7 Tips for Teaching the Bible to Your Children at Home

Teaching Scripture to your kids doesn’t have to be intimidating! Let these 7 tips help you get started teaching the Bible to your children at home.

I got an email a short time ago from a mom wondering where to start in teaching her kids the Bible at home. And I totally understood where she was coming from.

We know that Scripture is always profitable and that we are called to study God’s Word but actually putting that into practice can sometimes be difficult and confusing.

“My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word.” Psalm 119:148

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Perhaps you grew up in a home that was not Christian and so you’re figuring out Christian parenting on your own! Maybe, like me, you were raised in a Christian home but didn’t develop a habit of Scripture study or memorization for yourself until you were all grown up :)

I basically had to come up with my own ideas for teaching my children the Bible, not because my parents failed in teaching us about the Lord, but because personal devotion time and Scripture memory weren’t overly emphasized when I was a child.

We usually did prayer and devotions as a family and left the Scripture memory work and deeper Bible teaching up to the Sunday School teachers (which is great that they do that, we all need amazing teachers!) but my husband and I decided we wanted to take things further with our kiddos.

7 Powerful and Effective Ideas for Teaching the Bible to Your Kids at Home

So what do you do when you don’t know how to start?

Here are seven tips for getting started in Bible teaching for your children. Don’t let yourself be intimidated by this process–God will help you and bless your efforts! I hope these are helpful to you like they have been for us!

1. Learn the Scriptures yourself as you begin teaching them to your kids.

Reading the Scriptures ourselves and teaching them to our kids often go hand in hand, even though they don’t always occur at the same time or in the same way.

If you struggle with understanding the Bible, studies from teachers such as Warren Wiersbe’s Be Series or a study Bible such as the ESV Study Bible can help us gain a deeper understanding of God’s word and how to teach it to our children so they understand it in context. There are many out there, in your translation of choice!

Grab a Strong’s Bible Concordance if you really want to get detailed! This would be great to use with older children as well.

I also have a simple 12 month Scripture writing plan for moms that will strengthen your knowledge and understanding of the Bible, called Write Through the Word!

This is for any mom, even if you’ve never made it a habit to read the Bible before!

It gives you 1-2 Bible verses per day on a theme to write down, think on and pray over as well as some other supplements like a journaling page, sermon notes and more!

See what all is included with Write Through the Word over in my shop!

Write Through the Word

2. Just start reading the Bible with your children, a few verses each night.

“What is a good place to start reading the Bible?”, a friend once asked me. A great place to begin, and my personal preference, is the Gospel of John. 

You can subscribe and get my Gospel of John Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.

This Scripture writer emphasizes the plan of God’s salvation as found in Jesus Christ throughout the book. The first chapter and first few verses of John introduces God’s plan for man even before creation in Genesis and goes from there.

Read through this book with your children during your family devotional time or just anytime.The Proverbs or Psalms are also excellent places to start!

3.  Find an accurate “Story Bible” to read from beginning to end.

Once you’ve read through John and your kids are understanding the basics of Christian faith, reading a story Bible that is as accurate to the Scripture as possible {meaning it doesn’t compromise the Gospel or use vague terms for sin, salvation and Christ’s death and resurrection} can be a helpful tool.

We personally like The Story Bible from Concordia Press. You can learn more about why we like this version as compared to other story Bibles here.

4. Act out Bible stories with your kids! 

Feeling bored? Put down the electronics and take a few moments to act out a favorite Bible story with your kids!

Use Lego or other figurines to reenact Bible accounts or encourage your kids to explore their inner actor/actress {here’s a fun post on how to act out a Bible story effectively from Doorposts}.

Children learn in many different ways, and so finding the best way to help these Bible truths stick will vary from family to family! There are also Bible story figures that you can purchase to act out these Biblical accounts.

5. Teach Scripture to your babies and toddlers.

Don’t feel like your kids have to be a certain age before they learn! They can retain so much just by having the Bible read to them or sung to them with Scripture songs. Here are four tips for teaching Scripture to your baby or toddler!

A few of our favorite Scripture songs CDs:

• Hide Em In Your Heart by Steve Green
• Songs for Saplings ABC
• My Heart, Your Home

My ebook, God’s Word in My Heart, Variety Version, combines printable ABC Bible verses and verses on sin and salvation that they can memorize, along with a list of Scripture songs that go along with each verse! It is also available in three other versions, KJV, NASB and ESV.

Find out more!

6. Use simple techniques for copywork, memorization and understanding once your kids are more familiar with the basics of the Bible.

Here are some specific ideas:

• If your children are older than age four, start looking for some key words in your Bible reading time that you can explain to them. This might be something like looking for the words “faith” or “hope” as you read the New Testament letters and telling them a little more about what that means.
• Pick a few Bible verses to teach your toddler or preschooler on a special topic and say it a couple of times each day using fun voices and silly actions.
• If you want copywork, my friend Sarah at My Joy-Filled Life has some excellent suggestions for Bible Copywork Resources!
• Proverbs for Children: Handwriting, Copy-work and Memorization is a workbook that can be purchased if you don’t want to use ink printing your own, but printing your own really isn’t that costly if you print in black and white.
• Check out God’s Word in My Heart for simple verse memorization ideas if you have children between the ages of two and seven!
• Try our Kids’ Bible Reading Plans for kids ages seven and up (Click Here)!

There are many simple ways to memorize Scripture verses that are fun and effective!

7. Take a cue from the Sunday School Teachers!

If your children are old enough to be in Sunday School, take a look at the materials they bring home and use them as a springboard for conversation about the Word. Ask them what they learned or find out something more together on that same Sunday afternoon before they forget :) {This tip was posted on my Facebook page by my friend Katherine at Proverbs and Pacifiers.}

More Ideas to Strengthen Your Kids’ Faith

Here are some more posts I’ve written to help you teach your kids about the Lord!

5 Truths About God That Will Help Your Kids Understand Who He Is

5 Everyday Ways to Share Jesus with Your Kids

4 Must-Have Children’s Bible Storybooks

12 Powerful Proverbs That Will Help Your Kids Make Wise Decisions

How to Teach Your Preschooler About Jesus

I hope you enjoyed these ideas and tips! Get started teaching your kids the Bible today–just keep it simple and the Lord will help you!