A New Chapter
Getting a PhD is something I have always wanted to do. During seminary, one of my missions professors advised the class not to pursue doctoral studies right after graduation but to wait until we had a question that needed answered. I followed his advice. During the lockdowns in 2020, I was able to read a lot in work-related fields: trauma, parenting, missions, children’s ministry. During all these readings, I also noticed what I wasn’t reading. Spiritual formation of children is not a common topic to write about, and most of what has been written is over a decade old. Trauma is a trending topic in society, but not so much within the church yet. I started to think, what would the spiritual formation of children who have been traumatized look like? Taking into account brain damage, psychological effects, bodily injuries, relationship/attachment issues, and the list could go on—how do these affect spiritual formation? How do these and the developmental stages affect spiritual formation of...