I've been teaching Church History for a while now. First it was the occasional lesson to my Sunday School kids, followed by a few years of teaching it to the Wednesday morning homeschool group. A friend of mine convinced me to try teaching a proper class, and that led to Miss Dorothy's Church History Class for high school students. I'm in my third year now; I did year 1 twice and am now teaching (and writing lessons for) year 2. It's a lot of fun and I'm enjoying both the learning and the teaching.
A pretty standard question is always: Why bother teaching Church history (or any history for that matter)? Why do we have to learn about the past? How can it be important now?
This is what I teach the kids:
First, we need to see that history repeats itself; what is happening in the world now (no matter what is happening) is nothing new and nothing to be shocked about. It has all happened before and will all happen again if the Lord continues to tarry.
Second, we need to know what battles have already been fought so we can recognize the same old errors when they pop up under a different name and know how (and why) to fight against them.
Third, we can draw encouragement and strength from those who have gone before us to help us as we face our own trials and persecution.
Finally, we need to remember that our study of history is not meant to be simply an intellectual pursuit, but is intended to teach us more about the God who is sovereign over all history. If we learn people, places, and dates, but do not learn more about Him, we have not learned history properly.
There you have it: Four reasons to study history in general and Church history in particular.
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