A great way to help bring a child’s faith to life is through fun and creativity. Here are five simple and imaginative ways to point our kids to Jesus.
1. “Sunday Serving Surprises”
I want my kids to help someone not because they have to but because they care about the person. “Sunday Serving Surprises” can make it second nature for our kids to love others. With your kids, come up with ways your family can love others, and write them on small slips of paper or notecards.
Consider trying these ideas: Write notes about why a neighbor is awesome and put them in their mailbox or on their front door throughout the week (but don’t sign them, so you can encourage in secret!).
Ask an elderly neighbor if they need help with yard work or simply visit with them. Leave a note for the mail carrier in the mailbox saying you appreciate them. Surprise family members throughout the week by helping them with chores—do all the dishes or make their beds.
Bring first responders a poster thanking them for their service, along with a big batch of cookies.
Put all the ideas in an envelope and continue adding new ideas as you think of them. Sunday night, hide one of the “Sunday Serving Surprise” slips under a family member’s dinner plate.
Whoever has the slip gets to read the serving idea to do with the family that week and also gets to decide what dessert to have that night! The next Sunday, that person picks an idea from the envelope and hides it under someone else’s dinner plate, and so on. As our kids learn how to love others in practical ways, it will become a regular part of their lives.
2. Not just reading Bible stories, but doing them
In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus shares how we are the light of the world and how a lamp isn’t covered but is put on a stand so it can shine. Instead of just reading about that, do it.
Go into a dark room, and cover the lamp with a blanket to see how dull it is. Then take the blanket off to show what it looks like to shine for Jesus. Ask your kids, “What are ways you can be a light and shine for others?”
In Matthew 6:1-4, Jesus tells us not to “practice righteousness” in front of others to be seen by them, but to do good without saying anything about it. Have each person do one nice thing in secret for someone in the family so it can be a hidden kindness. Ask your kids, “Why do you think Jesus said not to be seen by others when you do kind things?”
In Matthew 12:33-34, Jesus talks about how a tree is recognized by its fruit and how our mouths will speak what our hearts are full of. With your kids, make a large tree out of construction paper.
Ask them, “What are ways we can fill up our hearts with Jesus so good things come out?” Write their ideas on the trunk and pick one to do each day. Then cut out different fruits from construction paper.
Each time throughout the week someone notices someone else showing fruit by being kind, loving, patient, forgiving, etc., write that on a piece of fruit and tape it to the tree. As we encourage our family members in loving Jesus and one another, a whole lot of good fruit will come out of our hearts.
3. Memorize Scripture through song or hand motions
One way to help our kids memorize verses is to sing the verses to song tunes or come up with hand motions. Pick some verses you want to memorize as a family and write them on notecards or slips of paper. Then put them in a jar.
Once a week, alternate which kid pulls out a verse. Whoever picks out the verse is in charge of coming up with the song tune or hand motions to go with the words. They can do it on their own or with you if they want help.
Then that child teaches the verse to the rest of the family. Adding ownership and creativity to this spiritual discipline gets our kids excited about memorizing verses and helps the Word of God settle into their hearts.
A piece of candy at the end of the week—after memorizing the verse—sure helps too!
4. Reading inspirational books together about people who followed Jesus
To spice it up, read the books in different, unexpected places, and read aloud while your kids are eating so their mouths are full but their ears are open.
You could have a picnic while reading the book outside, or you could read on the trampoline, in the playroom, in a fort, or even in the dark while using flashlights.
One book that inspired my triplets to grow in their faith and to be bold was The Hiding Place (Young Reader’s Edition) by Corrie ten Boom, a Christian evangelist during the time of the Holocaust.
This book is great for fourth or fifth graders and older depending on the child. Another powerful book for this age group is George Müller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans. I’d also like to recommend my devotional, Beautiful Hearted Women of the Bible: A Creative Mother-Daughter Devotional, which helps moms connect with their daughters and the Lord (it’s geared toward girls ages 6–10).
If your kids are younger, The Rhyme Bible and The Jesus Storybook Bible are wonderful books to read together. The conversations and faith-growing that these books have inspired with my kids and me have been amazing.
5. Affirming them when they show love for God and others
If you notice one of your kids doing something kind, whether big or small, let them know.
When my son washed his sister’s dish without being asked, I said, “Wow, thanks, Bates. You sure loved your sister well like Jesus asks us to.” When my daughter let her sister have the last Pop-Tart, I said, “Gracie, thanks for loving your sister so well by putting her first.”
When my daughter was rude to her brother, but then apologized, I encouraged her: “It sure honors the Lord when you are humble and say you’re sorry—awesome, Brooklyn.” When Bates was reading through the Gospels in his room, I let him know, “That sure pleases the Lord when you seek him.”
When my daughter wrote a thank-you note to the surgeon who saved her life, I said, “What an awesome way to give thanks just like the Lord asks us to.”
To add some fun, instead of just calling it out, write the ways your kids have shown love for God or others on small slips of paper and tape them to their bathroom mirror to surprise them. (You can also write them on the mirror with a dry-erase marker.)
Tell your kids to write notes for each other, too, when they notice their siblings doing something nice. You don’t need to call it out every time, but when you do this from time to time, your kids will have a better understanding of what it looks like to love the Lord and love others—and they’ll be encouraged that they’re doing just that.
What a beautiful opportunity we have as parents to point our kids to Jesus and to help bring their faith to life through creativity and fun!
Consider a few extra resources:
Teaching littles: Family devotions with many activities
Hockey, Slurpees, and Jesus: Everyday faith adventures with our kids
