Telling The Full Gospel
How We Teach the Bible and Nurture Faith in Children
At Croydon Vineyard, we want children to grow up knowing not just Bible stories, but the whole story of God — a story that includes joy and beauty, brokenness and pain, rescue and hope. We believe children are capable of engaging with a rich, honest faith when it’s shared in age-appropriate, relational ways.
Our children’s ministry is shaped by the conviction that faith grows through relationship, experience, and understanding the big picture of Scripture, not just learning isolated moral lessons. From our youngest children upwards, we help them encounter God’s presence, discover who Jesus is, and understand that they belong and have a part to play in His Kingdom.
Telling the Whole Gospel Story
In line with Parenting for Faith, we aim to tell the full gospel story, not a simplified or partial one. This means helping children gradually discover all six parts of God’s story:
Creation – God made the world and it was good
Relationship – We were created to know and enjoy God
Brokenness – The world is not as it should be; things go wrong
Rescue – Jesus came to save, heal, forgive, and restore
Restoration – God is at work making all things new
Response – We are invited to live with God and join His work
You can read more about this approach here:
👉 Parenting for Faith – Telling the Whole Story
https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/post/telling-the-whole-story/
Three Things to Try at Home
1. Reflect on Your Story with God
In our connect groups we are exploring just this! If you aren’t in a connect group and would like to find out more, visit our CONNECT GROUP page to find out more!
Take some time to think about your own journey of faith through the lens of the full gospel story:
Where have you experienced God’s goodness and joy?
Where have you known brokenness, loss, or disappointment?
Where have you seen healing, forgiveness, or restoration?
Sharing age-appropriate parts of your real story helps children see that faith isn’t about perfection — it’s about a faithful God who walks with us through every season.
2. Bringing the Full Gospel to Under 5s
For younger children, the focus is on experience and repetition, not explanation.
At home you might:
Emphasise creation and relationship: “God made you and He loves you.”
Gently acknowledge brokenness: “Sometimes things feel sad or hard.”
Celebrate rescue and restoration: “Jesus helps us. God makes things better.”
Simple questions to try:
“I wonder what God loves about you?”
“I wonder how God feels when we’re sad?”
3. Bringing the Full Gospel to Ages 6–11
Older children can begin to connect stories together and reflect more deeply.
At home you might:
Talk honestly about brokenness in the world and in ourselves
Link Bible stories to Jesus and God’s bigger rescue plan
Encourage children to respond through prayer, kindness, and trust
Simple questions to try:
“I wonder where you see God helping people in this story?”
“I wonder what this shows us about God?”
“I wonder how God might want us to live today?”
By telling the whole story of the Bible — with honesty, hope, and space for questions — we aim to partner with parents in raising children whose faith is deep, resilient, and rooted in relationship with God.