Discipling Kids
Where practical parenting meets practiced theology for families and ministries discipling kids for Christ.
Discipling Kids
Modeling Evangelism: Helping Kids—and Learning from Them (with Catherine Reynolds)
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How do children learn to share their faith? And what might adults discover when they pay attention to the way children respond to the gospel?
In this episode, I’m joined by pastor’s wife and friend Catherine Reynolds for a conversation about evangelism—what it is, why it matters, and how parents can model it in everyday life.
We discuss:
- What evangelism actually is—and what it isn’t
- Why children need to see faith shared, not just taught
- Practical ways to involve kids in gospel conversations
- How children can become examples for adults in faith and witness
- Insights from The Great Dechurching and why intentional faith formation matters now more than ever
Children are not only learners—they can often remind us what simple trust, bold faith, and joyful witness look like. As families seek to disciple the next generation, evangelism becomes more than an event—it becomes a way of life that children are invited into and shaped by.
Welcome to Discipling Kids Podcast, where practical parenting meets practiced theology for families and ministries discipling kids for Christ. I'm your host, Pastor John Scheller. Hello, everyone. Whether you are listening on Discipling Kids Podcast or watching on YouTube, I'm so glad to have you back with Discipling Kids. And I have a special guest with me, Catherine Reynolds. And Catherine, you and I have known each other for several years now. And thank you for coming to speak to us about evangelism, the importance of sharing the gospel, and how we as parents can be modeling and sharing with our kids how to be sharing Christ with others.
SPEAKER_00Now we're just a wife Roseanne, also. That's right. We're just adults, so we're a long time too. So it's fun. It's fun to be on the young adult side and then now be on the like supposedly grown-up side.
SPEAKER_01That's right. On the parent side of things. Absolutely. Well, Catherine, you recently earned a master's of arts in evangelism and leadership from Wheaton College. You have worked both in the private sector and currently now are working in some uh public sectors in politics, both as a councilwoman in one of our local cities here in the Cincinnati area. And you are currently the director of government relations and industry standards for the American Fence Association.
SPEAKER_00Yes. It's a mouthful, but it's fun. But you're doing it. Praise the Lord. Yes.
SPEAKER_01And you are the wife of Pastor Kyle, as I said, and a mom.
SPEAKER_00That's right. I have two kids. They're eight and ten. Annalise is ten and Henry is eight.
SPEAKER_01Well, thanks for being here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, my pleasure.
SPEAKER_01Well, to kick us off, uh talk to us about what is evangelism.
SPEAKER_00Well, evangelism is um in its most basic form, and the definition I like to give because it's just easy, is sharing the gospel through word or deed. And I think the hardest thing when we think about evangelism, especially if you grew up in a more evangelical tradition like I did, and maybe you did too, is sometimes when we hear evangelism, we think about maybe this idea of the person on the street holding the sign that says, you know, repent and and come to Jesus. And um, and it's not that the Lord can't use all things and the Holy Spirit can't use all things. Um, but yet there is a little bit more of a um a deeper definition to evangelism in the Bible. There's lots of different words that the Bible refers to to represent evangelism in ways that that when we think about it, sometimes when we think about that model, which seems very intimidating if you're not somebody who likes to go out in the public sphere and be out there, uh, there is a place for you. And of course, Jesus tells us that we are all um evangelists. Paul talks about doing the work of an evangelist. So um we all have this commission with through the great commission given to us by Jesus to be evangelists in our in our local sphere.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And and even as you mentioned there, this idea of sharing the good news, because even in the word itself, and we see that in the gospel of Luke, chapter four, when Jesus is reading from the Isaiah scroll, where he says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. And that that word there to preach the gospel is where we get our word evangelism. So evangelion for gospel, and to be able to sharing that gospel is where we get the word evangelism. Thank you. Yeah. And so where where else do we see in scripture examples of evangelism and why it's important to be sharing the good news with others?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, um, I mean, it's all over scripture in different ways. Uh I've I love the story of John the Baptist, of course, and he is uh one of our um great evangelists in the Bible. And I think the interesting thing about John the Baptist, a lot of language that the Bible uses is bearing witness. His life was bearing witness to the life of Christ and the coming of Christ. And that gets to that deeper definition of evangelism of yes, it is our words and our telling of the gospel, which of course uh the gospel is the telling of the story of Jesus coming to earth to be a propitiation for our own sin and dying on the cross and the Lord raising him from the dead so that we can have eternal life. Um, and through faith in Jesus Christ, that's how we get to do those things. So that's that's the gospel in a very short nutshell. Um and we tell that, but we also can show that and bear witness to it very similarly to how John the Baptist did. And Jesus himself talks about what is evangelism when he says, I have come to uh usher in the new kingdom. So we know part of the gospel is this concept that not only Christ raised from the dead and defeated evil on that, and that we have a chance of reconciliation with God, but that that new life can start here and now. Um, and so all these things are a part of the gospel. And when our evangelism is telling that full story, it really becomes more of a holistic approach than just a verbal announcement, which it is, of course, always too. But there's just it's a multifaceted, I think, more than a lot of people realize.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell When you're saying we, who is sharing, like who is expected to be sharing the gospel?
SPEAKER_00Yes. Everybody. Nobody is off the hook. And I think um that's also something you know we see Paul talk about spiritual gifting and how um some people have teaching and some people have preaching and some people have encouragement and some people have evangelizing. Uh and yet, yes, while there are some people who are specifically good at that, I will say my husband, Pastor Kyle, is I think he has the gift of evangelism specifically. Um he's excellent at it. He loves to tell people about Jesus, he loves to get into like deep conversations, he loves to spend the time with people to like go into the nitty-gritty. Um, where I really don't have that skill. I hate to admit that, but he's way better at that than me. And so he has the gift of evangelism, and yet, even in my inadequacy of patience, I am still required as a Christ follower to make that part of my worship of God is to evangelize others.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell Well, that's interesting because you're saying this isn't a specific gifting of mine, but that was a focus of your degree. So then why did you choose to study it?
SPEAKER_00Aaron Powell Yeah, that's a great question. Um because I I felt ill-equipped to do it. I I felt um I I was in, you know, I work in a secular society and I come across people all the time who are dealing with really deep uh struggles, and like all of us do. Um, and I know that the gospel gives hope to people around me, and yet I didn't know enough nuance of how to express it in a way where I could really connect with them. And so part of the reason I studied evangelism is I thought, okay, how do I reach the people that are really outside the faith who um they don't have the same base level I do? Maybe they didn't go to Sunday school every week and know all the stories. How do I connect with them? And that was intimidating to me. Um, and I didn't want that to be intimidating any longer. So that was part of the impetus for that.
SPEAKER_01So tell us why should parents practice evangelism with their kids?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, um, you know, the Bible is very clear with so many things in life that we come up and do studies on now, the Bible has had it right from the beginning. And it says to us, you know, raise up a child in the way that they should go and they will not depart from it when they are old. Um and studies back this up. It's very interesting. I my first master's degree is in public policy, so I really enjoy data and analytical um research on topics. And what I really love is when that data affirms and amplifies what the Bible is already saying. And so what we see, uh, the Bible tells us that truth. And there was just a recent study through Pew Research, um, it was the religious landscape study, it was published in December of 2025, but it took a big sampling of people from like 2023 through 2024. And in this study, they said that parents who are take their children who are religious and actually take their children to religious services, no matter what type of service, Christian, Jewish, whatever it might be, on a weekly basis, those same children as adults are 74% more likely to stay in that religious practice. Um and countering that, the same study looked at people who were passively religious or said, you know, we have a religion, maybe they went once a year, but they did not actively attend a congregation regularly, those children were less than half as likely to retain that religion as an adult. So it just goes to show that as parents, we are very impactful, particularly in surrounding our children, the community of faith. Um, and so when we act that out and show that in our homes, the Bible is correct. It will be carried on the majority of the time. And so for Kyle and I, that means incorporating them and what we do on a normal basis and not siloing our kids' activity to the adult activity. And I think like when you look at other cultures, sometimes they do this better than American culture. Um, this idea that, you know, you look at European societies even that the children are just expected to come along, go to the late-night dinners, eat the same food. Um, other cultures, you know, the children are part of the family farm. And certainly there's some of that in the United States, but we also have this tendency to create a child world and an adult world. And you know, it's like the typical, you know, the kids will eat the chicken nuggets and we'll have the adult grown-up food, or the kids will do the ex, you know, they'll play while we are having a grown-up conversation.
SPEAKER_01Kids are at the kids' table. Exactly. Or at the adult table. Yeah, that's a great visual.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I think um when we change our mindset around that and just incorporate the kids in all we do, then that's just gonna naturally flow into them.
SPEAKER_01So how practically should we be doing this then as parents?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, um, I it's interesting because with my own kids, I feel like the ways that they have have taken up evangelism are ways that I would never have even considered to do. Um and yet there are some things that we actually do. So uh Kyle and I, you know, we obviously bring them to church every week and we include them in um many of the young adult events. The kids love the young adults here at the church, they have those relationships. Uh, we take them on mission trips when we go. So we make this a space where they know that they are a valuable part in that. Um, and we want their uh we want their activity in it, and we also want their input from it. So just giving them the sense that they have something to say and we're willing to listen to it, I think is huge. And then the other piece of that is um being open as parents for them to take things a place you wouldn't go and then learning to be comfortable with it later. Um, and I have a great story of that for both of the kids, actually. Both of our children are very um, they're they are very spiritually minded, but very different personalities. Henry, our son, is very boisterous, he likes to really talk a lot and he puts the boy in boisterous. Yes, yes, he does. He's he's very out there and bold. And then Annalise is also really thoughtful, but she is more of um, she loves writing, she loves to be more introspective. So they have totally different styles. But like with Henry, he went through a phase and she did two, where they were really wondering, like, oh, well, we believe in God. And it was this idea of looking around them and saying, Oh, not everyone else does believe in God. And so it became this thing where they would ask random people, like, do you believe in God?
SPEAKER_01And were you prompting that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I was not. I was, and you know, you're like kind of embarrassed as a parent, like, because they're at this phase where social norms aren't quite developed yet. And so for us, we're like, oh, you can't ask people that. But for them, it's really this innocent question. And there was a time when he uh he was on a sports team and he asked a coach about their faith just randomly, warming up for practice, and they came over to me afterwards and you know, they weren't offended by it, like I would be afraid they were offended, but their response was like, wow, you know, he asked me about my faith, and I hadn't thought about my faith in a really long time, and it's really got me thinking. And um, of course, I was kind of embarrassed to know how to respond. And yet he had triggered something in this person that I could never have done. But as a child and someone innocent who can who is bold enough to ask those questions, it just really turned this person to thinking about, huh, what do I think about that now? How is that affecting my life? So it was cool to see.
SPEAKER_01And help me think through, like, like why help our listeners to think through what makes children unique in their ability to talk about their faith.
SPEAKER_00They're very resilient and they are also uh undeterred. So I think that they have a tendency where we might get a rejection as a grown-up and think, oh, I don't want to bring that up again. For them, you know, it's more, well, okay, that didn't that that didn't hit me the same way, and I can try it again later. Um I think the other thing I would say is that with children, they uh have a tendency just to be honest and unfiltered, and we think that's funny and cute as adults. So authentic. Authentic, yes, authentic. And um that makes uh grownups feel very, I think uh lets our guard down a little bit. So for instance, there was another um, there was a book that came out a few years back called The Great Dechurching. And uh the data from that actually was around the same time as with a religious landscape study. And one thing that book particularly looked at people who had been in the church and then left in recent years. So maybe that was because of COVID or what, you know, why are these people leaving the church? And um, what they discovered is that a lot of the people that left actually were not uh non-religious. It wasn't necessarily that they had given up their religiosity or their interest in religion. It was just either they'd moved or they just got the habit of going, or um, just kind of some life event, or maybe they didn't feel accepted in the church they were at, but their beliefs were the same. And so through that, they they thought what would bring these people back? And in this study, when they talked to people, they found um that if they had a feeling of belonging, um, a feeling of authenticity, those are pieces of the puzzle that if they felt that they would really consider coming back. And so um children have this easy way because they are not judgmental by nature, because they are honest, maybe overly honest by nature, to actually hit a segment of the population that a lot of other adults really have lost the ability to do in the same way.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell That's really helpful. So if children have a natural way of bringing about authenticity and belonging, well, how can parents, how can adults be learning from children in regards to evangelism?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, I think for me, and just even looking at my own kid, is to have the courage to take those risks and ask people uh about their faith. And it might not come straight out as in the grocery store line and turning around and saying, Do you believe in God to the person behind you? Maybe it will, but um, it might not come off as well for you as a grown-up as it does for a child. But it might look like inviting that neighbor you've been thinking about to church with you. Um, those same studies have said that most people, the vast majority, if invited by a friend or someone they know, they will actually say yes and try it out. So there's a lot of evidence in that same study, the religious landscape study, over 80% or around 80% of U.S. adults actually consider themselves somewhat spiritual or religious. So there's certainly an openness to it, I think more than most grown-ups realize. Um there's this, there's just this fruit right under the surface, and that if we can learn this kind of boldness from our own children and transfer that into asks to church, asks to Kim, would here we do a cookout, you know, these or a sports league. I know that Kyle has the um young adult baseball team, and they've had um, you know, great success with that. And so inviting people to these events is actually uh usually people will actually say yes.
SPEAKER_01Well, in in terms of encouraging our children and um to be sharing Christ with others and seeing children as a model, though, but what are appropriate boundaries as we consider children and evangelism?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, um the Lord uses the whole body, right, of the church, including our children. And so I think that they are full evangelists, just as though we have spiritual milk and the Bible talks about we're at our Christian life, we're at different levels. Um, that doesn't necessarily mean they need to be, you know, moving to some unreached people group at eight years old and leading leading the way. Um, but it does mean that where the Lord has them now, uh, they absolutely are evangelists. Um, another example is my daughter uh asked a friend, said, Hey, do you believe in God? And uh the the kid said, No. And and she said, Well, can I tell you about them? So I mean that's 100% evangelism right there. And and again, more bold than probably I would do. Um so a hundred percent I think they are full evangelists in the way that the Lord has placed them and for the church. Um I think a different topic, and we don't have time to go through it down this, I guess, trail now, but I also think children with special needs and other um issues, whether they're doing with ADHD or autism, also know God has no mistakes. So there are ways that they are also evangelists and can reach people, uh, particularly people that that some of us can't, particularly as adults. Um so 100% they are. I think the difference is we have to also consider what's age appropriate, spiritually appropriate. So, you know, I've heard some people say, well, I'm gonna send my kid to, you know, X, Y, or Z event or thing, because you know, they can be a good representative uh for Christ, for the other, I don't know, six-year-olds or 12-year-olds. And I'm I think that's a lot of pressure. I don't know, and they might be a great representative, but I don't think we should um put them in positions where they have to have the uh stamina of a 40-year-old at 10 years old, but yet they can fully participate in evangelism at their level with their peer group. Um, and you know, we know that parents are very influenced by their children. There was a a marketing book that I had actually read for a school and it talked about the time it was focused on Gen Z. And it was talking about how much marketing is done towards that generation. And this is several years ago, so they would have been about this 10 to 12 year old range because they knew that that's where the buying power was with that demographic. So it might not be buying power, but when our kids want something or they want to try church or they have a friend inviting them, it is very common that the parents will will follow suit of that.
SPEAKER_01So we've heard you mention a couple different um events and venues. So when should we be evangelizing?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, well, you know, we have all the time really, we have opportunities to evangelize because again, it can be in word and in deed. So it might say, it might be, do you believe in in the Lord? And and here's what the gospel is, or it might just be showing a kindness or a hospitality. Um there is a great argument for hospitality being another key sign of evangelism. Are we welcoming, are we accepting of the person? Of course, you know, depending on where they are spiritually, we might not always be able to accept everything going on in their life, but we can always accept the person and and who God has brought to us in that. Um and I think, you know, I think about my own life and my own parents. And one thing they demonstrated for me is taking me early on as a kid, eight or nine years old, to food banks to help, you know, feed the homeless and all these things. And I actually remember one situation where another adult said, Oh, don't you think she's too young to go with us? And my mom was like, Oh no, she'll be just fine. Like she can handle this, you know. And it was, it was I was like picking up dirty plates and throwing them away after the meal. Um, and it was a great experience for me for so many reasons. And so I I like to take that follow up, and it helped shape who I am and helped me give me appreciation for people that don't have as much as I do, that um struggle with different things that I don't struggle with, and to see that the Lord loves them all and that we're all called to serve them in any way we can, even if it's me going as a 10-year-old and picking up trash off the table. So certainly they can do all things like that. Um, for us, that looked like taking them on the mission trip with us. We went to Quebec last summer. It was a lot of yard work and cleaning out people's homes and um Painting and um all sort all sorts of kind of manual labor washing windows. Uh and not only did the kids do it, but they love doing it. I mean there was just like this joyful glee that they also have like adults don't have with, you know, cleaning out someone's basement or they can make anything fun, you know.
SPEAKER_01Were you nervous at all about their ability to rise to the call?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um I mean, not to like sound whatever, but no, I was I thought they'd be amazing if they were. Way to go, guys. But I will say it's only because we've taken them with us for years on lots of things.
SPEAKER_01We were building up to that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so we'd build up to that. I mean, we took we've taken them on other um, you know, kind of mission-like events in the past, not a full mission trip. And so it wasn't like we just threw them in and said, okay, here you go. It's just been little bites, little bites, and then kind of here's the meal. Um but they did a good job. And they yeah, they complained a little sometimes, but overall, it was very positive.
SPEAKER_01That's incredible. What else would you want to share with us? I see that you have a lot of resources here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yes. I do love resources. Um I I think the biggest thing I would share with people is that it's so important as an adult, especially if you're a practicing Christian adult, to really solidify your own faith in Christ. Because what the research says, what the Bible says, um, even the anecdotal evidence is that that is incredibly powerful. And you can't be a passive parent in that way. So, you know, there's a lot of times we try to, we we try to contract out a lot of stuff in life, whether it be getting our food on Uber or somebody cleaning our house or ordering something on Amazon or whatever it is, like there is something to contract out all the time. And you really can't contract out the spiritual discipline that's required for your own children. And there's evidence, of course, uh, you know, Sunday school teachers, my mom's a Sunday school teacher, uh, pastors of children and families are very important. Um, and yet if you don't have that carried over into the home as that data showed, it will not be as powerful. So I would say to parents out there, you know, if you see areas where you need to um sturdy up your own faith, like do that work. It's very valuable and it's generational. It's just so important that we as parents communicate that. And so evangelism is the same way. If you're a Christian, you're not going to not evangelize if you are growing in your faith. That is gonna just come out of you. You don't have to get a degree in it at all. The Holy Spirit can do so much work. Um, the Holy Spirit can can give you what to say, you know, when you need to say it. And so I think when you're in faith, the Lord just brings those opportunities. I I can't even express to you the amount of times where talking about um my faith or evangelizing was like the last thing I wanted to do because I'm really tired and I'm you know with a bunch of people who aren't uh necessarily in my faith group, but I oh it's awkward. And yet the Lord just presents an opportunity and it just goes amazingly well because that's how the Lord will work. If you are open to it, he will bring it to you and um and you'll do the work and and you'll do the work of the evangelist, just like the Bible tells us.
SPEAKER_01Well, Catherine, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00You're welcome. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for listening to Discipling Kids Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe so you can receive the latest updates about new episodes and other events.