Many resources present the gospel for kids in powerful ways. One hidden treasure that Charles Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” created is a little book titled “Come Ye Children.“ In it, Spurgeon contended earnestly that teaching kids the gospel is one of the most important tasks God gives to a parent, teacher, or minister.
Spurgeon writes:
There must be doctrine, solid, sound, gospel doctrine to constitute real feeding. When you have a joint on the table, then ring the dinner-bell; but the bell feeds nobody if no provender is served up. Getting children to meet in the morning and the afternoon is a waste of their steps and yours if you do not set before them soul-saving, soul sustaining truth. Feed the lambs; you need not pipe to them, nor put garlands round their necks; but do feed them.
Because teaching the gospel for kids is so important, you need a plan. Just as kids grow physically in proportion to the food they eat and emotional support they receive, they grow spiritually in a similar manner.
Are you intentionally feeding your kids the gospel? It is estimated that pastors have 104 hours a year with kids in their ministry, while parents have 8,736 hours a year.
By the end of this year, will your kids know the gospel?
Share the Gospel for Kids
According to our kids team at LifeWay several foundational truths should serve as the support structure of a child’s faith development. These include God, Jesus, Bible, Creation, Family, Self, Church, Community and World, The Holy Spirit, and Salvation (These are charted out in Learning as They Grow).
In other words, understanding these biblical concepts is vital to the spiritual development of the next generation. How are we doing with our children? Can our children answer questions such as:
- What is sin?
- Who is Jesus?
- What did Jesus do?
- Why do you and I need Jesus to save us?
- How do we receive the salvation that Jesus offers?
We must be careful with our precious children. We do not want to walk them into making a decision to follow Christ without an intentional plan for walking with them down the road of discipleship. Disciples, not decisions, will measure our ministry to children.
Trevin Wax offers practical suggestions on teaching the gospel for kids.
- Repetition is essential.
- Choose your language carefully.
- Don’t underestimate your kids’ understanding.
So, what are we teaching our children? Are we teaching morals, or the gospel? In that same little book, Spurgeon writes, “…the gospel produces the best morality in all the world.” As we teach our children the gospel, we teach them how to live as disciples.
