Teach to Preserve the Message

One of the reasons why it’s important to teach kids about the Reformation is because of the content of what the Reformers taught. One of the things that Luther said was that if we don’t teach the next generation, then all of our efforts are for nothing; we’re going to lose the ground we’ve gained.

In many cases, the lifespan of the gospel is simply one generation, and the next generation loses it.

It is so important that we teach the next generation who the Reformers were. Not so that we put them up on a pedestal, but because we see the Reformers so clearly pointing us back to Christ, and we see them pointing us to Scripture.

The stories of the Reformers are great stories. They are true heroes. They lived fascinating lives, full of adventure. We’re selling our kids short by not telling them these stories.

This is our family tree. Omitting this history would be like not telling kids about their grandparents or their great-grandparents—the distant relatives who are crucial to their identities.

The Reformers are our family tree, and we owe it our children—and to the generations to come—to introduce them to our family tree.