Spiritual Growth and Development

In the Beginning Program the objective is for the young child to receive and experience God’s love. This occurs in a number of ways. First and foremost the classroom teacher must be God’s instrument of love, care, and nurturing. The child must be able to experience God’s love through her. If not, what is experienced by the child is hypocrisy. Bible reading and instruction provides the foundation and structure for the development of the child. It is like the framework of the house that God fills with His Holy Spirit. “God’s Word never returns void.” God also inhabits the praises of his people. As a child sings and praises God at their own level, the child will experience a glimpse of the Holy Spirit in his or her life. During the beginning portion of the Kirkwood Program, the young child’s spirit should become open to the presence of the Holy Spirit and begin to experience God’s love.

Part of the spiritual growth process in the young child is a result of a growing awareness of self. As the child becomes capable of taking himself as object and becomes capable of thinking about his actions and behavior, he becomes more aware of his own mistakes and shortcomings. The process is like a dual track: The child grows in his knowledge and awareness of God’s love while at the same time grows in his awareness of his own limitations and sin nature. Through the work of the Holy Spirit in the child, a transformation can occur by the child receiving Jesus Christ as his lord and savior. The transformation provides the solution to the sin problem. As the child continues to grow in the Lord as a result of the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, the acting-out behavior, which is a result of the sin nature is diminished.

The transforming process of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life is a life time process. The result is continuing growth in Christ-like character. Through every stage of life there are different challenges to be overcome through the power of the Holy Spirit. The earlier the individual starts the transformation process, the less negative character has to be rebuilt.