The Bible and Children in Pentecostal Christianity: A Case Study of the Children’s Ministry in the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA FIF)
Keywords:
Pentecostal Christianity, ZAOGA FIF, Children’s ministryAbstract
The Bible plays a central role in the life of every Christian particularly in Pentecostal Christianity. Its centrality is also emphasized in the life of children. Parents in Pentecostal Churches feel proud to see their children excelling in Children’s ministry. Children are trained at a very tender age to memorize scriptural verses as part of socialization in the Christian walk. Therefore, it is the supreme role of the Children’s ministry teachers, parents and the Church at large to act as mentors. Most Pentecostal Churches like the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe, ZAOGA FIF, Family of God (to mention but a few) value the place of the Children’s ministry in exposing children to the Bible. Virtues such as discipline, honesty, loyalty and righteousness are regarded as important but can only be possible when children are nurtured in the world of the Bible at a tender age. Different age-groups have been created in the ZAOGA FIF’s Children’s ministry and teachers have been trained to specifically deal with such age-groups. However, critics have dismissed such socialization as part of indoctrination that doesn’t psychologically help children except to make them fundamentalist followers of certain leaders and their doctrines. This article will qualitatively look at the centrality of the Bible and the reading material used for Children’s ministry in grooming children in ZAOGA FIF.
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