Developing the New Baptist Catechism for Use at First Baptist Church of Farmington, Michigan

Abstract

This project seeks to consider the history of catechism use in Baptist churches and then develop and utilize a New Baptist Catechism for use at First Baptist Church of Farmington, Michigan. Chapter 1 presents the history and ministry context of FBCF and the goals of this project. Chapter 2 considers the biblical rationale for the use and implementation of a catechism by considering Paul’s call to pursue “sound doctrine” and grow in discernment in the pastoral epistles, which is supported by the Old Testament exhortations to know, fear, and love God (Prov 6:6-9; Deut 6:1-9). Chapter 3 explores the history of catechetical instruction in Baptist churches providing a historical-theological analysis of why most Baptists stopped using catechisms by the turn of the twentieth century. Chapter 4 describes the process of composing the New Baptist Catechism as well as its implementation at FBCF. Chapter 5 evaluates the efficacy of the project based on the stated goals. Even though contained only in an appendix, the crowning achievement of the project is the composition of the New Baptist Catechism (appendix 1).