…the whole educational apparatus is given its goals and motives by the style and seriousness of congregational life. The more Christian education can grow out of— and at the same time support-congregational life, the more it will be effective for the society in which we live. (C. E. Nelson 44)
Nelson’s contention is consistent with the three-phased approach to child pedagogy identified in Chapter 4 of this study. While the greater church provides the means of establishing solidarity within the local community, it must be the seamless intertwining of the child’s education with congregational life that cements his commitment to the covenant. To enable the success of this pedagogy, the combination of “growing out of” and “support” for congregational life is critical to the Torah model.
At the highest level, the greater church facilitates not only an abstract understanding of the deity, but it also facilitates a local community solidarity associated with that understanding. This solidarity is essential because it is the local community, the local congregation, which must perform the education.
The “growing out of” aspect of the congregational life is revealed in the festivals, the ritual calendar, the sign-acts present in ritual, and the interconnection of that calendar within the daily lives of the congregation. The child shares the bond of these rituals with all members, not in isolation or with only his peers. The intent of this is not to “train” the child, but to “encourage curiosity” within the child. The questions raised in the child’s mind must challenge the rituals for the sake of deeper understanding. On the other hand, they should not challenge the community itself, and this is where the criticality of “support” for congregational life is essential.
The “support” aspect comes from the experience of mutual support the family receives and gives to the congregation. The congregation is more than a community defined by ritual practices which can easily be exchanged for other ritual practices. Rather, the congregation must be the economic, social and spiritual support for the family. The congregation must be the source of the redeeming individual who appears at the time of need. In return, the family must support the congregation by being that redeemer when called upon, by providing for the local welfare of each member family, and for gladly entering into patronage relationships for the rehabilitation of its members. The child must be privy and experience all of these “support” relationships. His pedagogy must come not only from his family but from all those who benefit from the congregation.
In this way, the relevance of congregational life is far more than spiritual. Thus, when the spiritual meets the practical, the questions the child presents can be given holistic responses that motivate the child to propagate the same ideology for the next generation.
Convergenism 
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