You’ve been asked to teach children’s church this Sunday – without curriculum. Here is the 9 step process I use every week to write lessons for children’s church. If this article is helpful please leave a comment to let me know. This article is a work in progress and I would love to hear your ideas.
Need More Help? Check out these free Sunday School crafts and more Sunday School lessons for children.
#1 Pray: Begin by asking for God’s help. Omitting prayer will lead to an attitude of pride and leave your lesson spiritually weak. So stop reading now and pray for God’s help … really.
#2 Read: Start as early as possible to read the Bible passage you will be teaching. I like to read through the passage several before crafting my lesson. This step is foundational. You can’t teach what you don’t understand. Make notes of difficult words or ideas. Write down anything that God uses to deepen your love for Him.
#3 Focus: Ask yourself, “What is this passage saying about God?” You must discover what God is saying about himself in the passage. Children don’t need Bible facts. They need to know God. Everything about your children’s church lesson must be focused on God.
#4 Apply: Discover the connection of the passage to daily life. After answering the BIG GOD QUESTION you are ready for application. If the passage teaches that God is strong to save his people, how does this apply to the children? Resist the temptation to bend the passage around your application. Be crystal clear. Use real life examples.
#5 Draft: Write an initial draft of your lesson. This is an essential step for me to know where I am going with the lesson. I need a concrete plan. I rarely use my notes when I teach but having them give me the freedom to teach.
#6 Check: Compare your lesson to a doctrinally solid children’s story Bible. I only use these sources after I’ve written my children’s church lesson. I usually find ideas illustrations and object lessons from these sources.
#7 Supplement: Find relevant supporting material for your lesson. There are many free sources for coloring sheets, children’s ministry activities or Sunday school games available. I’m a member of Kidology – for $44 per year they may be the only supplemental resource your need. You can also find some ideas from my post on children’s Sunday school lessons.
#8 Feedback: Seek input from others. Once your lesson is complete, ask your pastor or fellow children’s ministry volunteers to review it. They might have a great idea to contribute.
#9 Evaluate: Review your lesson after you’ve taught it. In my ministry I’ve often learned best from trial and error. This step will take some discipline, but constantly examining your children’s church lessons will make you a better teaching. Be sure to thank God for what works and ask for wisdom to learn from your mistakes.
I want to hear from you. If this article has been helpful or not so helpful, leave me a comment to let me know what you think.
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Great post Tony!
I’m using this for this weekend.
Great post, love to see the Kidology link in there as well. Keep up the good work.
Dave & Todd,
Thank you for your kind comments and thanks for reading.
Great article. Indiana’s not too far away – we should get together some time! I’d love to meet you, it seems we share a passion for children’s ministry!
Thanks for mentioning Kidology, you made my day. So glad it is a help to your ministry. I’ll be following your blog! Good Stuff!
Karl,
I remember reading an article from you about beginning in children’s ministry. It was very helpful and made me think I might just be able to do it.
Wow, now you have made my day.
You should consider joining the Kidology CP Team if you enjoy writing and encouraging others. For more info contact Todd, his post is above mine.
Keep on keeping on!
A resource which you might find helpful is Leroy Ford’s “Design for Teaching and Training: A Self-Study Guide to Lesson Planning.” It is a step-by-step guide for designing a lesson and a pretty easy read.
Blessings,
Glen Woods
Glen,
Thanks for the tip. I actually just bought that book a few weeks back.
Hey Tony,
Great post. And thanks for the kidology link – I hadn’t come across it before.
Ray
Glad you have learned about Kidology, now.
Tony, way to provide links.
I have just started helping in Childrens’ Church. Thanks for your help, suggestions, etc. I want to be sure each week that our children get the Word put into their hearts.
This article was really helpful. I have been teaching Sunday school for months now and still find trouble planning lessons but your step by step instructions have made the process so much easier for me now.
Thanks for this . I have just been granted the opportunity to oversee the Sunday School program within our church. I am a relatively new teacher, but I have the youngest children in the program, so as I will be with the program the longest, I have been handed this charge. You have given me a good basis and sound outline to follow so that I will be able to effectively help out my fellow teachers with our Sunday School. Please, pray that it all works out, I am going to try my best.
Thanks for the guidance.
God bless you for this wonderfull and helpfull work.
Great Outline Tony!
As a Pastor & Sunday School Teacher & (among other things) a clown, I would only suggest one more point that should be added just before teaching the lesson, and that would be pray again! You can never pray enough about anything, and a prayer just before class can give you the spiritual “umph” that you need!
Keep up the good Work!
Thank you Tony. I appreciate this great article. It helps a lot.
i have just be appointed head of the sunday school teachers. this is a very new for me, and also the sunday school department is fairly new as well. i m just having a difficult time writing a curriculum by monthly. do u have any suggestion that can help to write a curriculum monthly.
This article is EXTREMELY helpful! Keep it posted! What a blessing!
I”m going to use thi on sundy. I was asked to teach at the last minute and I am a little out of practice. I know the Lord was with you when you came up with this web site.
Thank Kelvin you are doing a great job, your website has everything a sunday school teacher will need. May God richly bless your ministry.
Thanks, I’m finding this to be very helpful. I’m considering this system for this weekend. God bless
Hello. My name is Hannah. I’m 15 (16 in 26 days though lol) and I’m the Children’s Church teacher at my Assembly of God Church in DeWitt, IA. I love love love working with the kids
. It feels so great to know that I can be the link between them and God and help them to better understand him. I still have so much to learn about him myself, but I’m anxious to learn 
. This website was a big help to me! It gave me a better understanding of the lessons I teach and how to prepare for them. Thanks so much!
~Hannah~
P.S.
My pastor also has a blog and if you are interested in reading it, that would be great!
http://www.cgirod.wordpress.com
HOW DO i ACTUALLY STRUCTURE, COORDINATE, LEAD, TEACH THE CLASS. WHERE DO i START?
Thanks