The most important thing you can teach kids is the Gospel.
The Gospel is the center of everything God has done to reconcile kids and families to Himself.
We also know that the vast majority of people who come to Jesus do so before the age of 16.
So how do we explain the Gospel to children? How do we help them learn what it means to give their life to Christ and become a follower of Him?
Here are 5 great ways to explain the Gospel to kids.
The Wordless Book.
You can make this yourself or find them online.
Each page has a color that you can use to share the Gospel.
Page 1 - Dark Blue (share how our sin makes Jesus "sad" or "blue") Romans 3:23
Page 2 - Red (Jesus died on the cross and gave His life for us) Romans 5:8
Page 3- White (when we ask Jesus to come into our life, He forgives all our sins and makes us clean) Romans 10:13
Page 4 - Light Blue - After we invite Jesus into our life, we show others by being baptized. (Acts 2:41)
Page 5 - Green - We can grow in our faith by reading the Bible, going to church, praying, and telling others about Jesus.
Page 6 - Yellow - One day we will live with Jesus in heaven. The streets there are made of gold. We will get to praise Jesus and worship Him for eternity.
The Cross Bridge
Draw this out on a piece of paper.
Our sin has separated us from God. No matter how hard we try, we cannot get rid of our sin. (Romans 3:23)
Jesus, God's Son, came from heaven to the earth. He died on the cross and paid for our sins. Jesus made the way back to God when He died for us. (John 14:6)
If you will ask Jesus to be your Forgiver, Leader and Friend, He will come into your life and forgive all your sins. You will cross the bridge (Jesus) and be back with God forever. (John 3:16)
The Dirty Shirt
Take a white shirt and make it dirty (dirt marks, take a black sharpee and make marks all over it, etc). Write the word "sin" on it.
Hold up the dirty t-shirt and show it to the kids. Read and explain Isaiah 64:6. Our very best in God's eyes is like a dirty t-shirt. If we are going to live forever in heaven, then our sins must be washed away. There is only one way to have your sins washed away. Read and share Isaiah 1:18. Jesus died and shed His blood so our sins could be forgiven and washed away. When we ask Him to come into our life, He forgives and washes away your sin. When He sees you, God sees that you are clean and forgiven through Jesus.
Read and share Isaiah 1:18. Jesus died and shed His blood so our sins could be forgiven and washed away. When we ask Him to come into our life, He forgives us and washes away your sin. When God sees you, He sees that you are clean and forgiven through Jesus.
Big Tom the Bully (a story)
Years ago, in a small town, there was a school. There were only a small handful of kids, so everyone met in the same room. This was common in those days... one room school houses.
One of the boys in the school was named Tom. He was called "Big Tom" because he was taller and stronger than even the teachers. Tom was the oldest boy in the school. He was also a bully and would pick on the younger kids. He also disobeyed the teachers all the time. Because of this, teachers would come to the school and Big Tom wouldn't listen to them. He got in trouble all the time. He was so mean that he would often bully the teachers as well. For this reason, the school had a hard time keeping teachers. Tom would bully them and they would leave after a short time.
One day, they got a new teacher. Everyone wondered how long the new teacher would last...once he met Big Tom.
But this teacher did something different. Instead of telling them the rules, he turned to the kids and asked them to make up some rules for class. One 5th grader said, "no bullying" and the teacher wrote it on the board. One 3rd grader said, "No cussing" and the teacher wrote it on the board.
A 7th grader raised her hand and said "no lying" and the teacher wrote it on the board.
Suddenly, from the back of the room, came a loud voice. It was Big Tom. He stood up and said "Teacher...no stealing!!!" The room got quiet. Wow...even Big Tom got quiet.
Big Tom said, "Teacher...we need a punishment if someone breaks a rule." The teacher said, "You are right. What should the punishment be?"
Big Tom said, "Teacher, if someone breaks a rule, then the punishment should be 10 swats on their back with your belt." Everyone got quiet for a few seconds. Then the teacher wrote the punishment on the board. "Okay...that's it. If anyone breaks a rule, then they have to take off their coat and get 10 lashes with my belt."
Things actually started going well. Everyone kept the rules because they had made the rules. Even Big Tom kept the rules.
Until one day when something happened. It was time for lunch. Everyone was getting their lunches ready to eat. Suddenly, from the back of the room, Big Tom yelled out, "Someone stole my lunch!!!" Everyone stared in unbelief. Who would dare to steal Big Tom's lunch?
The teacher, asked everyone to sit down. He started going up and down the rows, asking kids if they had stolen Big Tom's lunch.
"No way would I steal his lunch. Do you thing I am crazy? I would never get on Big Tom's bad side." Up and down the rows, no one admitted to stealing the lunch.
Finally, the teacher got to the last person on the last row of desks. It was a small little boy who was in 2nd grade. His name was Johnny. He wore old hand-me-down clothes and often his shoes had holes in them. His family was extremely poor.
The teacher asked him if he had stolen Big Tom's lunch? He said, "I didn't have any food to bring to school today. I was so hungry. I've had hunger pains all morning. Big Tom's lunch looked so good. I am sorry I took it."
The teacher felt bad that Johnny didn't have any lunch and that He was so hungry. But the rules were the rules. He had to administer the punishment.
He told little Johnny to take off his coat and lean over the desk. Johnny started crying and said, "Teacher, please don't make me take it off. I will take 20 lashes if you won't make me take my coat off.
As bad as the teacher felt, he had to follow the rules. He told Johnny to take off his coat. Johnny reluctantly took off the coat. Under the coat, Johnny didn't have a shirt. He told the teacher he only had one shirt and it was dirty so he had no shirt to wear that day.
The teacher felt so bad. He didn't want to spank little Johnny, but he had broken the rule and had to be punished. He told little Johnny to lean over his desk up front. You could tell Johnny was afraid. He was shaking.
The teacher raised his belt for the first strike...but suddenly...from the back of the room someone yelled out, "stop teacher, don't spank Him." Believe it or not, it was Big Tom. He walked to the front of the room and told the teacher that even though little Johnny had broken the rule, he wanted to take his place for the spanking.
Everyone couldn't believe it. Tom explained that he didn't want little Johnny to be punished. He asked the teacher if he could take little Johnny's place? Could he take Johnny's spanking? The teacher was astonished. But he said that "yes" someone could take his place if the person so desired.
Big Tom asked little Johnny to step to the side. Big Tom leaned over the desk and told the teacher he was ready. The teacher brought down the first lick and yes it hurt. Big Tom didn't cry, but you could tell from his expression that it hurt a lot.
Big Tom stood here and took all 10 licks. After the last lick, his back was flush and you could see where the belt had hit him. He didn't cry, but his eyes were watering.
Suddenly, Little Johnny ran over, threw his arms around Big Tom's legs and said "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for taking my punishment. I will never forget what you have done for me this day."
This story is a reminder of what Jesus did for you and I. Because we have all sinned and broken God's laws, we have a punishment coming. The punishment for our sins is being separated from God one day.
God understood this and so He sent His son, Jesus, to take the punishment for our sins. Jesus was treated terribly and went through great punishment for our sins. Jesus stepped in and paid for our sins even though He never sinned. (read and explain 2 Corinthians 5:21)
The Broken Figurine
This is a short video that tells a story that demonstrates how Jesus paid for our sins. Below is the video. You can order it and download it at this link.
