This is the children’s church lesson plan I wrote for our children’s church. If you added some activities, you could modify this plan for children’s Sunday school. This is the first lesson I’ve written based on LeRoy Ford’s Design for Teaching and Training
You can download this Bible lesson plan as a Microsoft Word document. I will be posting new children’s church curriculum each week as I teach them. So be sure to sign up for my free children’s ministry email newsletter. I would love to hear your feedback in the comments. I’ll post future lesson plans to my Free Children’s Church Lesson Plans page.
God promises the birth of John the Baptist.
Curriculum Text: Luke 1:5-25
Time: 20 minutes
Learning Objectives: After this lesson . . .
- Children will demonstrate knowledge of the key people and events in this passage … by retelling the story back to the teacher at the end of the session.
- Children will demonstrate an understanding of what this story teaches about God … by identifying from a list of possible themes, which the story actually teaches.
- Children will demonstrate understanding of the role of John the Baptist … by explaining in their own words his special mission.
Curriculum Target Age: Kindergarten – 5th
Material Needed:
- Bible: Luke 1:5-25 Prepare a copy in advance by highlighting the significant points to emphasize and underlining items that will need additional explanation.
- Visual Aids: Pictures of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Gabriel, a baby and the Temple.
Children’s Church Teaching Plan:
Introduce the lesson by showing the children pictures of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Gabriel, baby John and the Temple. Very briefly, explain who they are and how they fit into the story. Have the children repeat their names.
Immediately, use the pictures as flash cards to help the children review what you just told them. Call on volunteers to answer. Repeat all pictures two times.
Before your read the story, ask half the children to listen for what this story teaches about God. Ask the other half the children to listen for the special job God was going to give John.
Read (and Summarize) Luke 1:5-25. Read with emotion and pause often to engage the children with the reading. Pause to reinforce the God-centered themes by prompting them as questions.
· Does God answer prayer? YES. God answers prayer.
Say that with me … “God answers prayer.”
· Is anything too hard for God? NO. Nothing is too hard for God.
Say that with me … “Nothing is too hard for God.”
· Does faith please God? YES, faith pleases God.
Say that with me … “Faith pleases God.”
Immediately after reading the story, use the pictures to conduct a quick review of the key people and events in the story.
Ask the children to report on their listening assignments.
· What does this story teach about God?
· What is the special job God is giving to John the Baptist?
Call on a volunteer to demonstrate the ministry of John. Have the child walk across the room indicating walking away from God. Then shout STOP! TURN AROUND! COME BACK! Explain that was John’s special job was to call God’s people to turn back to Him. This is an appropriate time to briefly reinforce the Gospel message.
Children’s Church Lesson Evaluation:
- Ask five volunteers to retell the story to the class through role-play. Assign the children roles as Zechariah, Elizabeth, Gabriel and two others as the crowd standing outside the Temple. The remaining children will direct the story by taking turns telling the story back at the teacher’s prompting. “OK, good and then what happened?”
- Ask a volunteer to explain the special mission God was going to give John.
- Read the following themes, ask the children to stand if the theme the story says or remain seated if the theme is not from this story.
o God answers prayer. — YES
o God is a Trinity. – True, but not really a part of this story.
o Jesus loves sinners. – True, but not really a part of this story.
o Nothing is too hard for God. — YES
o Faith pleases God. — YES
o God created all things. – True, but not really a part of this story.
Please feel free to leave a comment to make suggestions about this lesson plan.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
This is wonderful!!! I lead a group of fourth and fifth graders in bible study and often struggle with creative and fun ways to effectively convey biblical principles. Your ideas and resources are great!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I really appreciate you sharing your ideas. I just walked into teaching children’s church lessons with no curriculm and no real teaching experience. I’ve been struggling to come up with activities that won’t take me all week to prepare for everytime, so even one new thing helps. Thank you.
Do you have the gift of teaching from God or did you get pushed in. I knew this was my gift and got to be taught how to do it. I’m sorry to hear you don’t. I suggest that you type in danille’s place in google. They have lots of simple lessons and older lessons that use supplies your church should already have. I love there web site and use it all the time to enhance the curriculum i am given by the church. You can subcribe to this site for a low mounthly fee and be able to get into the resource room with all the bible lessons. For now I suggest trying one of the free ones on Danelle’s place like the shepard one it is great my kids that are preschool aged loved it. they even have lessons for older kids and it is easy to adapt to. Also try your local bible bookstore like christian supply.
Just wondering if anyone has craft ideas to go with this lesson for 3-7 year olds?
I work in the church nursery (Little Lambs) and am trying to search for lesson plans for children from birth to age three and would like to know if you have any ideas!
Thanks and God bless from a concerned Christian/Child Advocate
Nicole
Nicole – I haven’t seen a lot on the internet for that age group. I think the sad truth is most churches just do childcare.
Our church has purchased a curriculum set for nursery and toddlers from http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/
The really emphasize prayer and building in Big concepts for the little ones.
We also make use of several story Bibles. The teachers will rotate through the stories and the kids seem to enjoy that too.
Thank you for sharing yr, work. It hreally helps people like me who are busy and lack resources. I am from Sri Lanka (near India) and I teach in the morning (in English) Sunday school as well as in the evening (in Sinhalese-national language). I some times develop it to be more acceptable to our culture. Kids being reserved, shy and don’t readily participate. Thank You and God Bless!
Hi Tony,
I just wanted to say thank you and tell you that I loved the lesson plan and really enjoy the format. I am a youth minister who has inherited the childrens ministry. I really enjoy the kids and hope to be able to effectivly address the problems I see the youth face while they are children, but resources can be hard to come by. Thanks again so much!
Thank you for sharing all your hard work! Are these lessons applicable for Preschoolers? I do chapel with our church preschool children twice per month and am looking for that age-level lessons and songs. Thanks!