Our family studies the Westminster Shorter Catechism as a tool to help us grasp Bible truths. It is imperative that our children learn the pillars of the Truths of Christianity and learn to stand on them, as our society is rapidly straying away from them, even in the church. And the WSC is a good summary of Biblical Christian teaching.
Our favorite resource for the family is Training Hearts Teaching Minds by Starr Meade. This book is a family devotional based on the shorter catechism (Protestant, reformed doctrine). Rather than just teaching the questions and answers of the shorter catechism by dry rote, there are 6 daily short family devotional readings that explain each question and answer and give Scriptures that teach us these doctrines.
There are 107 questions, so we take about 3 years to go through the WSC. Daily we read the devotional and Scriptures and recite the questions and answers, and perhaps most importantly, discuss what we are reading in the catechism and the Bible. Our younger children that are able to write copy the questions and answers and list references for the verses the teaching comes from. At the end of each week, they write a summary of the teaching in their own words. They Journal this in a Composition Notebook. We all memorize the questions and answers, but it is in this context of understanding, not just rote repetition.
Youth copy the question and do their own research in the Bible before looking at the answer, following R Road to Biblical Wisdom method of study. They then compare their answer to the stated one, and look up other Scriptures listed that they hadn’t come across in their own study. They also then read from The Westminster Shorter Catechism for Study Classes and other resources. In addition to copying the answer, they write their own synopsis from their learning. Their study is kept in a 3 ring-binder.
This study forms a core for our Bible Doctrine studies. We utilize many other resources, but primarily the Bible itself, to learn the tenets of our Christian faith, that we may be faithful followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This is great to hear, but what about the families which do not speak ENglish? Is there a way they can be helped?
Hi Nelson, Thanks for visiting our blog. I’m sorry I can’t help you with this. I don’t know what non-English resources are available for this.