Leading kids to Christ is at the center of everything we do in children’s ministry. But, many adult leaders lack confidence when it comes to communicating the gospel to kids with clarity. It is essential that we include the key concepts of sin and salvation, but we need to do so in language that kids understand. This is such an important conversation to have that we decided to create and share some free resources to help you specifically equip your volunteers for success in communicating God’s plan of salvation to the kids in your ministry.
The Gospel God’s Plan for Me
The first resource to download is this simple icon-driven gospel outline. You can print it to hang on your classroom walls so it’s always accessible, make copies for each of your leaders to review at home, even share with parents to equip them to have this conversation at home. The simple outline uses 5 icons: a crown, an X, the cross, a gift, and raised hands as visual memory hooks to help leaders and kids recollections. We invite you to share these resources freely as widely as you like. If you are interested, you can find 4-color printed pocket-sized booklets with The Gospel God’s Plan for Me at lifeway.com.
The Gospel God’s Plan for Me is a document that our content editors and kids ministry experts have developed to get the conversation going. It is intended to be used as a clear and concise gospel presentation that helps lead a child who is interested in a personal faith in Jesus up to the point of decision. We leave a time of prayer and commitment to you.
Unpacking the Story
The outline goes like this:
God Rules: The Bible tells us that God created everything, including you and me, and He is in charge of everything. Genesis 1:1; Revelation 4:11; Colossians 1:16-17
We Sinned: We all choose to disobey God. The Bible calls this sin. Sin separates us from God and deserves God’s punishment of death. That’s bad news. Romans 3:23, 6:23
God Provided: But wait. There’s also good news! God sent His Son Jesus, the perfect solution to our sin problem, to rescue us from the punishment we deserve. That’s something that we, as sinners, could never earn on our own. Jesus alone saves us. John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9
Jesus Gives: Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again. Because Jesus gave up His life for us, we can be welcomed into God’s family now, and for all eternity. That’s the best gift ever! Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18; Ephesians 2:8-9
We Respond: How can you respond to this gift? Believe in your heart that Jesus alone saves you through what He has already done on the cross. Repent, turning from self and sin to Jesus. Tell God and others that your faith is in Jesus. John 14:6; Romans 10:9-10, 13
The ABCs help us remember how to respond to the gospel.
A: Admit that you are a sinner and repent. Repent means to turn around or to change direction. We turn away from our sin and turn towards God.
B: Believe that Jesus is God’s Son and receive His gift of forgiveness from sin.
C: Confess to God, and other people, that Jesus is your savior and that He is Lord of your life.
Kids Gospel Presentation Videos
To make sharing the gospel easier, we have also created free gospel presentation videos that you can use. Visit lifeway.com/kidsgospelpresentation. There you will find seven different videos of a variety of men and women sharing the same gospel presentation. There’s even one in Spanish. Adults can play these videos for their kids and let our communicators share the Gospel God’s Plan for Me, or your team can use these videos as samples to help them learn to communicate the gospel with greater clarity and confidence themselves.
If you use Lifeway Kids resources like Bible Studies for Life Kids, Explore the Bible Kids, The Gospel Project for Kids, TeamKID, or Lifeway VBS, you will also find these videos on the DVDs included with your lesson resources. We have posted them to lifeway.com/kidsgospelpresentation to allow these videos to be shared more broadly by anyone, whether they use Lifeway Kids resources or not. Our prayer is God will expand the reach of the gospel as we equip you, the church, for ministry.
Remember, the gospel is always best communicated in the context of relationship, and decisions to follow Christ should always be followed up with relational discipleship in the local church. If you are interested in new believer resources, I highly recommend I’m a Christian Now. It had sessions for younger and older kids to help them as they begin their personal faith journey. You can find more info HERE.
May God add His blessing as you share the good news of salvation through Jesus with the kids in your community!
Chuck Peters is Director of Operations for Lifeway Kids. A graduate of Columbia Bible College, Chuck has served vocationally & voluntarily in Student and Children’s Ministry for many years.
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