Why Bible-Centered Teaching Drives Belief

What are you doing with your hour?

Each week, you have a limited amount of time to disciple children at church, teaching them the truths of God’s Word.

Are you using that time well?

If you stop what you’re doing right now and think about your children’s ministry program …is each and every aspect of your hour pointing children to Jesus, discipling them to have a lifelong faith in Him? Or are you filling your hour with fun and fluff to keep kids coming and engaged.

If the goal is discipleship, to see boys and girls develop a lifelong faith in Jesus and grow in maturity in Him, then we need to make sure we are intentional with our ministry time, focusing on Bible-centered teaching.

Bible-Centered Teaching Starts with and Is Centered on the Word

Every lesson you teach needs to start with the Bible. That seems like a no-brainer, but sadly it needs to be said. When we teach, we need to teach from the Word. It’s the Word of God — not super awesome lessons — that will change the hearts of boys and girls, because …

• The Bible is God-inspired. (2 Timothy 3:16)
• The Bible is living and active. (Hebrews 4:12)
• The Bible speaks truth. (John 17:17)
• The Bible will guide our steps. (Psalms 119:105)
• The Bible teaches us to live rightly with God (Psalms 119:11)

Moralistic lessons don’t change hearts. Fun and games don’t change hearts. It is through Jesus that hearts are changed. Romans 10:17 reminds us, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. How often are children hearing Scripture read from the Bible during lessons?

Bible-centered teaching doesn’t just start with the Word, having kids actually see and hear it read. Every piece of the lesson is centered on it. Every teaching point, every game and activity, is grounded in Scripture. Games with no spiritual backing, added for the sake of a game, don’t change hearts. Read from the Bible. Let the Bible be the curriculum. Spend lesson time not on fluff and filler, but on grounding children in the truths of God’s Word through intentional activities used to introduce, teach or reinforce the lesson.

Bible-Centered Teaching Shows Kids the Narrative of Scripture

The whole of the Bible is about Jesus. Do your kids know this? Can they see Jesus throughout Scripture, or do they have a disjointed view of the Bible, knowing only a lot of stories and facts?

The Old Testament starts with God’s perfect creation, but unfortunately, it doesn’t stay that way for long.

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When sin entered the world, it broke God’s perfect creation and man’s relationship with God. (Genesis 3)

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Man needed the Savior God promised. (Genesis 3:15) The Old Testament points to the promise of the Savior.

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Matthew kicks off the New Testament with the fulfilment of that promise. With Jesus’ death and resurrection, salvation is available to all. (Romans 10:9)

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The rest of the Bible points to eternity, when all things will be made new again.

This is the narrative of Scripture: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration. Every person and every event in the Bible points to or from Jesus. It’s all about Him and the salvation He offers. If discipleship is our goal, then we need to teach in a way that shows Jesus at the center of the Bible.

Bible-Centered Teaching is Gospel-Focused

Memorizing scripture is valuable and should be done in our ministries. But reciting verse after verse isn’t enough. It isn’t enough if your weekly attendance is up like never before. It isn’t enough if your camp and VBS numbers are record-shattering. None of those good and wonderful things is enough if boys and girls aren’t walking with Christ.

We must be Gospel-focused in our children’s ministries.

Jesus gives us that command in Mark 16:15. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” In our children’s ministries, we need to be sharing the Gospel. Regularly and repeatedly.

You’re likely familiar with the Barna statistic that 75% of Christians came to Christ before the age of 13. Guess what age group is represented in your children’s ministry? Under 13! Eternities can be changed for these boys and girls, so we need to be obedient to regularly share the Gospel and the invitation for children to respond to Jesus’ free gift of salvation.

Bible-Centered Teaching Teaches Doctrine

Theology and Apologetics Kids are capable of a lot more than we often give them credit for. I remember, early in my children’s ministry career, a third-grade boy coming up to me, completely unprompted, and asking, “Ms. Amber, how long were the days of creation?” That’s a big question for a nine-year-old!

When we water down lessons for kids and oversimplify things, we are doing them a disservice. The Bible doesn’t have an age limit or size chart. God’s word is for everyone regardless of age or stage of life. We see this example with Timothy. He knew the Scriptures from childhood. (2 Timothy 3:15) The Word of God being read to children was a common practice for the Israelites as well. (Deuteronomy 31:11-12) The Word of God is for kids!

Give them the whole story of God! Don’t just teach stories about God. As you show them the narrative of Scripture, teach theology, doctrine and apologetics. Use big words and show them what they mean. Introduce them to big theological concepts like justification and substitutionary atonement. Teach them apologetics and give them tangible confirmations of the truth of God’s Word. Bring in fossils and archaeological records. Use object lessons, visuals, and repetition to help children understand the truths of the Bible. Also, keep in mind that the Spirit speaks to kids as well as adults, so make sure to give children opportunities to apply the truths of God’s Word to their lives and an opportunity to respond.

Be Intentional About Bible-Centered Teaching

I feel like I can speak for ministry leaders everywhere when I say that our ultimate goal is to see every child who comes through our church doors walking with Christ. That is why we do what we do week after week. To help make that goal — lasting faith in Jesus — a reality, we need to be intentional about having a Bible-centered teaching mentality.

But practically, what does that look like?

Five Tips to Keep Your Teaching Time Bible-Centered:

1. Have kids look up and read Bible passages in every lesson. If it’s not in your curriculum, add it in.!
2. Use a timeline to show where stories and lessons are happening in the full narrative of Scripture. (This is great for visual learners, too.!)
3. Create a theology word wall or poster, or even put big theological words on a slide on your screens. Don’t avoid the big words we see in the Bible. Use them with kids (just make sure to explain them). Repetition is key.
4. Proclaim the Gospel weekly. You don’t know how the Spirit is working in the heart of a child or when he or she will be ready to respond.
5. Make the Word of God come alive! Engage kids in the lesson with props, visuals, magic tricks and games. We don’t need fun for the sake of fun, but we can make learning about God’s Word fun.

Peter gives us an important warning, one we as children’s ministry leaders need to take to heart. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Who is the devil seeking out? Those boys and girls who are coming to your church. The enemy doesn’t want to see a single one of them walking as a follower of Christ. As he is actively pursuing our kids, we need to be intentional with every hour we have, making discipleship our goal and Bible-centered teaching our focus. Eternity is at stake.