The Gospel is a major part of life for the Christian. Not only is it what brings you to your knees in Salvation, but the truths of the Gospel guide and direct the rest of your life. As parents, it’s our job to point our children to Christ at every possible moment. We are to direct them to our Savior so that He can become their Savior too. And, what better way to show them Christ than to share the Good News, the Gospel, with them?
In this post I’ll let you in on 5 ways to share the Gospel with your kids. But first, if you don’t know what the Gospel is or maybe you don’t know Jesus as your own Savior, head over to this post and read it! And, if you have any questions about whether or not you are a child of God, let me know, I’m always happy to talk. My email is Deborah@naptimetheologian.com.
5 Ways to Share the Gospel With Your Kids
Immerse Yourself in the Word and Gospel
Make time to study and know God’s Word. There are many things that pull for our attention. We’ve got to make God’s Word one of those things. I have written a whole post about making time for Bible study as a busy mom and you can read it here.
But, simply, you make time for what you desire. So cut out whatever you need to in order to read your Bible every day. Maybe it’s a late-night show so that you can wake up early. Maybe it’s your social media scroll everyday at 7AM. Whatever it is, cut it out to make time to read your Bible.
Even if you just start with a few minutes a day you will soon be able to read longer and longer and learn more and more.
Then, as you are immersing yourself in the Scriptures, they will flow out into your conversations and interactions with your children. We know that from the Scriptures themselves. Jesus said in Luke 6:45 that, “His mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
Our mouths show us what is in our hearts. So, if you’ve stored up Bible verses, theology, and the Gospel in your own heart, it’s gonna flow out into your life with your kids.
Reading your Bible and studying everyday will prepare you to share the Gospel with your kids because you are learning and growing each day yourself.
The book, The Gospel Primer, is also a wonderful resource for quick, Gospel truths to take with you on your day.
Share the Gospel When You Discipline Your Kids
Another way to share the Gospel with your kids is to tell it to them point blank when it’s time for discipline.
I am going to assume that you discipline your kids. If you don’t, I highly recommend the book Shepherding a Child’s Heart. I have read it through twice now and it is a wonderful resource for discipline and parenting in general. But for the purpose of this post, I will assume that you already follow some sort of model for disciplining your kids and will not address that model specifically.
Every time that your child sins they need discipline. Every time that your child sins it shows that they also need Jesus. Therefore, discipline is a great time to tell your kids about our Savior, Jesus.
It can be a short, sweet, and simple conversation in the midst of disciplining. For my two-year-old it is often just a couple quick sentences saying that Jesus died for our sins so that we could be forgiven and He becomes our Savior when we put our trust in Him. Something like that.
As your child gets bigger you can adjust and add what you need to. (I’m sure I will do the same as my daughter grows!). But getting those words out to them throughout the day is important.
As you pull your child aside for discipline, remind yourself that it’s an opportunity to share with them the hope of the Gospel.
*Side note, it also helps me to not be frustrated with my child when I remember that we are both fighting against sin. The sin is the problem. And then when we talk about the Gospel, I also remember that Jesus was victorious over sin and the grave, which encourages me in a difficult task of parenting.*
When you have littles, multiples, or any combination of children, there will be a time when you are disciplining a lot and you may not have the minutes to talk in depth about the Gospel with each disciplining meeting. But try to have one or two lines about the Gospel ready so that you can quickly share with your child.
Share The Gospel with Your Kids by Reading Good Books Together
The third way you can share the Gospel with your kids is by reading good books together.
There is a plethora of Christian books for kids on the market these days. And, to be honest, I’ve found that you really have to be careful with what you read to your kids! There are a lot of so-called “christian” books that totally leave out sin or Jesus’ suffering. I once read a kids Bible that didn’t even have the crucifixion story in it! How can you call it a Bible without the most important event?!
That being said, I have found several good books that I read often with my daughter. She is two years old at the moment, so these are definitely aimed at younger children. If you have an older child and know of good books to read to them about the Gospel, please leave a comment with suggestions!
The Big Picture Story Book Bible
This book is a great one to read with your child, even if they are older! It has all the Bible stories you expect for kids, but it also has much more. The author has done a wonderful job of including Jesus throughout the book. The Old Testament stories look forward to Jesus’ coming. Then the New Testament stories celebrate and share the Gospel in kid-friendly language. The first time we completed the book, my eyes filled with tears as I was reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. The last entry is especially encouraging as you follow John and his vision of the hope believers have to look forward to in Heaven.
The Ology
The Ology is another wonderful resource to teach your kids the Gospel. It goes through different aspects of theology and relates them to kids’ experiences. There is some deep theology in this book! The lessons are a little above my two-year-old daughter’s level right now. But we’ve still read quite a few with some extra explanation from me.
The Biggest Story
The Biggest Story book takes you through the story of the Bible in 10 installments. Kevin DeYoung is a master of including Biblical theology in each lesson, looking forward to Jesus’ sacrifice and then connecting all the dots for kids. He also does a wonderful job of showing how the characters in the Bible also sinned, which is something that a lot of kids books leave out. The Gospel message is very clear in this book.
God’s Very Good Idea
This fun little book was quite popular this past year, and rightly so! It is a wonderfully crafted book to share the Gospel with your kids. This book also contains a good explanation of how the church works together and Jesus welcomes everyone who believes into His family.
Share the Gospel with Your Kids by Memorizing Scripture with Them
The Word of God is the only way that the Gospel can get to us. Memorizing Scripture with your children is an excellent way to share the Good News with them. Help them hide God’s Word in their heart so that they can live out the Gospel too.
I have a whole post written about ways to help your preschoolers memorize Scripture here.
Share the Gospel with Your Kids by Living It Out
Reading books and memorizing Scripture with your children are wonderful ways to introduce them to the Gospel. But my fifth and final way to share the Gospel with your kids may be the hardest…
Share the Gospel with your kids by by living it out in your daily life. There’s no better way to point someone to Christ than by living like Him. And, trust me, your kids do watch what you do.
So, work hard to live out the Christian life before your kids. Repent of sin, read your Bible everyday, show generosity, pray for the saints, work as to the Lord… and the list could go on and on!
Living out the Gospel truth in your own life is the strongest way to share the Gospel with your own children.
And, for you moms that stay home with your kids during the day, take advantage of all that time you have together! There are plenty of opportunities to live out your faith with your kids at home, so take them!
There’s no time like the present to share the Gospel with your kids. Don’t let another day go by without making this a priority. Give them the Good News that Jesus loves them despite their sin, died for them on the cross so that they could be saved, and if they repent and believe in Him as Lord and Savior, He will forgive them of their sin and take them to heaven for eternity.
How will you share the Gospel with your kids today?
This post contains affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.
Related Posts:
5 Ways to Help Your Pre-Schooler Memorize Scripture
6 Verses to Pray for Your Kids from the Psalms
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