The dream of my heart is that my children love God and want to tell others about Him. Preparing my students to share their faith with others easily takes work on my part. Waiting for kids to grow up before allowing them to teach is a mistake.
Jesus praised his Father for using the foolish things to confound the wise. Besides me, children are the silliest, most foolish people on the planet! Guide your children into the role of teacher in small ways so they can be used by God and be comfortable doing so when future opportunities arise for them. Start with these 6 ways to include children in the teaching ministry.
1. Send home a lesson for kids to share with their family. Start a little program that rewards students for reading or sharing the lesson with Mom and Dad. When a parent signs the lesson and sends it back, children get credit for their teaching. Shiny gold stars make a nice reward for teaching others about God. This also reinforces the lesson in the child’s mind too.
2. Prepare an object lesson for the child. It should be simple and you need to review how it works with him before the class starts. Object lessons involve an action-based teaching style that is suitable for children and adults. You could also ask the child to bring items from home to demonstrate the lesson, like his favorite action figure or toy.
3. Let the child lead a Q & A. One child asks a question, the other finds the answer in the Bible. They will need your help of course to locate the appropriate scripture so have a concordance handy or a topical bible.
4. Always teach the Golden Rule. In my class, every time we gather together we repeat the Golden Rule, “Do unto others what you’d have them to unto you.” It’s on a poster which I point to as we read it together. Ask a child to lead the reading for you. He could share a personal example of how he fulfilled the Golden Rule.
5. Read a passage of scripture. Reading the bible in front of others is scary but it’s a good way to familiarize a child with teaching. Ask a different child to read the appropriate passage of scripture each week. If it’s a long passage, split it between two children.
6. Ask a child to tutor others. In my class, we often have a variety of ages attending. It warms my spirit to see the older kids help the younger ones find the right book of the Bible or explain a concept to them. This kind of informal teaching should be encouraged. This is a great way to let kids teach!
Read more from Monica Bullock by ordering her e-book, The Prophet’s Code, an inspirational book about the role of modern-day prophets. Appropriate for children, teens and adults, Monica’s book has been read around the world in 10 different countries, including India.
6 Ways to Let Kids Teach the Bible
