Books by Perry G. Downs

Teaching for Spiritual Growth deals with two important questions: 1) What does it mean to be spiritually mature ? and 2) What can the church do to help people grow spiritually? These questions are explored from the perspectives of theology, developmental psychology, and educational learning theory. The book integrates the three perspectives into a unified view of the teaching-learning process based on a biblical view of persons: 1. Theology: the divine side of spiritual growth. What does the nature of God tell us about teaching spiritual maturity? 2. Psychology: how God has designed people to grow. How does human development affect the process of achieving spiritual maturity? 3. Education: the learning process that produces spiritual growth. What is the process people go through to achieve spiritual maturity? The goal is to help readers develop a philosophy of Christian education that will be applicable to a variety of ministry contexts.