By: Crystal Mazzuca
Helping Kids Share the Gospel
The kids in our ministries are uniquely designed and equipped to share Jesus with people in their lives. We have the amazing privilege of helping kids know they can tell people about Jesus. When we give them a clear way to share the gospel, we help give them the confidence they need to share Jesus in a clear and meaningful way.
Consider teaching kids about the 3 Circles, a simple gospel tool that makes it clear how to talk about who Jesus is, why He came, and how we can respond.
Draw a circle with a few jagged shapes that look like continents.
God made the world, and He made people. When God designed everything, it was perfect. God created people to know Him, love Him, follow Him, and enjoy a relationship with Him.
The big phrase for kids to remember: God’s perfect design.
Draw another circle to the right. Draw an arrow from the first circle to the second circle, with an X beneath the line.
But the first people God made sinned. Sin is when we chose to do what we think is best rather than follow what God says is best.
The big phrase for kids to remember: Sin.
Draw a zigzag line through the middle of the second circle.
When people sinned, they broke their relationship with God. All of us sin, which means we all live in a broken world with broken relationships with God.
Draw a few squiggly lines going out of the second circle.
We may try to fix this brokenness on our own, but we cannot. We need someone to rescue us.
The big phrase for kids to remember: Brokenness.
Draw a third circle beneath the other two, drawing an arrow pointing from the second circle to the third.
The good news is that God loves people so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue us from brokenness and sin.
Draw a cross in the third circle.
Jesus lived a perfect life and died on a cross, taking the punishment for our sin. On the third day, Jesus came back to life because He is more powerful than sin and death.
Draw a crown above the third circle.
Jesus is the true King of the world, and He made a way for us to have a relationship with God.
The big phrase for kids to remember: Jesus rescues us.
We can respond by admitting that we sin and need to be forgiven. We can believe that Jesus is the only One who can make the way for us to have a relationship with God, by asking Him to forgive us and turning away from sin so we can follow Him.
Draw an arrow from the third circle back to the first circle.
When we do, we can know that God makes us new, helping us to live for and follow Him the way He designed in the beginning. One day, Jesus will return, and we will get to live in a new and perfect creation with Him forever.
The big phrase for kids to remember: Respond.
As you help kids learn to share the gospel through 3 Circles, remind them that, as we follow God, we will still make wrong choices. We won’t live perfectly until Jesus returns. But we can know that God loves us, is with us, and helps us follow Him.
Inviting kids to practice sharing the gospel in a simple way like this can help them grow in their confidence of being able to share the good news of Jesus with others.
Crystal Mazzuca is the Content Editor and Resource Specialist for Lifeway’s NextGen resource Hyfi. With an MA in Christian Education Administration, she has a passion to encourage and equip leaders to impact the next generation for Christ. She’s spent the last 20 years in Kids, Student, and Family Ministry and loves serving both the big C church and her local church in Olympia, WA. Crystal loves reading, going to the beach, and playing video games with her 3 sons.