Monday, May 30, 2011

Leading a Child to Christ

When presenting the salvation message to kids, be prepared for questions. Have an adult Christian talk individually with each child who responds to your invitation. Ask the child, “What decision do you want to make?” or “What do you want Jesus to do for you?” Let the child say in his own words what decision he wants to make. Don’t put words in the child’s mouth. Depend on the Holy Spirit to work within His own timetable to make the plan of salvation clear to the child. After ascertaining that the child does want to accept Jesus as his Savior, and answering any questions he or she has, share what the Bible teaches about salvation:

1. God loves you — John 3:16 
2. You have done wrong things (sinned) — Romans 3:23 
3. God says that those wrong things must be punished 
— Romans 6:23 
4. God sent Jesus to take the punishment for us 
— Isaiah 53:5 
5. Tell God you are sorry for the wrong things you have done — I John 1:9 
6. Ask Jesus to come into your life and be your Savior 
— John 3:16-17 

Talk and pray individually with each child. Let the child pray his own prayer asking Jesus to be his Savior. Explain that the student is now God’s child. Let him know that God promises to never leave him. Explain that God will help him do what’s right, and God wants the child to get to know Him better. Clarify any questions the child may have. Help the child say a prayer of thanks for what Jesus has done for him. Then pray aloud, thanking God for the child.

Also talk with the child’s parents, informing them of the child’s response and sharing your view of their child’s spiritual development. Encourage the parents to help the child pray, read the Bible, obey God, attend church and Sunday school, and tell others about Jesus. This may be a good opportunity to tell the parents about Jesus.

When presenting the plan of salvation, we recommend that group invitations be avoided for young children due to the “herd” instinct of these children. Rather, talk with the children individually, to determine which children are ready to receive Christ as Savior of their lives. Keep the child in prayer, and trust God to do His work in each child’s life.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Fish and Net Game

Use this game to reinforce your Bible lesson about Jesus miraculously providing the disciples with full nets of fish after they had fished all night without catching anything. After telling the Bible story, have the children sit in a large circle for this game. This is a variation of "Duck, Duck, Goose."


Choose one child to be the fisherman.  He begins walking around the outside of the circle, patting each child on the shoulder and saying "Empty net, empty net, empty net, fish!" The child who has been called a fish must chase the fisherman around the outside of the circle. If the fisherman is caught before he can reach the seat left empty by the "fish," the "fish" becomes the next fisherman. If the fisherman is not caught, then the fish must return to his seat in the circle. The fisherman chooses a new child to be the fisherman and sits in his now empty seat.


After the game, hand out goldfish crackers to the children. As they eat, explain that just as the fishermen obeyed Jesus and cast their nets into the water once more, God wants us to do what He tells us to do. God does not want us to read the Bible and then just ignore the things it says. Let the children name some specific things God tells us in the Bible that we should do. Remind them that all of our behaviors have consequences or results. Close in prayer, asking God to help each child make good choices.