Unforgettable Children’s Church Sermons

by Pastor Clarke Clemens
Children’s Pastor, RLC Grandville

People often feel that when teaching kids, creativity and content can’t coexist.  Either you have to go all-out in being fun, energetic and creative, at the expense of really teaching good content, or you have to hammer home Biblical points in a way that sacrifices creativity and inevitably leads to a room full of bored kids.

In RezKidz, we feel that you need to do both.  We encourage our children’s church volunteers to teach solid, Biblical lessons, and to do so in as creative a manner as possible.  In fact, we often state that it is the sin of children’s ministry to not use props, stories or other means by which to make the Biblical truths you’re teaching unforgettable.

Below are some ideas that can help your lessons come alive:

1. Props – Most of the props you can use are free!  Bring items from home to illustrate points – from the garage, your basement, kitchen, whatever – kids love to see you holding stuff while teaching.  It focuses their attention on an important point you want to make, plus it gives you something tangible to hold as you teach and seek to make a point memorable.
2. Family Photos – Bring photos of yourself – especially when you were a kid – your family, pets, vacations, etc.  These are especially useful when telling a story about yourself that you’re applying to a Biblical truth.
3. Google Images – Whether you have an overhead projector or a more expensive mounted projector – use free photos from Google Images to illustrate your points.  You can download photos of Biblical sites or simple items like animals, vehicles or people.  Whatever topic you’re teaching on – simply type that in the Google Images search window and see what turns up.  As you teach, put those photos up on the screen behind you.  (Whenever I’ve taught in rooms without a projector, I’ve simply printed the photos and held them up in my hands for the kids to see.)
4. Google Earth – Check-out this resource and load it on your laptop to allow kids to see that cities, rivers, oceans and nations in the Bible are actual, real-life places.  Kids and adults who haven’t seen this before will be amazed to see a ‘map’ come alive in front of their eyes.  And it’s free!
5. Stories – Kids love stories, especially about yourself when you were their age.  Even if you don’t consider yourself a storyteller, jump in and try out something and see how effective it can be.  When telling a story, try to mix the different points of the story with your teaching points.  End a ‘phase’ of your story right at a moment of suspense – then talk about a lesson point you want the kids to learn.  Then, when you feel they are getting restless, go back to your story and you will have the kids attention immediately!  Continue stopping at moments where the kids really want to know what’s going to happen – talk about another point from the teaching – then jump back to where you left off.  You will be amazed at how well you’ll be able to hold the kids attention – even those not known for listening quietly.
6. Video Clips – One of the best things I taught myself to do a couple years ago was to learn the Windows Movie Maker software that comes pre-loaded with most PCs.  All you need is a basic camcorder from home and your PC to make basic – yet creatively powerful – videos of your own!  Windows Movie Maker is about as basic as you can get with editing software – though some patience will be needed as you learn how to use this.  But the rewards will be great and you’ll soon find yourself eagerly desiring to make more videos.  Typically, I’ll make a 3 – 5 minute video to illustrate a point – sometimes by making it at home, outside, around church, in your car, wherever – just get creative. Kids will stay engaged and it gives you a few minutes in your teaching to get a breather, look at your notes, then jump back in.  You’ll get hooked on this teaching resource in no time!

These are just a few examples we’ve used to good effect over the years.  We’ve discovered that by making a children’s church lesson that is both chock full of good content, and creative and exciting, you will get and keep the kids attention, while helping them grow closer to Christ.  You will also expand the vision of your volunteer team of what they can do to bring the message the Lord has given them to new heights of effectiveness and fun!

For many more ideas, plus alot of other information about children’s ministry, I highly recommend the book The Fabulous Reinvention of Sunday School by Aaron Reynolds.