Catechisms have been around for a long time. Maybe so long you’ve forgotten they are around.
Depending on your background you may have grown up in a church that regularly used a catechism, such as the Heidelberg, the Westminster, or even Martin Luther’s. Maybe its time to revive the use of catechisms.
Kevin DeYoung wrote a book on using the Heidelberg Catechism today, called ‘The Good News We Almost Forgot“.
In an interview at First Things, he gave four good reasons for why you should use a catechism:
- It’s an intuitive way to learn about the faith. There’s almost a conversational element to reading through a catechism.
- When we use old confessions and catechisms were [sic] help teach our people that their faith is an old faith, shared by millions over many centuries. We also help them realize that other Christians have asked the same questions.
- Catechisms are ready made documents for Sunday school, new members classes, or even the occasional sermon.
- Catechisms guard us against faddishness and chronological snobbery.
The Gospel Coalition has sponsored a hybrid of the great, classic Reformed catechisms that they have put into an app and more. My family has been using it at home, and it is formatted in such a way that the kids can learn a shorter colour-coded version of each Q&A, but in the same thought flow as the longer version for adults.
College students in my church are using it too.
Its called New City Catechism. Get it. Use it. Grow.