I think often times we feel so inadequate as parents or teachers, but I’m here to tell you that teaching children the bible can be done by anyone! As believers, we know we’re called to share our faith and love of the Lord with our children, but often find ourselves paralyzed as to where to start. Teaching my children the Bible as well as teaching them how to pray were responsibilities that left me paralyzed for YEARS.
I was not raised in a Christian home. In fact, the only experience I had with any faith was the occasional trip to church for holidays or during family crisis or tragedy. I knew NOTHING about “raising children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord.” BUT I knew the responsibility of it and I think often this is where we get overwhelmed.
We love our children, we want what’s best for them, but the pressure and expectations we put on ourselves can be paralyzing. (This is a whole OTHER topic, mom guilt anyone?)
I often get the question of “where do I even start when teaching the bible to my kids” from other moms, so I wanted to share some things that have really encouraged and equipped me over the years. These tips will give you practical ideas to teach the bible to children.
Here are some ideas to get your started!
Trust the Lord to do the work. Often, I think it’s my responsibility to make them learn certain things (especially as a homeschool mama). Well, it’s not. It’s my responsibility to expose them to the truth in the Bible and allow God to do the work in their little lives. He is the Teacher and teaching children the bible starts with Him! You can share how God has used different truths practically in your own life though! Kids enjoy seeing how we apply these truths to our lives.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB
Sing with or to them. Kids remember songs. Think about the songs you grew up singing in kids church or Sunday school… you probably can still sing them by heart! My kids actually love hymns, so we have done hymn studies as well. What better truths to teach them!? There are some great bible songs available on youtube (I have a short kids worship playlist). It would drive my boys crazy sometimes but, I would catch them singing the songs all day long. I have a playlist created in both Spotify and Pandora of songs that we all enjoy together. Mamas, we’re also teaching them to worship. I’m a “worship pathway” gal so, I connect deeply with God through worship. I hid this from my kids for a while because for fear of them thinking was crazy and fanatical… but I regret it! I am fanatical for Jesus and that’s great! Now, they’ll often find me in worship, tears streaming down my face. I pray that they remember that when they grow up.
Check out the papers they bring home from church. Before you cram them in the trash as you run out of church (guilty!) check out their children’s church lessons. Many times, the lessons children learn in church have accompanying printouts, sheets or crafts. Revisit those scriptures or ask questions about what they learned! Sometimes, their sheets will even have questions or prompts for parents. I’m also a huge fan of Bible Study Fellowship classes as they have an AMAZING school program for children of all ages. I had the privilege of teaching in our local BSF school program. If you have Bible Study Fellowship classes locally, I highly recommend finding one (FIND ONE HERE). Day classes often have programs for babies and preschoolers! The children learn the exact same spiritual truths as the adults so it gives a ton to talk about. BSF also provides sheets for parents via their site to further teach families these truths.
Don’t underestimate what your children are able to learn. This goes for kids of ALL ages. Yes, they’re children, but let’s not forget that the Holy Spirit is their teacher too! Just as the Spirit guides, directs, and teaches us; so He does for them as well! Let’s not put unnecessary pressure on ourselves and minimize an all-powerful, all-knowing God. We simply present His truths and the Spirit does the work. There are so many instances in the scriptures where children are highly esteemed. Let’s not allow society’s view of children to muddle our view of them! Lay down these expectations.
You can never start too early (or too late). Babies and toddlers are very receptive to spiritual truth! I missed out on so many years with my boys because I thought I had to wait until they were “old enough” to learn these deep truths. NONSENSE. I watched the Spirit instill some amazing wisdom in my daughter when she was a baby. Sometimes they blow me away! Just start sharing truths with them, where they’re at! “Jesus Loves You”, “Who made you?” and “Why?” are things you can ask your littles. My daughter used to answer with, “cause He made me a plan for my life,” in her toddle garble. I wish I had believed that I could teach these truths to my boys early on! It’s also never too late, remember God’s word doesn’t return void!
Where do I start? Well, that’s up to you! Pray, ask for wisdom. The Lord will guide you on teaching your children the bible. If you’re still stumped, remember, His word DOES NOT return void and ANY where is better than nowhere. Depending on the ages of your children, a storybook bible (one that stays true to the scriptures) may be appropriate or, if you feel comfortable, include them in your own studies. I personally prefer to read to my children directly from the Bible itself. Introduce your children to Jesus… the very personhood of God. After all, that is who we want them to have a relationship with right!? The gospels are beautiful for this. The very character of our God, who walked, talked and fulfilled His purpose here on earth. Children are fascinated with Jesus as they should be. Also, the power of God is popular in our home. The very act of creation gets a lot of attention! We maybe read for 10-15 minutes then we talk about it. (I don’t TEACH it I just read)
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.Isaiah 55:11 NASB
Ask them to share. Have them share 3 things (or even 1!) that they learned from your reading WITHOUT correcting or directing their answers. These truths have to become their own (just like they’ve become our own) for them to have their own true faith. Keeping this communication open will be a huge blessing as your children grow in their faith and come to you with hard questions and clarifications about spiritual truth in the future. This leads to the next tip.
Be equipped. Studying God’s work yourself is SO important. It is He who equips you to do every good work and I’d definitely say that teaching your children the Bible is a good work! Try not to overthink this. Even if it’s just one verse, write it down and rest in that. Look that verse up in different versions, journal it, jot down a prayer that relates to that. Reading Christian living books and listening to sermons can be super helpful, but I encourage you make sure you delve directly into the Bible itself. We need to make sure that we know the Truth for ourselves directly from the Word of God so we can make sure we’re not led astray and therefor not leading our little ones astray. I didn’t know how to study the bible in depth until I had been a believer for 9 years! I was blessed to find a local Bible Study Fellowship class and it COMPLETELY changed the way I study the bible.
Act it out! Acting out the bible with your kids can be super fun and doing this can really bring the bible to life for younger kids. This has been especially helpful for us when it comes to topical things. For example, the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis has been one that we have done in or home. My boys have some intense sibling rivalry. Acting out the story of Cain and Abel is something we did when they were young and something we still revisit. The bible is full of true events. Have your kids pick their favorites and act them out! This is a great way to bring life to the devotions or passages you’ve read as well.
Teach memorization. Once again, you can start anywhere with this. Use verses that have been meaningful in your life. Any children’s catechism is great for this as well. You can literally Google “kids catechism” or find a printable for this. As a challenge, I encourage you to memorize the verses and truths right along with them! There is no doubt that this will be much easier for your children, but a little tougher for us (mom brain anyone?). I’m constantly amazed at how quickly and easily children memorize scripture!
These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NASB
Ask others! Don’t be afraid to ask your mom friends how they make this work. You don’t have to do it alone. Fellowship is powerful, even for our children. I have friends whose girls meet up and study the bible together. They range in ages from 10-13. They read God’s word and discuss it with one another. It is SO powerful to have others walking this walk with them (us too!). Of course, there are spiritually mature parents around in case there are questions or if truths need to be correctly interpreted, but for the most part, the children take the majority of the leadership in this. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Don’t feel like you need to apply all of these tips at once… teaching children the bible is a progressive, slow, little-by-little, but consistent process! Grab a handful of these tips/recommendations and just jump in! I hope these encourage and empower you to be more intentional with teaching your children the bible.
What tips do you use for teaching your children the Bible? Which one of these tips helped you the most?
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