AP

Review of Tim Beilharz, The Child in God’s Church; A Comprehensive Vision for Children’s Ministry, Sydney: Youthworks Media, 2025.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting many churches and talking to them about their youth and children’s ministry. In some places, there are full-time staff members looking after this, but it’s far more common that a part-time or a volunteer person is in charge. In many cases, there are no children or youth attending the church, and it can be hard to know how to start.

Recently, PYNSW has broadened its focus from equipping churches to disciple youth, to including children as part of that process of equipping. In that vein, I was glad to read Tim Beilharz’s new book, The Child in God’s Church.

Beilharz  offers a theologically robust and practically oriented framework for children’s ministry. For Presbyterian churches, this work helps us consider how we can nurture the faith of the youngest members of our covenant community. Drawing on sound theological principles and practical wisdom, Beilharz presents a holistic approach that will benefit ministers, children’s workers, and parents alike.

The first section establishes crucial theological groundwork, exploring the theology of the child and God’s church. Beilharz thoughtfully examines what it means for children to be part of the covenant community, avoiding both an over-emphasis on educational programming and an under-emphasis on intentional discipleship. His discussion of Christian faith as “knowing, loving, and obeying King Jesus” models the kind of simple wording that helps to include children in what’s happening at church.

He then turns to educational theory, and those who are teacher-trained will be more familiar than I with his references to Piaget and Vygotsky, and thinking through how the theory of child development relates to youth ministry.

Building on these foundations, the book’s second section outlines three complementary spheres for children’s discipleship. First, a chapter on age-specialist ministry, offering guidance for creating developmentally appropriate environments for children while continuing to maintain theological integrity. The family ministry chapter recognizes parents as primary disciple-makers of their children while providing practical tools to equip households for this calling. This notion, that other ministries at church support parents as primary disciple-makers, can have a profound effect on parents who might otherwise think of delegating this responsibility back to their church.

 Perhaps most valuable is Beilharz’s case for intergenerational ministry, which offers concrete strategies for meaningful integration of children into the broader faith community—an area where many of our churches have room to grow.

The book’s greatest strength lies in its balanced approach that neither abandons traditional Sunday School models nor uncritically adopts contemporary ministry trends. Beilharz offers principles adaptable to churches of various sizes and contexts within our Presbyterian framework. While some examples may need adjustment for smaller rural congregations, the basic theology and structure (with some thinking around Presbyterian specifics still required) remain universally applicable. The practical wisdom offered throughout provides immediate action steps while encouraging long-term strategic thinking about children’s place in the church.

The Child in God’s Church should prove a help to ministers, children’s ministry workers, elders, and anyone involved in children’s discipleship within Presbyterian churches. It fills a significant gap in resources that are both theologically sound and practically useful. For those seeking to develop or refine their approach to children’s ministry, this book offers a great starting point for thinking through how to disciple children.

– David Phillips, Convener of the GAA Training and Discipleship Committee and General Manager of Presbyterian Youth NSW

To learn more about children’s ministry connect – our regular gathering of children’s ministry workers, please fill in this form: https://mgzrnmie.paperform.co/