Bible Story Time Tips & Hints

The Bible time should be the primary focal point for any kid’s club.
The purpose of every other activity of the club is to either help attract children or to reinforce the teaching of the Bible story. In making your preliminary plans, the Bible story should be one of the components determined first.

Determine what Bible teaching, if any, has already been done in the neighborhood.
If little or no Christian teaching preceded you, then teach the basics: Creation, Birth of Jesus, Death & Resurrection and possibly a parable. If these topics have been well covered, then you might want to consider lessons like Christian character or other teachings of your choosing.

Use visuals.
Flannel graph felts, teaching pictures, dry marker boards and object lessons are all great tools to teach children. Don’t let the Bible teacher merely hold up a teaching picture and read the story from off the back. It is important that the teacher move around and be animated. Voice inflection and facial expressions make a much more effective and interesting lesson. If you are letting an inexperienced (like a teenager) teach the Bible lesson, please coach them! Don't just give them the material and "let whatever happens, happen."

Drama and puppets are great attention holders.
This is true for all ages, expecially kids. You will have a better presentation and less disruption problems is your audience is engaged in the story. You can either have your mission team present the drama/puppets or let the kids act out simple stories that you narrate. Teaching the kids to do their own puppets or skit can be a great motivator and help with crown control. ("I am going to pick three helps who are quiet and attentive.") You also might include short video clips or other dramatic venues, but don't over do it.

It is usually not a good idea to let ficticional characters, like a puppet, clown or cartoon character present the plan of salvation. Both adults and children tend to see these character as make-believe and could naturally assume that the truths presented are make-believe too.

Letting children “act out” Bible stories can be fun.
For example: assigning parts with costumes to children to act out the prodigal son while a narrator reads the script. If you have time, you can work on presenting the drama/skit. But if time is short, you can still use "impromptu" skits where they kids act out from hearing the narrator talk.

Make every Bible lesson evangelistic!
(Especially for clubs only lasting a week!) For some bad reason, many mission teams and individuals only plan to give an invitation on one day, and it's usually the last day or next to the last day. Why is this? There will be children who only come one time. They shouldn't miss an opportunity no matter what day they come. Make sure an evangelistic appeal is given every day.

Give an invitation in conjunction with the Bible story if possible.
Children respond better the the Holy Spirit if they have just heard the Bible lesson. For that reason, I usually give an evangelistic invitation after most Bible story lessons. Click here to view tips on giving an invitation.

Keep the story time to 15 minutes
15 minutes is about right when working with children during the Bible story time, not counting the music or invitation time. Teach a good Bible lesson, but don't ramble on and on. Preachers can take plenty of time during most church services to get their point across, but teachers of children need to learn to be more direct and succinct. It is very common for a Bible teacher who is teaching a well behaved group to go on much longer than is meet. [As a general rule: when addressing mostly unchurched people, 15-20 minutes is perfect, for both kids, teens and adults.]

Maintaining order during the Bible story time is very important.
Having an orderly group is much more important for the Bible story time than for most other activites, such as crafts or game time. Remember, when working with children, it is easier to get kids to “do something” rather than trying to get them to “stop doing something.” Instead of saying, "stop talking" or "stop playing", try commands like, "let's see who can sit the quietest?", or "I need everybody to hold their bubble!" [Holding their bubble is when the kids act like they are taking a big bite out of the air, closing their mouth while puffing out their cheeks, and putting their finger over their mouth to hold in the bubble. It's amazing how effective that works!]

Other control ideas include:
Touching disrupters softly on the shoulder, sitting beside rowdy children, moving distracters to the rear of the group next to an adult, non-verbal directives like putting your own finger up to your own mouth, “hold your bubble”, etc... If at all possible, try to have the Bible lesson inside and away from any other activities. This will help minimize distractions and keep their focus on the Bible lesson.

Try not to wrestle or rough house with the kids right before Bible time. It makes children hyper and harder to calm down. This kind of active interaction is great at other times and can help build relationships with the kids and increase their "fun meter".

March the kids into the Bible story room
If you are using a room for Bible story time, it is a good practice to line the kids up outside the room first, then tell them to quietly walk to their chairs or sit on the floor. This helps create an atmosphere of control and repspect. Have an adult inside the room directing the kids to where you want them. You also have an opportunity to separate trouble makers before the story time starts. If the kids are allowed to run into the room and scramble for seating, it will be harder to control them during the Bible story time.

Don’t let teen leaders or helpers sit by each other or congregate together during Bible story time.
Teach teen leaders to sit among the children and mingle with them. Sitting on the floor with a small child in your lap is a very effective way to impact the life of a kid. Remember, for the duration of the kids club, the children are everyone's primary focus. There will be plenty of time for teen and adult workers to develop friendships with others later.

Please be sensitive to the field where you will be ministering.
Mission volunteers and workers that look more “worldly” than they do “Christian” can greatly hinder the Lord's work on the mission field. Parents bringing their children to a Bible club are looking intently at the workers. Does your mission team look wholesome and godly? This is true for both dress and behaviors! If many of your workers look and act on the wild side, perhaps a mission project in the inner-city might be more suitable for your team than a suburban neighborhood. Ask your mission field leadership what kind of kids will your team be working with. Every mission volunteer should strive to attract people to Christ, not be a hinderance.