Lesson & Craft: The Spiritual Discipline of Bible Reading

This simple lesson plan will help introduce children to the concept of “spiritual disciplines” with a particular focus on the importance of Bible Reading. It’s designed for a smaller group of children, but could be adapted for any Sunday School or Children’s Church setting. Bible Topic: Reading the Bible Scripture: Psalm 119:105 Target Age Group: Elementary (1st -5th grade) Learning Context: Any small group setting like … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Lesson: King Josiah of Judah Part #1

This lesson is Part 1 in the study of King Josiah.  It continues the study of Israel’s kings.  King Josiah is the last southern king who does what pleases the Lord.  His successors are wicked and are taken captive by Babylon.  The captivity of Judah follows on the heals of the Assyrians taking the Northern Kingdom captive (2 Kings 17:7-41). … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Managing Paid Childcare Workers

Lots of churches use paid childcare workers in lots of different ways. Some use them on Sunday mornings to make sure the nursery is covered.  Some use them on Wednesday and/or Sunday nights.  Some cover special events or Bible studies.  Regardless of how you use them, it can sometimes become quite the chore to manage that part of the ministry. … More Children’s Ministry Resources

10 Teaching Tips for Preteen Leaders

**This is a guest post from Nick Diliberto from PreteenMinistry.net 1. Customize curriculum Give up the idea of a cookie cutter approach to preteen curriculum. Preteens respond best when lessons are customized. Use examples of real life situations where you struggled or had a success with the given topic. Take into consideration your specific community, church and preteens when editing lessons. … More Children’s Ministry Resources

"K is for King of Kings" Coloring Page

For the letter K, our readers chose the theme King of Kings. Mandy’s illustration shows a crown and reminds us that Jesus is the rightful King of everything. Click on the preview image to the right or use the links below to download. You can also browse all the sheets in our Bible Alphabet coloring book. PDF ~ easy to … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Who is God Calling to the Church Nursery?

Philippians 4:19 tells us that our God will “meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  What an awesome verse.  Did you notice that it said “ALL” your needs?  Do you think this even means your need for nursery workers? If we believe that God provides for the needs of His church, then we should expect … More Children’s Ministry Resources

"J is for Jesus" Coloring Page

It wasn’t a surprise when our readers chose Jesus as the theme for our free letter J coloring sheet. The illustration shows Jesus welcoming children, as he often did in the Gospels. It’s important for kids to know that Jesus considers them just as important as the grown-ups at church. Directions: To download this free printable, simply right-click on the … More Children’s Ministry Resources

How To Earn Trust with Parents

Recently our community experienced a great tragedy in which it was revealed that an individual who was highly respected and trusted had been living a life of unbelievable sin for decades.  Yet again, a trusted leader who claimed to be a believer in Jesus had broken trust with an entire town. Our world hears these stories over and over.  In … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Valentine’s Day Bible Verses for Children

Valentine's Day Bible Verses for Children

Let’s make sure God’s Word has the final say about the true meaning of love. Here are our top 10 Bible Verses for Valentine’s Day. Children’s Bible Verses for Valentine’s Day John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Download … More Children’s Ministry Resources

2 Valentine's Day Games for Kids

Sweet and special, Valentine’s Day offers the prepared teacher the ideal opportunity for teaching kids about God’s love and loving others. From television shows to poor in-home examples, kids see many wrong or, at best, shallow ideas about what love truly is. Bring kids back to the truth by presenting easy to remember love-related scriptures they will treasure all their … More Children’s Ministry Resources

"Love is …" Coloring Page from 1 Corinthians 13

Download this free coloring sheet to help children learn the Bible’s definition of love from 1 Corinthians 13. You could use it around Valentine’s Day or anytime you are teaching about love. Click on the preview image above, or use the links below to download. PDF ~ Easy to download & print JPEG ~ Advanced users can edit You can … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Preschool Lesson about "Sin and Saving Love"

Use this free preschool Bible lesson to teach some basic concepts about sin and the saving love of God. We’ve included several learning activities and object lessons to help make these concepts concrete for younger children. You could easily adapt this Psalm 51 Bible lesson for any age children. Please modify this material for the needs of your class and leave a … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Bible Lesson & PowerPoint about Animals

We created this lesson plan for a stuffed-animal theme night at our church. Each child was allowed to bring their favorite toy pet. The lesson began with puppet skit improvisation that to introduced the theme, Bible verses, and some random tips for safety with animals. The main lesson is contained in the PowerPoint below. Just for fun, I included about … More Children’s Ministry Resources

"Special Days" Calendar Coloring Sheet

Use these additional special days along with our free calendar coloring sheets. Children can decorate their month with church days, birthdays, sleepovers, and more. Simply click on the preview image to the right and download this easy to print PDF document. We’ve also uploaded a copy in jpeg format for advanced users to edit on their own. If you enjoy … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Harnessing the High Energy Level of Preteens

**This is a guest post from Nick Diliberto from PreteenMinistry.net Preteens have a high energy level. If you’ve worked with them for five minutes, you know this to be true. They can’t sit still for very long, get easily distracted like to move around a lot. Especially the boys. The body of a preteen is rapidly changing and the brain is … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Valentine's Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Special holidays, like St. Valentine’s Day, provide teachers with terrific opportunities to further the gospel message. What better subject to teach children about than God’s love? To help you bring the message home to kids, use a fun activity like a Valentine Scavenger Hunt. This simple idea requires some pre planning and prizes but it will be an event kids … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Valentines Day Coloring Pages

Love Coloring Page Bible Alpabet

Try our Valentine’s coloring pages. Each sheet shows the importance of God’s love. These images are for all ages. Simply add crayons or colored pencils for simple hands-on classroom crafts. Pink glitter markers will be fun too. L is for Love – Valentines Day Coloring Our Valentine’s Day coloring pages are free to download and share in your church, home, … More Children’s Ministry Resources

God’s Big Love Object Lessons

I love God and I want the kids I teach to love Him too. One aspect of God that brings me comfort is His bigness. Yes, He is small enough to fit inside a child’s heart, but large enough to love the entire world. Like many of God’s attributes, grasping this one is challenging to anyone — especially a child. … More Children’s Ministry Resources

"Story of Elijah" Coloring Page

This free storyboard illustration sheet recounts several of the key stories about the prophet Elijah. They include raising the widow’s son, God providing food, the showdown with Baal’s prophets, and the chariot of fire. story page | pdf | jpeg 1st number sheet | pdf | jpeg 2nd number sheet | pdf | jpeg Directions: Right click on the links … More Children’s Ministry Resources

How to Make Sunday School More Fun

One of my favorite quotes of all time is “It is a sin to bore a kid with the Bible“.  I don’t know who originally said it, but I saw it long ago used in an ad for curriculum.  I completely agree. We have the most exciting story of all time to tell, yet Sunday School does not generally have … More Children’s Ministry Resources

Preschool Bible Lesson: Jesus on Trial

This is lesson continues our curriculum for preschoolers about knowing Jesus. Each lesson is based on a passage in the Gospel of Mark. You can read the series introduction for more explanation and links to the other lessons. This particular lesson is from passages in Mark 14 & 15 where Jesus is on trial. Preschoolers will discover that Jesus took great pain … More Children’s Ministry Resources

7 Ways Small Churches Can Reach Preteens

**This is a guest post from Nick Diliberto from PreteenMinistry.net In my last post, I offered many reasons for small churches (or church plants) to launch a preteen ministry. In this post, I’m going to share a few ways they can effectively reach preteens. 1. Split up preteens for weekend services. Ideally, it’s the best way to go. If preteens meet … More Children’s Ministry Resources

February Calendar Coloring Page

This free coloring page calendar for February will help children learn their months and number the days. Click here to see all the months in our calendar. The illustration shows a young girl with paper heart shapes and has the following peom: Father thank you for this month, The shortest of the year. Teach us now to love each one, … More Children’s Ministry Resources