Contributing to a new Lausanne paper Towards a Biblical and Theological Framework for Child Participation in the Missio Dei
Welcome to my newsletter, ‘Bible, Mission, and More’, where I share what’s on my mind as I teach, research, and write on the Bible and mission, children-at-risk in the Bible and contemporary society, Psalms and Wisdom Literature, and a range of other topics. I teach at All Nations Christian College in the UK, though views are my own. You may also like to check out my Bible and Mission website.
Each Tuesday I’ll share something I’ve read, something I’ve written or recorded, something on learning and teaching, and a quote to reflect on.
Something a little bit different this week. Rather than the usual pattern of something read and written, and a reflection on learning and teaching, I want to highlight a piece of work I’ve been involved in that has just been published.
Lausanne Occasional Paper 82:
Towards a Biblical and Theological Framework for Child Participation in the Missio Dei
Lausanne Occasional Papers are published by the Lausanne Movement who describe them as, ‘our in-depth essays addressing key issues related to global evangelism, missions, and contemporary challenges facing the church. They provide analysis, theological reflection, and practical insights to equip Christians for effective ministry and mission work.’
Last year I was invited to join a team of co-authors to develop a piece of work commissioned by the Lausanne Children at Risk Issue Network. The co-authors are Bradley Thompson, Christine Karanja, María Alejandra Andrade Vinueza, and myself. The process has been coordinated and edited by Lucy Kajidori.
You can read the whole thing here: Towards a Biblical and Theological Framework for Child Participation in the Missio Dei
Here’s the abstact:
Children can declare and display the glory of God. In this Lausanne Occasional Paper (LOP), the authors present a compelling case for the ways in which mission to, for, with and by children is a precious gem which the church has a Biblical mandate to unearth, clean off and allow to shine in all its multifaceted splendor. The authors explore how the church’s mandate to engage in the mission of God, which the authors here will refer to as the missio Dei, is not an adult only mandate. Children have a valuable role in the kingdom of God, as kingdom builders. This paper presents a call upon the church in this season to renew her vision of the value and role of children in the kingdom of God and the missio Dei.
The issue network had already produced some important work in defining and framing mission, ‘to, for, and with’ children-at-risk. You can find some useful links here:
Who Are Children-at-Risk: A Missional Definition
Quito Call to Action on Children-at-Risk
LOP 66 Mission With Children-at-Risk
Of particular note has been the assertion that children are not just ‘recipients’ or ‘objects’ of mission but that they can be active participants or agents in God’s purposes. Building on the excellent work done previously, we wanted to develop even further this idea of participation.
I am always struck as I return to the biblical texts how rich and subversive they can be. In the section ‘How Children and Youth Participation is Presented in Scripture’ we look at a range of passages in the Old and New Testaments that evidence children and young people’s participation in God’s purposes:
Children perceive
Children speak
Children signify
Children act
I like how that section concludes:
This brief review of how children are present and active participants in the biblical story demonstrates possibilities for children’s involvement in contemporary life and witness of the church. Adults should also learn humility from these passages, noting the way children were sometimes readily dismissed by them (such as Rhoda in Acts 12). In conclusion, we may say that these biblical passages suggest several questions for the contemporary church to consider:
Do we expect children to have spiritual insight themselves or do we assume they are dependent on adults for this?
Are we humble enough to accept that children may notice things about God that adults miss?
Do we pay attention to what children are saying and doing?
How might adults be empowering or inhibiting children’s kingdom work and witness?
Are we ready to discern how God may be using children to point to his purposes?
Are we willing to accept that children may be uniquely positioned to take part in God’s mission in ways that adults are not able or willing to do?
One final place I’ll point to is the concluding ‘call to action’ at the end of the paper.
A Concluding Call to Action
The insights presented in this Lausanne Occasional Paper illuminate the critical and transformative role of children in the Missio Dei. The evidence is both biblically and theologically compelling: children are not merely recipients of mission but active participants and agents of transformation in God’s unfolding purposes. Their unique perspectives, spiritual sensitivity, and innate capacity to influence their communities challenge long-standing paradigms that often marginalize their contributions. We have shown that children can participate in mission with and without adults.
In a previous Lausanne Occasional Paper—Mission with Children at Risk, we emphasised mission to, for and with children. We have shown that mission can be to, for, with and by children.
Throughout Scripture, children emerge as vital contributors to mission and ministry. They are not only carriers of God’s message but also embody the kingdom values of humility, dependency, and faith. The biblical narrative, from Miriam’s courage to the child who provided loaves and fish for a miracle, reminds us that children are indispensable to the story of God’s redemption.
Holistic child development that encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions is not only a reflection of the kingdom of God but also a prerequisite for empowering children to participate meaningfully in God’s mission. This paper underscores the church’s responsibility to foster environments where children are heard, valued, and equipped to fulfill their roles as kingdom agents.
As missiology increasingly embraces child participation, significant opportunities arise to reshape our theological frameworks and missional strategies. The church must continue to learn from children, acknowledging them as full spiritual beings with profound insights into faith, justice, and hope. Moreover, the church’s mission will only grow in breadth and depth as it intentionally includes and celebrates the voices and agency of children.
This conclusion serves as a call to action for the global church to repent of past omissions, reimagine its approach to mission, and boldly commit to raising a generation of children who, empowered by the Spirit, embody the hope and transformation of the gospel in a broken world. Let us move forward, championing child participation as a biblical imperative and a missional necessity, ensuring that the kingdom of God flourishes through the voices and lives of the youngest among us.
The Lausanne Occasional Paper on Towards a Biblical and Theological Framework for Child Participation in the Missio Dei is freely available on the Lausanne website.
If you want to explore these ideas more, why not join me in April for the All Nations online ‘Advanced Short Course’ on Vulnerable Children: Biblical and Theological Perspectives?
Thanks for joining the journey and see you next week,
Tim