Use this children’s Sunday School lesson to teach kids about the Great Commission.
Needed: Bibles, balloons
Intro Game: Disciple Tag
Choose one student to be It. When they tag someone, that person links hands with them and joins their team. They continue adding people to their team, linking hands with each one until all but one student is part of their chain. That remaining student becomes It for the next round.
Play two or three rounds and then, explain that when we tell people about Jesus, we want them to believe in Jesus too. If they do, they become a Christian and join our team. Then, they help us tell more people about Jesus.
Lesson: The Great Commission
Explain that this story happened a few weeks after Jesus rose from the dead.
(Read Matthew 28:16-18.)
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.’”
Jesus said that all power in Heaven and Earth had been given to Him. Who gave Him that power? (God.)
God gave Jesus that power because Jesus did everything God wanted Him to do. Jesus never, ever, in His whole life did anything wrong, and then, Jesus died as a punishment for our sins to save us. So, God gave Him all the power.
(Read Matthew 28:19-20.)
“’Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
What did Jesus tell the disciples to do? (He told them to go make new disciples for Jesus and to baptize them.)
And that’s still what Jesus wants us to do. He wants us to tell other people about Jesus and God so that they can be Jesus’ disciples too and go to Heaven when they die.
How long did Jesus say He would be with us? (Until the end of the age.)
That means that until the end of the world, Jesus will be with us.
How is Jesus with us if He isn’t here on Earth anymore? (Jesus is with us because He lives in our hearts through the Holy Spirit if we believe in Him.)
Object Lesson: Jesus is With Us!
Give each student a balloon. Tell them to blow it up but not tie it.
Ask, What’s inside your balloon? (Air.)
How do you know that? You can’t see it. How do you know it’s there?
You see what the air does, don’t you? You see the balloon filling up, so you know there’s air in the there.
The Holy Spirit is like air. He’s a Spirit, which means He’s invisible, just like air is invisible. But we know that Jesus is still with us through the Holy Spirit, even if we can’t see Him, because we can feel Him living in our hearts. We can feel Him teaching us and helping us to be better. Jesus will always be with us in our hearts through the Holy Spirit if we believe in Him.
Lesson Review Activity: Acting It Out
Divide students into groups of two or three. Have each group decide on and act out a conversation in which someone tells another person about Jesus and invites them to come to church or a church event.
Learning Game: Disciple Tag
Play the intro game again.
Children’s Prayer Moment
Jesus, thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts so that You will always be with us. We pray that You’ll help us to tell other people about You so that they can be Your followers too and live with You forever. Amen.
You can also find this lesson for Kindle or in print in my book, He Came, He Saw, He Conquered.
Thank you for these resources children’s ministry resources.
Kathy Scott