Question: Is a kids Bible study that important?
Nineteenth-century evangelist D. L. Moody once said that if he could relive his life, he would devote his entire ministry to reaching children for God. A look at the statistics would tell us that Moody was right. The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) found that 63% of people surveyed became a Christian between the ages of 4-14, with the median age being 11.
What Moody understood, and what we need to pay attention to today, is that involving kids in Bible study at the time they are most likely to make a decision to follow Jesus is the most important ministry our churches can have.
Problem: Kids are at church 1 out of 3 weekends
So how are we doing at that? Greg Nettle and Jimmy Mellado, authors of Small Matters: How Churches and Parents Can Raise Up World-Changing Children, have discovered that many kids participate in Sunday school only one out of three weekends. This drop in church attendance creates dramatic challenges for churches that still practice the traditional children’s discipleship model, with kids’ Bible study during the weekend service as the primary mode of teaching children to follow Jesus.
Shift: Our approach to kid’s ministry must change
The typical church model of youth discipleship can’t work if the children aren’t there! A better way to get kids into Bible study starts with empowering parents in their homes. According to “4 Crucial Shifts for Raising Young Disciples” by Nettle and Mellado, the church must shift from a “we can disciple your kids and you can help” attitude to “you can disciple your kids and we can help.” We were never intended to hire professionals to teach our kids the Bible. Or to allow professionals to show our kids how to follow Jesus. Or to transfer the responsibility of discipling our kids to others. As parents, grandparents, guardians, or caregivers, we are responsible for passing on our faith to the children God has entrusted into our care.
Equip: Giving parents the tools they need to be the disciplers
So, how are we to shift to a “you can disciple your kids” approach if parents don’t feel equipped to be disciplers? All too often parents aren’t familiar with the stories of the Bible, nor do they know how to apply those Bible stories to their lives.
How: Give kids what they want: VIDEOS!
Churches can help parents by providing them with video Bible stories they can enjoy with their kids, and with Bible-based kids videos that model how the Bible applies to our everyday lives. When parents and kids sit down together and watch these kids Bible study videos, do the activities together, and have the guided conversations, the parents are being given the pathway to follow and the tools they need to disciple their kids.
Plus, with the Study Gateway App, you can direct kids to the videos easily and safely!
Study Gateway’s Top Bible Study Videos for Kids
Kids Bible Study Videos Based on Kids’ Bibles
Read and Share Bible, Volumes 1–4
If you already know and love the Read and Share Bible by Gwen Ellis, you don’t want to miss the companion videos! This animated video series combines an enchanting art style with warm narration and gentle musical underscore to transport kids back to Biblical times.
Length: Four volumes of 3-minute vignettes—total of 52 Bible stories!
The Beginner’s Bible, Volumes 1–6
Bible stories come to life for young children in these short, animated story videos straight from the pages of the best-loved Bible storybook, The Beginner's Bible!
Length: Six volumes of 1-minute videos—total of 94 Bible stories…perfect for the attention span of little ones!
The Jesus Storybook Bible, Volumes 1–4
From the beloved Jesus Storybook Bible, written by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jago, and narrated by David Suchet—this Bible storybook comes to life in video format, where each Bible story whispers his name, sharing the story beneath all the stories in the Bible, the story of Jesus Christ.
Length: Four volumes of 4-minute videos—total of 44 animated videos!
Hey-O! Bible Stories, Volumes 1-9
These engaging Bible story videos often make grown-ups chuckle while helping kids learn and remember the life-changing stories of the Bible. There isn’t a Hey-O! Kids Bible yet, but these 98 videos, cleverly written by Charlotte St. Hilaire, are used to tell the Bible story in the Church at Home kids shows produced by Saddleback Kids.
Length: Nine volumes of 3-minute videos—total of 98 Bible story videos!
Church at Home Kids Shows
The Church at Home kids shows, produced by Saddleback Kids, were created to give parents a way to provide church experiences for their elementary and early childhood-aged kids, and to equip them to help their kids grow in their relationship with Jesus. Each series offers age-specific teaching and application, Hey-O! Bible Story videos, downloadable games, crafts, and activities, and Talk it Over guides for parents.
Length: 24 themed kids shows comprising 84 twenty-minute episodes
When churches introduce parents to tools such as these videos that provide Bible study for kids, they are empowering parents to be the primary disciplers of their children, which is the biblical model for how our faith is passed to the children God has entrusted into our care.
To watch Bible study videos for kids,
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FOR FURTHER READING:
When Do Americans Become Christians? (Source: Gospel Shaped Family)
4 Crucial Shifts for Raising Young Disciples (Source: ChurchSource)
ENJOY MORE EPISODES OF THESE KIDS BIBLE STUDIES
Beginners BibleJesus Storybook BibleHey O! Bible StoriesChurch at Home, In the Beginning, Elementary Episode 1