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A Youth Implementation of the 6 Stages of Spiritual Development

When implemented for young people, the order of The 6 Stages of Spiritual Development must be rearranged.

The Foundations Stage of Spiritual Development investigates such abstract concepts as sin, grace, redemption, eternity, heaven, and relationship with an invisible God.  To successfully complete the first stage, a student must be able to comprehend abstract concepts.  Abstract thinking is not developed before the age of 10 years.  Individuals before the 5th grade, therefore, should be discipled through the 2nd and 3rd Stages first.

The objectives of the 2nd stage, Trusting in the Lord, can be understood at some level by preschoolers.  The Basics of the knowledge and culture of the Faith, the 3rd stage, can be understood and adopted by early elementary students.  In a youth implementation, then, the stages are presented in a 2,3,1,4,5,6 order rather than the traditional sequence of 1 through 6.