Children’s ministries are often the first places little ones learn about the love Christ has for them. These programs give opportunities to share Gospel truths through games, crafts, snacks, and songs. To support children’s learning about Jesus, you can provide take-home sheets to help parents bring the Bible lessons into their homes. Here are some things to include on take-home sheets to help parents reinforce what their children learn from your ministry.
Lesson Outline
Each day when I was a child, my parents had my siblings and me discuss something we had learned. This helped bring what we had learned back to the forefront of our minds and helped solidify those lessons. On your take-home sheets, you can print the roadmap of the day’s lesson so parents can ask their children how the activities connected to the lesson.
Family Discussion Questions
Include launch questions so families can more deeply discuss each lesson’s Bible story. These questions should be appropriate for families to discuss around the dinner table and will offer a starting point for children to ask more questions about faith. These conversations provide more intimate settings for children to explain how they understand the Bible. Without the fear of being wrong in front of peers, children will be more candid with their answers.
Activities
Were there snack or craft ideas you did not use during each lesson? By putting these additional activities on take-home sheets, you can give parents opportunities to teach the lessons again in different ways. Make sure to include a list of supplies and directions for each activity.
Upcoming Children’s Events
Take-home sheets are good places to list announcements for upcoming children’s ministry opportunities. This information helps parents become aware of other opportunities and helps children be able to tell their parents which events they want to attend.
Programs for Adults
An important aspect of equipping parents to reinforce children’s ministry is developing their own faith. Does your church do small groups? retreats? Bible studies? By putting reminders on take-home sheets, you can encourage adults to join in on these important opportunities for spiritual development.
Great children’s ministries equip parents to more deeply talk with their children about faith in Christ. By making your take-home sheets as thorough as possible, you can help families come together around each lesson.
A Practical Tool to Reach Out to God’s Littlest Disciples
In Energizing Your Children’s Ministry, learn the crucial steps to creating children’s programs that educate kids and their families.
