A catechism works by making doctrine portable: questions short enough to carry and answers precise enough to build on. Benjamin Tellinghuisen's 190 questions and answers help parents shepherd their children, give new converts the fundamentals of the faith, and let a whole congregation learn sound doctrine together.

The result is a succinct yet systematic scaffolding on which Christians can fortify their faith, and the commendations it has drawn from pastors turn on exactly that - it is the thing they had been looking for to put into the hands of adults and families rather than only children. Usable across a church rather than confined to the nursery.