At Gospel Grown, our core values are foundational and permeate everything we create.
- God-Glorifying – God alone is worthy of all glory and people’s greatest joy is found in praising God above all other things. As humans, we are sinfully bent to elevate ourselves to the center of the universe. And so, our greatest need is to be captivated by something bigger than ourselves, namely God (Rom 11:36). Children are wonderful and special, yet they need to experience the freedom that comes when their own worth is understood in light of God’s infinite worth. Children need to be confronted with the beauty of God to gain a true understanding of their own worth.
…our greatest need is to be captivated by something bigger than ourselves…
- Christ-Centered – Jesus Christ taught that the Scriptures bear witness about Him. The correct understanding of Scripture is the one that has Jesus and His work as the central message of Scripture (John 5:39, Luke 24:44). Yet, often Bible stories are confusingly told in isolation from this central message. Children need to be shown and taught, rightly, how all Scripture points to Jesus.
The correct understanding of Scripture is the one that has Jesus and His work as the central message of Scripture.
- Gospel-Grounded – Salvation is by grace, through faith alone, apart from works. Too often—particularly in children’s literature—moralistic Christian principles (e.g. do not lie) are presented as the primary application of Scripture. Yet people cannot obey these biblical morals in their sinful state. Belief in the Gospel is not only a necessity to transform a sinner into a willing, obedient follower of Jesus, but ongoing belief in the Gospel is the vital fuel that propels lifelong obedience to Jesus (John 15:5). Children need to be taught to believe in the Gospel and to keep believing in the Gospel as the foundation for all obedience.
…belief in the Gospel is the vital fuel that propels lifelong obedience to Jesus
- Biblically Broad – All Scripture is inspired by God and all of it is profitable. Christians need nourishment from the whole counsel of God for healthy growth and maturity (2 Tim 3:16, Acts 20:26). Too often children are functionally given an abridged Bible when they are not taught from every part of Scripture. Children need to be exposed to all of God’s Word, not just the usual children’s Bible stories.
Too often children are functionally given an abridged Bible…
- Doctrinally Deep – Infants receive all their nourishment from milk, but when they grow they require solid food. As they grow, children will not develop if kept exclusively on milk (1 Pet 2:2, Heb 5:12–14). However, often children are kept on biblical “milk” under the assumption that they cannot understand or handle certain parts of the Bible simply because they are children. When biblical teaching is kept “lite” for children, they quickly determine that the Bible is inadequate to answer the big questions that their developing brains are searching for. Deep truths need not be convoluted truths. These deep truths can be communicated with clarity, simplicity, and appropriately for children. Jesus welcomed the children—the little children! —to Himself and commanded His disciples not to hinder them. Children ought to be fed the deep, rich, and beautiful truths of Scripture.
When biblical teaching is kept “lite” for children, they quickly determine that the Bible is inadequate to answer the big questions that their developing brains are searching for.