1. Lead By Example

Your children watch you intently, observing how you respond to situations, handle emotions, and treat others.  As 2 Corinthians 4:5 reminds us, "For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake." Let your life be a reflection of Christ's love, grace, and compassion.

Your children are more likely to embrace those values if they see them embodied in your daily life. Modeling forgiveness and humility is essential to showing your children how to live like Christ.

Model Forgiveness and Humility

Acknowledge your mistakes and apologize when necessary. Demonstrate a willingness to learn and grow. Show them how to treat everyone with kindness, even when faced with challenges.

Help them see the importance of serving others. Encourage volunteering or simply offering a helping hand when someone is in need. These character-building activities can help instill a sense of service in your children.

Live Out Your Faith

Engage in regular prayer, Bible study, and attending church. Discuss your faith openly and honestly with your children, answering their questions in a way that respects their understanding.

Incorporate your faith into everyday moments – give thanks before meals, discuss God's role in creating nature, and express gratitude for blessings, both big and small. When your children see faith integrated into your life, it becomes more natural and meaningful to them as well.

2. Make It Engaging And Relevant

Gone are the days of lecturing about faith. Modern kids need hands-on, interactive experiences that connect with their interests and questions.

This generation of children learns best through dynamic methods that keep them engaged and curious. Think about how to bring biblical stories and teachings to life.

Interactive Activities

The beauty of a faith-based curriculum is that you can explore it through various creative methods. For example, consider a trip to a petting zoo to discuss the story of Noah’s Ark or bake bread together, emphasizing Jesus as the bread of life.

Craft activities offer an enjoyable, memorable avenue to understanding faith. Children often respond to visual and tactile learning approaches, allowing them to express creativity and individuality while solidifying faith teachings in their minds.

Sing Bible Songs

Music is incredibly powerful. Just as many adults associate favorite songs with special memories, childhood exposure to uplifting and faith-themed songs can create lasting, positive impacts.

Find children's albums or playlists on streaming services with faith-centered songs they will love. Sing those songs together. Look for online videos featuring children’s choirs demonstrating movements.

Try to use simple songs and melodies that children can easily learn, sing, and remember. Repetition reinforces learning. 

Children learn differently, but music serves as a connector of faith, particularly for those who express their emotions through music, singing, and rhythm. Incorporate Bible songs like Jesus Loves Me, Father Abraham, and more into your teaching techniques.

Utilize Everyday Life Examples

Children understand the world around them in simpler terms. Avoid relying solely on abstract theological ideas. Connect biblical teachings to practical examples from everyday life. For example, talk about sharing when playing, connecting it with generosity, and helping others as Jesus would.

Discuss forgiveness after arguments, demonstrating humility. Use common examples to illustrate deeper theological concepts in ways kids can readily grasp.

Discipline In Love 

If a parent knows their child has misbehaved, the worst thing to do is ignore the offense. Teach children about their responsibilities, consequences, forgiveness, and the impact of their choices on others.

Set reasonable rules and hold them accountable, providing loving but consistent discipline when necessary. Address their actions and explain why they’re wrong. Explain why such behavior isn’t acceptable.

Correct them with love, providing guidance for improvement without using criticism, judgment, or negativity. For instance, if a child lies, the problem will escalate because they’ve learned to avoid consequences and be deceptive toward others. Address the dishonesty to build strong moral character.

3. Engage With Scripture Together

Reading the Bible together can be the heart of teaching Christ to your children. Make sure you make it approachable for their age. Start with fun and relatable stories that will capture their imaginations. There are many children's Bibles available that will make the experience more enjoyable for your kids.

Utilize Children's Bibles

Select engaging, age-appropriate children’s Bibles to illustrate Bible stories through words and captivating pictures. Help children connect with Scripture and grasp its beauty through colorful narratives instead of lengthy paragraphs containing complex wording. Make reading sessions a special part of your family time.

Curl up together on the couch and explore colorful illustrated versions of biblical stories. Allow children to choose which ones interest them. Discuss the stories in a way they can understand.

Ask them what they learned from a particular character or story and discuss moral lessons. Encourage them to illustrate what they learned.

Memorable Verses

Just as children learn rhymes or multiplication tables, learning specific Bible verses teaches valuable lessons while encouraging retention and knowledge. Start by memorizing scripture together – short, inspirational verses will make it more approachable.

There are many scripture verses applicable to children of various ages, although the best selection is often an age-appropriate choice that a child will respond to and feel connected with. Matthew 7:24-27 focuses on the parable of building on sand versus building on rock.

This offers kids an important takeaway regarding developing a strong foundation based on Christ’s teachings. This verse instills a visual representation that children can remember for the rest of their lives, reminding them of the significance of staying rooted in Christ. 

Consider teaching your children Deuteronomy 31:6: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, for the Lord your God goes with you”. These comforting words will serve your child for years, reminding them that they're never alone in challenging situations.

Make Faith Part Of Their Day

If we only talk about God over Sunday dinner or during a brief bedtime prayer, then those faith discussions feel like mere routine. This leads to children not truly making faith part of their daily lives.

Try incorporating discussions and appreciation of God’s presence as part of regular occurrences, demonstrating how faith is integrated into each moment of life. 

4. Use Creative Resources

There are many fun and creative ways to make teaching Christ to your children impactful and engaging. This encourages them to look forward to faith-based activities instead of thinking of them as homework.

It's the key to growing children's spirituality through positive association. Explore all the different resources available, from Sunday School lessons to faith-based apps for kids.

Story Books And Apps

Find picture books and age-appropriate storybooks. Many versions of children's Bibles present scriptures in simple terms with eye-catching artwork. You'll find storybooks and bible tales written by various authors and artists, covering subjects like David and Goliath or Jesus performing miracles.

Also, discover interactive apps or faith-themed videos designed for children. You’ll find a wide array of age-appropriate resources. Age-appropriate resources like children’s Bibles and storybooks can complement other methods of spiritual education.

Prayer

Prayer can feel difficult for children to learn because it's something that you do rather than watch or participate in, like baking a cake together. Introduce age-appropriate methods. Younger kids benefit from pre-written prayers to start them out, whereas older children can create their own simple prayers for you to go over together.

The more you pray together and encourage it as a normal part of daily life, the more natural it will feel for your children to express their emotions through prayer. Consider placing a “prayer box” or journal in their room where they can write down prayers on scraps of paper throughout the week.

Once weekly, sit together and empty the box. Read each prayer aloud and then place it into a ‘answered prayers’ envelope or folder. For older children, consider adding “in-progress” and “praise requests” envelopes. 

When introducing faith and scripture to a young person, especially teenagers who tend to shy away from displays of spiritual emotions, approach prayer with love and understanding.

Rather than using specific language or theological concepts, focus on introducing them to God's qualities, such as generosity, forgiveness, and humility. Encourage them to think of praying as talking directly to a supportive friend – to someone always available.

The Matthew 3:3 verse, which mentions preparing the way for the Lord, offers an example for a child on how to connect and walk with God. Rather than viewing religion as separate from daily activities, demonstrate how to weave spiritual practices into normal events and activities to feel more relatable.

Community

While parents are often children's primary influences, you'll find a great benefit in encouraging other healthy spiritual role models in their lives. Think church groups, mentors at youth centers, or Christian extracurricular clubs.

Consider exposing children to activities that help develop Christian friendships or provide support and insight from mature individuals of faith.

5. Make It Specific To Your Child

While consistency is important for teaching Christ to your children, recognize the value of providing individualized attention. You'll discover certain Bible verses, games, music, and stories are particularly effective with certain children, as some methods might not work well for all ages.

Always adapt, personalize, and recognize what a particular child connects to. Focus on your child's age and development level when making these choices.

Focus On The Age

The Bible is a deep and expansive book that touches on complex philosophical, spiritual, and theological questions. Younger children are best off being exposed to simple, relatable stories like David and Goliath or Jesus calming the storm.

Stories like these provide vivid visuals that stick in a child's imagination, and the powerful messages of overcoming hardship and achieving God's grace translate universally for readers of any age. Focus on explaining the love and power of God without getting bogged down in specific details or terminology.

For teens or adolescents already with foundational understanding, consider introducing passages in scripture with more complexity. 

Try tackling sections of Romans or Proverbs together and exploring the underlying philosophical concepts with more mature and individualized thought processes. There are many excellent age-appropriate storybooks about the Bible.

Find publications using easy-to-read fonts with colorful graphics that are attention-grabbing. Look for ones with interactive activities that focus on fun puzzles and word games using religious stories. 

Many of those types of educational materials offer opportunities for kids to have fun. They also feel excited as they learn, building on the positive experiences, thereby instilling excitement about faith rather than viewing it as a chore.

6. Have Open Communication

Teaching Christ to your children isn’t only about providing lessons or expecting them to absorb everything you tell them. The heart of raising a spiritual individual is having open communication in an environment of trust and transparency. A genuine exchange of ideas and perspectives, without fear or judgment, is critical for true, fulfilling religious growth.

Children naturally have questions about faith. Their views will evolve throughout life and may contain opposing thoughts at times. Rather than reprimanding those opinions, answer their concerns honestly. Luke 24:27 addresses this well, mentioning how all scripture truly points toward Christ and is rooted in faith teachings.

Discuss doubts that arise while addressing concepts of evil or tragedy. Recognize their viewpoints. Don’t shy away from exploring faith and the world through open discussions. Listen without judgment or punishment, demonstrating respect.

Provide your perspectives in ways that a child or young person can comprehend. This honest exploration makes them trust your wisdom. By demonstrating the values of patience, communication, and emotional availability, your children see faith in action.

There’s value in taking time to answer questions rather than using a structured ‘sermon and bible verse’ approach to spiritual education. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t have all the answers. Find solutions together through books or scriptures.

You will become more authentic to them through moments of uncertainty because it fosters transparency. A questioning mind strengthens their intellectual engagement while fostering independent thinking that serves them later. This ultimately creates well-rounded Christians.

7. Enroll In A Christian School Like St. John Lutheran School

Enrolling your children in a school like ours can greatly support your efforts to teach them about Christ. Our school integrates faith-based teachings into the curriculum, providing a nurturing and supportive environment where children can learn and grow both academically and spiritually. 

We prioritize character development and moral values, offering opportunities for students to engage in prayer, Bible study, and activities that strengthen their relationship with Jesus. 

With a caring and experienced faculty, our school focuses on modeling Christ-like behavior and encouraging students to live out their faith every day. By enrolling your children at St. John Lutheran School, you can be confident that they will receive a well-rounded education that includes a strong foundation in Christian principles and beliefs.

Teaching faith can feel like an enormous task. While consistency, engaging curriculum choices, and building habits like reading Scripture are essential, keep in mind the best approach toward discovering different ways to teach Christ to your children. Make those activities fun.

This teaches children to eagerly embrace spiritual practices. Prioritize quality storybooks filled with relatable Bible characters. Consider age-appropriate teaching and introduce those more complex topics or scriptures for teens.

If you would like to learn more about how we incorporate Christ and the gospel into every part of student life at St. John Lutheran School, please reach out to us today!