How to Teach the Apostles' Creed

The Apostles' Creed is a profession of faith used during religious services to review the basic tenets of Christian beliefs. The contents of the Apostles' Creed are credited to the beliefs and teachings of the 12 apostles of Jesus. Learning the Apostles' Creed in its entirety is an important step in religious education, as it allows full participation in religious services and traditions. Teaching someone the Apostles' Creed is fairly simple, as the creed itself is short and succinct.

Things You'll Need

• Copies of the Apostles' Creed Paper Pens

Instructions

1. Make a copy of a printout of the Apostles' Creed for each person you will be working with. Read through the creed out loud with the students.

2. Explain the creed, line by line, to the students. Understanding what the words in the Apostles' Creed mean is key to remembering it. It's also important for the students to go beyond recitation, because the Apostles' Creed serves as a profession of faith. Consult resources such as the Catholic Encyclopedia to get a full explanation of the creed.

3. Discuss the creed with the students. Have them add their insight about the words and ideas presented by the creed.

4. Have the students memorize the creed in several sections before stringing them together. Because precision is important with the Apostles' Creed, this will make it easier for the students to memorize the words correctly.

5. Have the students write out the creed and recite it aloud at least once a day until they get it. Setting the creed to a melody can help younger students retain the words.

Resources

• The text of the Apostles' Creed