VBS SHOP

Kids Ministry

Dedicated to helping Kids Ministry leaders in their mission of making disciples

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Planned. Intended. Designed.  

Every preschooler and child in your ministry is uniquely designed, piece by piece, by God and for God. We know this truth is real, biblical, and factual. And yet, transferring what we know Scripture says to be true into solidified reality in the hearts of kids is not always an easy task.  

This important task takes time. It takes patience. It takes prayer.  

As leaders, it is our joy to help kids cultivate a God-centered identity—to know, believe, and trust that who God says they are is actually who they are. Not who social media says they are. Not who their teachers, friends, or coaches say they are. Not even who we, their church leaders and teachers, say they are. Kids’ identities are uniquely formed and shaped by God. They are who God says they are, and every other label of identity must be compared to and verified against what God says in His Word.  

So where do we begin?  

As we help kids cultivate a God-centered identity, it is important that we don’t just tell them who God says they are. We need to equip them with tools to read and study Scripture so they can learn more about who God is and who they are. One-on-one or as a small group, spend 10 minutes together modeling how to study the Bible in a way that cultivates God-centered identify.  

Here are a few steps to get started:  

  • Choose a passage from the Bible. Consider your age group, readability, length of the text, and age appropriateness of the Bible passage. For example, consider Psalm 145:1-7 for grades 4–6 and Psalm 145:8-9 for grades 1–3. 
  • Read the verses together from a Bible. Let kids read from their own Bibles. This not only helps them get familiar with their Bibles, but it also allows them to realize, in a very tangible way, that the Bible is for them. This is their Bible, and it belongs to them. They can take it home, use it, and read it the same way they read it at church.  
  • Highlight the text. Consider providing a printout of the Bible verses for kids to highlight, underline, write notes on, and so forth. As we help kids study the Word, it is important to help them experience Scripture with as many of their senses as possible. They can read aloud (auditory and visual learners). They can touch the words as they read, highlight, underline, and take notes on the side (kinesthetic learners). 
  • Ask identity questions. When we ask questions of what we read in the Bible, it helps move content from our heads to our hearts and hands. It forces us to do something with what we just read. As you read Scripture, model for kids what it looks like to really look at the Bible and start sharpening Bible skills. Here are a few questions to ask and journal about: 
    • What does this say about God?  
    • What does this say about me?
    • How does this lead me to pray?  

As kids come to the Bible and ask, “What does this say about God?” they are first orienting their hearts to know and believe this is a book primarily about God and who He is before we start looking for ourselves. As kids ask, “What does this say about me?” it helps them draw out real-life application points of how this passage of Scripture speaks to their identities. They learn what is true of them because of what is first true of God. Lastly, asking, “How does this lead me to pray?” engages kids in talking with God, asking Him questions, praising Him for who He is, and asking for His help in believing and living into who He made them to be.  

As we walk with kids, helping them engage with Scripture and deeper study in tangible and meaningful ways, we are helping kids discover and cultivate a God-centered identity not just for the here and now, but for a lifetime to come. 

Kayla Stevens is the Hyfi Team Leader for Lifeway. She has a deep passion for empowering kids and students to know who they are in Christ and grow deeper in the joy of Jesus. Kayla is the author of God Knows Me Inside and Out (B&H Press, 2025) and has served inside and outside of the local church for more than eighteen years. She calls Nashville home and can often be found wandering the trails of Tennessee with her favorite furry friend, Baxter. 

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