Summer is different in children’s ministry. After all the VBS activities, regular weekly programs like Sunday School can see lower attendance. This is true in children’s church too. Many congregations pause their Wednesday evening programs when school is out for Summer vacation. This page links all our best ideas for making the most of Summertime in your Sunday School.
Don’t miss our Summer Curriculum bundle for Children’s Ministry with 84% savings.
Summer Sunday School Lessons
For my class in the summertime, I always like to do self-contained lessons rather than a series. This means kids who are out on vacation won’t be left behind in the curriculum. Here are a few suggestions from our website.
Free lesson: The Parable of the Sower
The complete Week 1 lesson from our new Parables for Kids series for ages 6–12: the farmer and the four kinds of ground (Luke 8:4–15). Script, object lesson, craft, coloring page and a take-home page. Free checkout, instant PDF download.
Want all five weeks? See the full Parables for Kids series for Kids and Preschool.
- Download a free standing PDF Sunday School lesson each week from Sunday School Works
- Seasons Change, but God Never Changes (Ecclesiastes 3)
- Use our shorter units like “The Walk” (4 lessons)
- Try the free games based lessons from Bible Games Central
- Use Bible trivia questions instead of regular lessons
- Use Bible memory games and Bible memory verses instead of regular lesson
- You can teach these 4th of July Sunday School lessons
Summer Coloring Pages
Having some hands-on learning activities is a nice change of pace for summertime ministry. These would also be fun handouts for children to use during the adult worship service.
See our 14-page Summer kids church coloring book.
Download these FREE Summer coloring pages from the Sunday School Store.
If you need more, you can download a free 12-page bundle that includes the daily routine.
Summer Bible Object Lessons & Sermons for Kids
We love the creative ideas opened up by vacation season. Everyone is more relaxed and ready to have a laugh during the ministry moment. Here are a few examples of creative children’s sermons we recommend for the summer break.
- Beach Bible Object Lesson
- Two Flip-flops Children’s Sermon
- Sandcastle Bible Object Lesson
- Soak Up God’s Love Object Lesson
- 5 Family Devotions for Summer
- Check out Family 5 Children’s Sermons from Go Curriculum (for sale item) they actually include games based object lesson for big church!
Summer Children’s Church Curriculum
Kids church needs a different pace too in the summertime. I love to review my VBS lessons and music in kids churches. That’s a great way to welcome kids who visited your Bible School into your regular programs. Here are some more curriculum ideas.
- Top 10 Boats in the Bible – this is a fun way to look back on popular Bible stories
- 9 Week Study on the Parables of Jesus – each lesson is independent of the others
- Children’s Ministry Deals is offering an 8-week curriculum called Happy Campers for free this Summer.
- Have you tried the GO! Children’s Ministry Curriculum – We love their video and media content. They have free samples up on the site you can use this weekend.
- The Sunday School Store has some solid choices for children’s church curriculum, all have free samples which is a great way to save money and test new lesson series.
More Ideas for Summer in Children’s Ministry
- Managing expectations in Summertime Ministry
- Summer Ideas for Children’s Ministry
- The Summer of Serving ideas
- How to stay positive when summer church attendance is low
Whatever you plan, be sure to enjoy this special season of ministry. Don’t think of less kids as less ministry. Instead, use the time to deepen relationships and make each child know how special they are to your church.
Leave us a comment if you have more ideas to share for making Summer Sunday School an awesome experience for all.
New Sunday School Curriculum: Our Bible lessons are designed to keep the kids’ attention and show how God's Word makes a difference. Every series is flexible enough for a wide-age group and affordable enough for small churches. Download a free Bible lesson in pdf or view our latest Sunday School curriculum for small churches.
