Relevance of Death Education in Children’s Ministry

Christian ministry to any age group cannot avoid the topic of death and the afterlife, and this is also true for children’s ministry. Through their favorite cartoon characters or their favorite pets or even actual loved ones, children experience death as well. However, death is not something that adults feel comfortable talking about with children. Like sex education, death education is a highly sensitive issue. In this regard, this paper is to investigate the relevance of death education to children’s ministry, more specifically to children’s holistic growth in Christ. The question, “Does the topic serve children and help them grow in favor with God and men?” is the starting point of this paper. For this purpose, the writer intends to do the following: first, understand children’s concept of death through critical reviews on literatures on this topic; and second, explore the potential benefits of talking about death with children.