KIDS

MINISTRY | KIDS

Bible-Engaged Kids

Nurture love for God’s Word through children’s ministries

By KATIE MACIEL

One Sunday, I asked the children in my kids church to read Hebrews 1 :1 with me. The passage is about Christ s atoning sacrifice once for all.

It s not an easy read. However, the moment was about more than reading comprehension. It was about the process of becoming Bible engaged. How many of you understand these verses I asked. few of you. Let s stop and re ect. hat do you think the writer of Hebrews meant fter a long pause, one child suggested, acrifice nother raised a hand and inter ected, I know before trailing off with, ever mind. I forgot. I see a lot of hands are going down, I said gently. That s . I chose this passage on purpose.

I continued, o matter how old you are, there will be things in the Bible you don t completely understand. I don t want you to be afraid of that or think you can t read the Bible because of it. Instead, pray for God to help you know Him more through reading His ord. Let trust fill in the pieces you don t understand.

Bible engagement is vital to discipleship, and it should start early. et few mericans of any age are regularly reading cripture on their own. ccording to merican Bible ociety s tate of the Bible report, ust of adults in the . . read the Bible at least weekly outside of church. nd the trend is moving in a concerning direction. In 1, the share of adults reading the Bible at least weekly was 3 . hy aren t more mericans Bible engaged There are likely a number of contributing factors, but I believe a key reason is a lack of intentional discipleship during the formative years.

Most children s ministries do a great ob of presenting the Bible in fun and memorable ways. However, unless we train children to interact with the ord of God, there is a good chance they won t prioriti e Bible reading later on. Bible engaged adult typically starts as a biblically trained child. Children s leaders have an opportunity to instill a love for God s ord in the ne t generation. It begins with training hearts, heads and hands.

Hearts

The prophet eremiah said, hen your words came, I ate them; they were my oy and my heart s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God lmighty ( eremiah 15:1 ). e can engage young hearts in the learning process by developing children s ability to listen and re ect. salm :1 says, Be still, and know that I am God. God designed human hearts to know Him through His pirit and His ord.

Consider including times of stillness in your kids services, reminding children to listen with their hearts to what God is saying. aturally, they re not going to behave like little adults while you e pound on cripture. But kids are capable of responding to moments that are about more than entertainment. lan a time during each service for kids to think about cripture. se introspective language such as re ect, listen and rest to describe this time together. Unless we train children to interact with the Word of God, there is a good chance they won’t prioritize Bible reading later on. Have kids memori e cripture and repeat it, without worrying about the immediate application. elcome the Holy pirit s presence, providing space for Him to speak. ids can open their hearts to God s ord even if they don t immediately understand it. salm 11 says, I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. our statutes are my heritage forever; they are the oy of my heart (verses 1 ,111). s children s leaders, we have the privilege of helping kids learn to delight in the ord of God. hen that happens, Bible engagement becomes a oy, not a chore.

Heads

ote knowledge of people, places and big ideas is ust the beginning. ids need opportunities to apply their learning, think for themselves, and hear from the Holy pirit. ose uestions that encourage critical thinking. Invite kids to ask uestions about the lesson. Help them connect the dots from one week to the ne t by identifying themes in cripture. Children

won t catch all the nuances, but they will grow in understanding. f course, we can t ust throw kids into the intellectual woods with no tools for navigating. The Bible is a big book. Help children gain the confidence to use it on their own.

This re uires a mindset shift. ather than ust teaching Bible facts, the goal is promoting lifelong Bible engagement. Here are five ways to e uip children for the ourney: 1. Put Bibles in little hands. Continually e pose children to physical copies of the Bible from an early age even if they cannot read. ncourage them to hold and e plore the Bible. llow time for kids to ip through the pages, see the illustrations, and stumble over words. 2. Make the text accessible. ids are all over the spectrum when it comes to reading ability. The ew International eader s ersion ( I ) is written at a third grade level for easier reading. There are also a variety of storybook Bibles available for young children. Help early readers and non readers by reading aloud to them. se visuals, such as book illustrations, posters, cutouts, action figures, and digital images. 3. Provide structure. Give kids a Bible reading plan. hether the goal is reading a daily verse or reading through an entire book of the Bible together, a framework makes it more manageable and gives children a sense of accomplishment. It also makes it easier for parents to get involved. 4. Build slowly. s part of each lesson, give kids small portions of cripture to read independently. ver time, encourage them to take on longer passages.

Rather than just teaching Bible facts, the goal is promoting lifelong Bible engagement.

5. Practice locating Scriptures. Divide kids into pairs or teams and have them race to look up Bible te ts by chapter and verse. sk adult volunteers to assist if needed. This time honored e ercise, often referred to as a sword drill, is a fun way to help children learn to navigate the Bible.

Hands

inally, encourage kids to put the Bible s lessons into action by serving God and others.

Talk about the Bible s teachings regarding ingdom work. Then provide opportunities for children to use their gifts. or e ample, kid volunteers can help lead worship, pray, pass out snacks, and greet visitors. utside of church, kids can live out cripture by telling their friends about esus, honoring their parents, practicing kindness, and e tending forgiveness. s aul reminded Timothy, ll cripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness ( Timothy 3:1 ). f course, children s leaders aren t ultimately the ones who will make the Bible relevant to the ne t generation. That is the work of the Holy pirit, who makes God s ord alive and active in hearts and minds, guiding believers into all truth as they live it out day to day ( ohn 1 :13; Hebrews :1 ). es, make kids church fun. es, keep it lively and age appropriate. In all of that, however, don t lose sight of the priority for making disciples who are Bible engaged and pirit led for a lifetime. hen Bible engagement grows among our children, it will change more than ust statistics. It will change the world.

KATIE MACIEL

is director of Kids First Ministries at Joliet First Assembly in Joliet, Illinois.