Teaching children to know Jesus as Savior ~ Teaching them to know who they are in Him and Who He is in them

Invite the children to come up and sit right down at your feet.  Then ask if there are others who would be willing to come and pray for these that need prayer.  If there are about as many children that have asked for prayer as there are children who did not,  have the children who asked for prayer to come up and form a line and face the class.  Have the other children come up and stand in front of someone who needs prayer.  Have them lay their hands on the person's shoulder and pray for them.  Two or three could pray for just one.

Meditating on God's word is one way to teach children to hear His voice.  Use a memory verse to teach them to mediate.

Teach the children to say God's word -- just not as a memory verse to earn a prize, but as God's words speaking to them and then speaking the words back to God.  This is meditation.  Encourage the children to take the verse home and meditate on it during the week.  To make the verse even more valuable, put it on colored paper and laminate it for the children to hang in their bedroom.  Or you can make it small enough to keep in their Bibles.

Children can publish this on the internet.  Or you can create a timeline that can be laminated together in sequence. Put a line across the top of each picture adding the date when events happened, and placed around the walls of the classroom. 

Children learn many things from this project.  They learn the sequence of  Bible stories they have heard for years; they learn to summarize a story; they learn to use their creativity to teach the gospel; they learn what evangelism is all about.  You don't need special teaching supplies for this; just use a children's Bible and decide how many lessons you would like to teach--this will determine the number of weeks you will run the class.  Additionally, two products we offer teach the entire Bible visually (see our teaching products page).  One is teaching children the Bible using flannel graph, the other is the entire Bible on video tape for children.  Both are excellent methods of  teaching the Bible Timeline. The video products have a workbook with each video that can be used for take home or use in extended class time.

This generation of children want to participate in what they are learning. You do not need to invest in a lot of teaching materials -- just let the children participate.  You don't even need many teachers -- just find them mentors. Divide the class into areas of interest. One group of children could be interested in leading music; another could be interested in dance; another in ushering; another in praying for others; another writing and drawing.

This method of teaching is very effective.  We are currently developing an entire curriculum on teaching Spiritual Gifts to children.
 

To add creativity to your teaching -- make some costumes.  For example, if you decide to teach the Bible in a Timeline.  Each week, or as a review at the end of a series of lessons, divide the children into groups.   Give each group a story to act out.  Each group should elect a leader -- or you assign one.  The leader will assign parts.  Provide a pile of costumes.  Each group take their turn acting.  You, as the teacher, will narrate the story.  If you are doing the timeline.  The first group might be the Fall of Satan From Heaven (you or another teacher should play Satan) so you might begin by saying, "We believe the Bible teaches that sometime before God created the earth, and the first two people -- he created angels.  Angels are beautiful created beings -- they are not people that have died and gone to heaven.  (Side Note: You could use this opportunity to teach about the different kinds of angels even read Revelations 5 about the 4 living creatures with the 6 wings and eyes all over them.) There was an angel in heaven, his name was Lucifer (the one playing Satan struts around proudly) and he knew he was beautiful and his music was so full of worship and harmony.  He became very prideful and thought he would take the place of God.  Could anyone take the place of God?  How foolish, but he thought he could -- and he convinced one third of all the angels in heaven that he was now going to be God."  You should have a couple of children playing angels -- and Satan persuades one of them to follow them."  You continue narrating as they fall to earth and wait in the Garden of Eden to convince man that they also would be just like God if they were to disobey Him.  For the story of Adam and Eve we take crazy string and spray 2 trees.  Continue narrating as you go through each Bible story.  Children love to act and to wear costumes -- actively involving the children in the teaching is the best method we have found to get them excited about learning.  To make costumes, I just take one yard of material folded in half and cut a small semicircle in the middle for the head.  Sew around the circle with seam binding tape. Sew a hem around the edges.  The child places the costume on over his head and it drapes over his shoulders.  You can give them a belt made of rope or wide heavy ribbon.  For angels and soldiers I make a cape -- similar to an apron.  Use red satin for soldiers and white satin for angels and purple for Jesus or a king.  Gather a yard of material at the top.  Cut off about 3 inches at the bottom, and use that for your tie (or waste band with ties if it were an apron).  Children just tie it around their necks as if it were a cape. For soldiers cut a sword and shield from poster board. You can laminate them so they will last longer. Make a crown for a king the same way and cover with gold material, or get one at Burger King.

Every child will learn a little differently.  Some children are visual learners, some learn best by doing, and others learn best with a combination of seeing, hearing and doing.  Because of this, we believe a child should actively participate in all that they are learning.  It is said that a child (and adults as well) will remember ~
 

10% of what they hear
50% of what that hear and see
70% of what they hear and see and speak
90% of what they hear and see and speak and do
95% of what they hear and see and speak and do and teach
 
 

So, just listening to a lesson being taught, a child will retain only about 10% of the lesson.  If you use visual aides in your teaching, perhaps a child will remember 50% of the lesson.  If, however, the children are giving the lesson in some form, then they will retain well most of the lesson being taught.

Have the children pair up in groups of two or three.  Tell them they are going outside for about 10 minutes and they are to return when you blow your whistle.  Pray with them before they go out that God will show them something new about Himself in nature.  Tell them they are to go and find one thing in nature that reveals God to them in a new and special way.  They may observe a bee hovering over clover; a flower's color and how each pedal is shaped similar and makes up a delicate flower; leaves on a tree may have a little moss; different shapes of rocks; something in the clouds -- each group will come back with something different.   Write each discovery on a board.  See if God is teaching a message to the children -- ask the children, after each group shares, what they think God is teaching them today through their class nature trip.

If the room you are teaching in is large, after praying that God will direct each one, have each child find an object in the room that will teach a lesson about God and His creation.  If your room is small, take them to a large room that has many objects in it.  Ask that each child stand by their object when they find it, be prepared to share with the rest of the class.  An air conditioner, vent, table, chair, fan, electric cord, electric outlet, musical instrument, even the floor can teach a small lesson -- they will each come up with something; and when they do, affirm them, and ask if there is anything else -- maybe someone else in the class could also suggest what lesson God could teach them about the object.  This lesson is useful for several reasons, it gets children to use their creativity; it takes them out of their comfort zone; it helps them learn to be led by God.  We are spiritual beings, created in His image. Teach children about spiritual things -- don't be afraid of them -- God is Spirit and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.