If you’re a new mom or a new Christian, you might ask yourself “How do I teach my kids the Bible?”
Good news! You are qualified to teach your kids about God’s Word, no matter what you feel about your own ability to do so!
There are some simple steps every parent can take in helping children know more about the Bible. I’ll show you how to teach your kids the Bible in five minutes each day.
How to Teach Your Kids the Bible {in Just 5 Minutes a Day}
First, before the tips, make sure you choose a Bible that is appropriate for your child’s age.
If you have toddlers or preschoolers, read this post and choose one of the best children’s Bible storybooks!
Do you have school-age children (8 and up) or kids who don’t always like to read? Engage them in God’s Word with the ESV Following Jesus Bible! You can read more about it in this post or just order it right now! :)
Prepare a little for your Bible reading time by making a Bible study basket. In it, put your chosen Bible or Bible storybook, a blank notebook and some crayons or pens, and a printable kids Bible reading plan, if you’d like!
Just taking a few minutes to put together a basket and keeping it out on your counter or in your living room will be a visual reminder to do your 5 minute Bible time with your children each day!
Now, onto the tips!
1. Start with prayer (1 minute)
Say a prayer over your Bible time and ask God to enter your child’s heart. Have your child pray too! Prayer doesn’t have to be eloquent or incorporate fancy words. Just talk to God! Use the ACTS prayer method if it helps!
2. Read a few verses from the Bible (2 minutes)
If you’re not sure where to start, Psalms is a great place as well as the Book of John.
One benefit of Psalms is that it talks a lot about who God is, so your children can learn about His character, power and strength. Psalms also includes a lot of David’s prayers and songs to the Lord, and using those words helps teach your child how to talk to God! Many of the verses of Psalms are easy to remember because of their poetic nature.
The book of John is a fantastic intro to the life of Christ, His death and resurrection. Whether your children already know a lot about Jesus or not, the book of John helps them understand the story of salvation and how they are a part of that story through Christ.
Some other beginning ideas would be Proverbs, the gospels from Mark, Matthew and Luke, or Genesis (may be easier for older kids to follow along than little ones).
If you don’t want to break down which verses to reach each day on your own, we’ve created PRINTABLE Kid-Friendly Bible Reading Plans that you can print at home!
Included in the first set of six plans are both the book of Psalms and the book of John, plus others as well as devotional notes for your kids to use.
KID FRIENDLY BIBLE READING PLANS!
3. Ask three questions to get your child thinking and talking about what these verses mean and what they can learn (2 minutes)
- What does this verse tell us about who God is?
- How does this verse (or verses) help me to know God better?
- How does this verse (or verses) teach me how to live as a Christian?
If your children are quite young, it might be easier to just talk with them about the verses.
For instance, if you’re reading Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul,” you might say something like:
I love these Bible verses! Do you know what it means that God is our shepherd? It means he protects us and takes care of us! When the Bible says ‘He restores my soul’, it means that God keeps us calm and gives us peace. So if you are ever feeling scared, remember that Psalm 23 says God will take care of you and you are always safe with Him!
If you’re reading from a Bible storybook, you can do something similar. Use the model of explaining what the story tells us about God and how it is meaningful to your child’s life.
End Bible time with a song if you’d like!
Final Thoughts:
As they grow older, your children will internalize and take to heart more and more of the Scriptures because they will have a foundation that has been built through your efforts of teaching the Bible!
In truth, we really should be reading God’s Word more than five minutes each day. But what I wanted to emphasize is that even if you only feel like you have five minutes, that is a great place to start! In giving you the ability to do it in five minutes, it’s my prayer that your family’s desire to read and talk about the Bible for LONGER than five minutes will grow over time!
Remember, your Bible time doesn’t have to be fancy or showy. The beauty of God’s Word is that it can be read and understood at any age, especially when you use some tools like an age-appropriate Bible storybook or some reading plans to help!
Any questions? Let me know in the comments!
2 Comments on Teach Your Kids the Bible in 5 Minutes a Day
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Hello,
This information is so useful and mindful.
I have an 8 year old , ll year old and a toddler. Me and my husband read together every night at 8 o’clock, we both have tried different ways to keep our kids engaged some things have worked and some have not. Just recently my husband has felt the need to get closer to god and he has added ten minute long YouTube videos plus reading the Bible and a brief lesson. I noticed that my 11 year old looses interest and gets bored. I would like to get your opinion on how to go about this? I do think that we should devote as much time as we can to God, but to also make the kids feel like they HAVE to do it because we parents feel like we need it personally , doesn’t seem fair. It almost feels like he forcing and drilling them with so much information that by the time we ask questions they’re literally trying to remember it all.. I was raised Jehovas Witness and I can see her so overwhelmed like me and loose interest in her teens like
I did. I just want some guidance. Thank you.
Hi Miriam! I know it can be hard to get an older child interested in the Bible, because it’s not “fun” like it is when you’re little! I think if you can find an engaging, age-appropriate devotional and just have her set aside 10 minutes a day to read through it, that might be helpful! One of my favorites is “Lies Girls Believe” by Dannah Gresh https://amzn.to/3c2yn65 and also Girl after God’s Own Heart for Tweens by Elizabeth George. https://amzn.to/2Nk724W
I don’t think it’s so much that you’re forcing it as it is that you’re helping them understand the important of time in the Word. But I know what you mean that you don’t want her to get overwhelmed, that’s why I think the 10 minutes a day is a good goal to shoot for, and something age-appropriate that will be interesting to her! And as a pre-teen there will be some rebellion there too, so the best thing to do is keep it light, be encouraging, offer to do it with her if she’d like and pray for her heart! :) I hope that helps.