Two reasons are prominent.

First, many churches are so thoroughly adult-centric, from theology to programs to staffing to budget, that children easily become an afterthought, sometimes even seen as a nuisance to be siloed from the rest of the congregation. The goal becomes childcare over discipleship (even though we include Bible stories!) until the real ministry with and for adults can be accomplished unhindered. The second reason is connected to the first. It is difficult to have the type of clear vision and strong leadership it takes to change the entrenched ways of thinking in such churches and in many others with similar, if milder tendencies.

For churches to practically embody Jesus’s call to let children come to him, not to hinder them, and to disciple children toward Jesus, a new commitment is required. We need to reimagine discipleship pathways and deliberately invest in child theology in the training of ministry professionals who will lead children and the adults who disciple them. We will now explore the motivation to do so (§3) and concrete examples (§4).

3. Motivational Endeavors: Why Include Child Theology in Theological and Ministry Training?

Ministry leaders need to possess or develop a range of competencies to serve the church. Much of that training needs to take place in Bible colleges and seminaries. Why add the study of children’s ministry? There have been times in church history when church leaders minimized the value of children (including Jesus’s own disciples) or viewed them merely as a strategy to reach their parents for evangelism and discipleship. God views children as so much more (§3.1). Children represent a vast number of souls to reach with the good news now, not just later in their adult lives (§3.2). They are forming their worldviews, including spiritual ones, in real time (§3.3). If the church does not meet their needs now, it will profoundly affect the future of our churches. These truths suggest that all ministry leaders need to know and understand child theology and discipleship.

3.1 God Takes Children Seriously

We argued already that God has always taken children very seriously (§2.2). We will recount here just one point from above because it is so applicable. Jesus’s disciples ask for more theological education, wanting to think big. Jesus draws their theological reasoning to someone small.

When asked who is the greatest in God’s kingdom, Jesus moves a child into their discussion circle and challenges the adults in the room to be humble like a child and to receive children in his name. Jesus then gives a dire consequence for those who neglect to value children in this way: to be drowned in the sea with a millstone around their neck! Obviously, Jesus holds children in high regard, seeing them as dependent on God’s favor, models of the powerless and vulnerable, humble, and capable of confessing Christ.[34] What is more, there are so many children (§3.2), and they are ripe for worldview formation at this stage of life (§3.3). Why children? In part because God takes them so seriously as children.

3.2 There Are So Many Children

There are 2.01 billion children under 15 years old worldwide today.[35] With an average of 32.3% Christians in the world’s population, that suggests approximately 1.36 billion children have not heard the good news of Jesus Christ.[36] Sylvia Foth notes,

In many of the developing countries with the most unreached people, children comprise at least 50% of the population. Although they do not fit the exact mission’s definition of a “people group,” together, their numbers alone make them the largest unreached group of people on our planet . . . There are lots of kids to be reached in nearly every neighborhood around the world.[37]

One in every four human beings on the planet is a child. In some parts of the world, one in every two is a child![38] As a “group of people,” children are too numerous for the church to ignore. Yet as Luci Kajidori observes, the vast majority of seminaries offer no formal training for leaders who serve this demographic.[39] Why children? In part because there are so many children, we cannot ignore them.

3.3 Children Are Forming Their Worldview Now

George Barna’s 2003 research laid a data foundation for the importance of ministry to children. It was based on surveys of adults and young people, as well as church pastors and leaders in the United States. The survey found that a person’s moral foundations are in place by age nine; that a person’s response to Jesus is usually determined before age eighteen, with a majority of Americans making that decision by age twelve; and that people’s spiritual beliefs tend to be irrevocably formed as pre-teens.[40]

The recent Global Youth Survey from One Hope included 8,394 youth ages 13–19 from 20 countries, and its results further support these findings.[41] Taking the globe as a whole, an average of 47% of Christian youth (Catholic and Protestant) reported that the children’s ministry program at their church played an essential role in their spiritual growth. When parsed, the data shows different judgments on the impact of children’s ministry programs on children: 73% of the Christian youth in Africa (2,879 respondents) deemed the children’s ministry program at their church to have played an essential role in their spiritual growth; 64% in Asia (2,524 respondents); 29% in Eurasia (1,144 respondents); 36% in Latin America (1,420 respondents); and 40% in the United States (1,578 respondents).[42] The window of opportunity when children tend to respond to Jesus is clearly defined. However, we often lack effective strategies to align with it.

Why children? Because we cannot afford to wait until they are grown and thereby miss the most accessible window for discipleship.

3.4 Why the Academic Space?

Any one of the reasons presented above would be sufficient on its own for us to take the discipleship of children seriously! Put together, they are impossible to ignore. Children’s evangelization and discipleship are not “child’s play”! To understand how a worldview shapes children and supports their faith growth, and to support the family in the nurturing process, we need to conduct more empirical research, examine different contexts, and study the biblical and theological foundations. Children’s evangelization and discipleship deserve serious, intentional, explicit, and responsible biblical and theological thinking within a community that dedicates itself to such. Theological seminaries are the right place for this. At present, secular institutions pay more attention to this than seminaries. We are advocating for the inclusion of the biblical and theological study of children and youth in higher education and denominational structures.

Today’s church leaders need to think seriously about the discipleship of every member of the family. Taking a strategic step back in the process, seminary students need to learn how to respond robustly not only to the biblical and theological themes above, but also to statements of this sort: “The largest percentage of both ministry leaders and parents believe that partnership between church and home is the key for healthy spiritual formation of children.”[43]

Unfortunately, ministry leaders graduating from seminaries often lack the knowledge of holistic child development that can support today’s parents, who, in many cases, seek to do “the work of ministry” that their pastors and teachers are meant to equip them for (Eph 4:11–16). Based on experience, we continue to encounter academic institutions that seem to hold an indifferent view of children, yet “theological meaning about the earth’s future cannot be made without including children.”[44]

But how? How can institutions of higher education begin incorporating child theology and the study of children and youth ministry into their pastoral and other leadership training? In our final section (§4), we provide several examples as stimuli for further practical thinking.

4. Curricular Endeavors: Global Academic Examples

Practically, we are partnering with the International Council of Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE) and its Children and Family Impact Team to research the status of theological institutions regarding children and families. Some initial findings are organized here into six types to provide practical curricular ideas and therefore stimuli from around the globe: extra-curricular programs (§4.1); certificate-level training (§4.2); undergraduate programs (§4.3); graduate programs (§4.4); integration throughout certificate and graduate programs (§4.5); and a full range of TE degrees (§4.6).

4.1 Highlighting Children in Extra-Curricular Programs

Prairie College in Alberta, Canada, is choosing to focus all extra-curricular events for a full academic year on children. Academically, they already offer a course on youth and young adults and plan to expand it in the future to include a course on children and family. In addition to such curricular offerings, they dedicated their Community Chapel time in the 2025 fall semester to the theme of “The Case for Kids . . . Bible Characters.” They had different speakers focusing on the stories of children in the Old and New Testaments. For the winter semester 2026, they will be focusing on the theme Become as a Child.

Additionally, at their spring mission conference, Prairie’s Global Connections Conference, the focus will be on children as a mission field. Their strategic plan is to ensure that all students at the college have the opportunity to delve deeper into the topic of children, whether or not they select a course on it. Their new Campus Pastor, a former Children’s Pastor, is advocating for these kinds of programs on campus.

4.2 Providing Certificate-Level Training for Children’s Ministers

Entre Niños and Bethel Seminary are partners in providing a formal, completely online certificate program in children’s ministry in Spanish.[45] This six-month program consists of sixteen video classes, literature readings, participation in various online forums, spiritual practices, and a final training project. The students have diverse backgrounds from multiple countries, and the majority lead their ministries to children in their local churches in a volunteer capacity. The students include professionals and pastors who never attended a formal theological program. Entre Niños supports parents and ministry leaders who serve children. In addition to this program, they publish an online digital magazine, offer in-person and online seminars and conferences, and actively advocate for academic training for Latino ministry leaders.

4.3 Providing Undergraduate Programs and Mandatory Courses

4.3.1 Lancaster Bible College (Pennsylvania, USA)

Lancaster Bible College offers a bachelor’s degree in Children and Family Ministry. The Children and Family Ministry major equips students “to lead biblically-based, holistic discipleship ministries” with children and their families locally and around the world.[46] The college degree includes 30 credits in Bible and Theology, 31 credits in Arts and Sciences, 33 credits in Children and Family Ministry, and 9 credits of field experience.

Of particular note, Lancaster Bible College requires a 3-credit course on the Theology of Children, Youth, and Family for all ministry students in Pastoral Ministry, Ministry Leadership, Children & Family, or Youth & Young Adult programs. This required course introduces all ministry students to God’s heart for children throughout the pages of Scripture; explores a spectrum of denominational approaches to the spiritual formation of children and young people in the church; and discusses the complex topic of family throughout the Bible.

4.3.2 University Foundation Biblical Seminary of Colombia (Medellín, Colombia)[47]

The FUSBC (Fundación Universitaria Seminario Bíblico de Colombia) offers a B.A. in Theology, with an emphasis in Biblical Interpretation or Ministry. Students can enroll in the 160-credit (nine-semester) degree program and take courses in person or virtually. Broadly speaking, this Christian university seeks to offer a high-quality education for lay leaders and pastors who desire to be equipped to serve God, the local church, and society.

Part of that education involves equipping students to understand formational processes in the lives of communities and individuals of all ages. In addition to past youth ministry courses, the FUSBC provides students with an opportunity to go deeper into ministry with children in families. A 3-credit, semester-long Children’s Ministry Course was first offered online in 2024. The course focuses on helping students identify the core components of a biblical children’s ministry—including the development and formation of children, the context and needs of children, and educational and pastoral processes—to develop a holistic ministry plan.

4.4 Providing Graduate Programs

Evangelical Theological College (ETC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia has offered a master’s degree in Holistic Child Development (HCD) since 2013 to provide a holistic ministry for children in Ethiopia and beyond. The program, partnering with Compassion International, seeks to equip graduates (1) to work directly with children in church educational ministries, child evangelism organizations, professional institutions (schools, health and rehabilitation centers, NGOs, etc.), and mission agencies focused on ministry to children and families, and (2) to teach in Christian higher education settings.[48]

Students take 20 credit hours in hermeneutics, biblical studies, and systematic theology; 30 hours of required courses in children’s ministry (ranging from HCD to biblical parenting and child discipleship); and 4 hours of electives (such as ministering to children with special needs or educational theory).[49] ETC has over 200 graduates from the HCD program who are making a significant impact across various child-related ministries in the country.

4.5 Integrating Child Theology across Seminary Curricula

Some individual professors value ministry to children to such an extent that they integrate children/youth related issues, such as areas of age and stage development, into other more general courses. One such example is FUSBC (Fundación Universitaria Seminario Bíblico de Colombia), mentioned in §4.3.1 above, regarding courses such as Human Relations and Christian Formation. What if this basic approach to integration was broadened?

Bethel Seminary in Minnesota, USA has decided to intentionally infuse conversation about children and youth into every Bible, theology, and ministry course offered to degree-seeking students. Following a presentation by Denise Muir-Kjesbo that sought to elevate the visibility of children and youth in higher education, Bethel Seminary faculty agreed to add elements to their existing and future courses that invite students to adopt a children-and-youth lens as they engage coursework across all disciplines. These additions have taken the form of (1) case studies centered on young people and their families, (2) theological foundations that elevate children and youth, and (3) studies of biblical passages that highlight the significant roles young people played throughout Scripture. This shared agreement means that students, regardless of ministry focus, will encounter the heart of God for young people as active participants in the kingdom today.

Additionally, Bethel Seminary offers both a certificate in Children, Youth, and Family Ministry (three 4-credit classes) and a complete master’s degree in Children, Youth, and Family Ministry (nine 4-credit classes).[50] This program is one of the few in the United States that focuses explicitly on equipping leaders for professional children, youth, and/or family ministry in local church and parachurch contexts. Other seminaries offer certificates, concentrations, and minors in Children, Youth, and Family Ministry, often in conjunction with a more general ministry degree (e.g., a master’s in Christian Formation).

4.6 Providing a Full Range of TE Degrees

Located in Taytay, Rizal, Philippines, a nation home to approximately forty million children,[51] the Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS) offers a comprehensive range of programs in HCD.[52] These academic offerings span from certificate levels to a PhD, all designed to meet the growing need for competent child advocates, practitioners, and educators within both the church and society. The HCD initiative began following a 2007 consultation between seminary leaders and Compassion International (CI), which resulted in the formulation of the program’s initial courses. By the summer of 2008, the seminary launched its first certificate modules, eventually expanding into MA and PhD tracks through the collaborative efforts of Nativity Petallar, Floyd Cunningham, Dan Balayo, and representatives from CI.[53]

The PhD in HCD, which held its first class in November 2009, is a rigorous, interdisciplinary, research-oriented degree offered in partnership with the Asia Graduate School of Theology (AGST). This program received official recognition from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in 2012 and earned accreditation from the Asia Theological Association (ATA) in 2018, followed by re-accreditation in 2023. While the original PhD curriculum required 60 units, CHED approved a 45-unit curriculum in 2022. To date, this advanced program has produced nineteen graduates who serve in various ministries to, for, and with children across different countries.

Complementing the doctoral track, APNTS offers an 18-unit graduate certificate and a 30-unit graduate diploma specifically designed to train those who minister to children in crisis. Additionally, the MA in Religious Education with an HCD concentration prepares students to teach at the undergraduate level and act as spokespersons and leaders in child advocacy. These HCD programs emphasize a contemplative approach to education, encouraging students to discover wisdom through research while seeking creative and loving ways to transform the world.[54] Through these efforts, APNTS operates on the belief that the seminary is a primary instrument for the holistic thriving of children and families.

4.7 Moving Forward

As can be seen, several theological schools around the world have already included Jesus’s view of children in their academic programs in a variety of ways, e.g., as single courses for all theological students; as co-curricular modules; and as undergraduate and graduate degree programs, both in person and online.

Even so, the need for trained children’s ministry leaders worldwide remains high. A new initiative aimed at standing in this gap is just beginning to launch. The Academic Alliance project, affiliated with the Global Children’s Forum, is positioning itself to provide pathways, academic resources (such as curricula and textbooks), and guidance to institutions interested in offering coursework at any level that contributes to training leaders in children’s ministry.[55] From individual classes to certificates and degrees, the Academic Alliance has partners around the world (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America) ready to come alongside institutions seeking to develop such offerings.

5. Conclusion

If we are going to think big about the future of the church, we need to be willing to start with the smallest among us. The health of the church tomorrow and today depends on our faithful discipleship of “the next generation.” A leader who cannot theologize about children cannot engage a significant portion of the church and world’s population. Serious, robust, and responsible consideration of children, youth, and their families will require academic institutions to include them as a non-negotiable topic of theological reflection in their preparation of all future ministry leaders. The church needs senior pastors, associate pastors, missionaries, worship pastors, and lay leaders who understand God’s heart for the rising generations and who will champion discipleship ministry with them.

Led by movements in the Majority World, advocacy for the essential inclusion of child theology in theological scholarship is rising. The curricular models introduced in this article illustrate how global ministry training institutions are innovating to address this need. More institutions and innovation are needed for the sake of the church and the world’s 2.01 billion children. The Academic Alliance of the Global Children’s Forum stands ready to walk alongside institutions of higher biblical learning that want to fill this leadership gap and introduce children as a serious, non-negotiable topic of theological reflection. Let us start small and begin to think big!