I remember as a young girl, receiving a brand new Bible. It was a leather bound, bright magenta colored Bible and I loved it. I proudly carried that Bible with me to church each week. For a while, I vowed to never let it touch the ground. I treasured it because I knew it was special. I knew it was God’s word. And I had a copy of it, all for myself!

In our digital age, printed materials are becoming old fashioned. People have to turn on their Bible instead of open it up. Lately, I can’t help but wonder if we are possibly neglecting passing along to our children how sacred these texts are. I do understand that it’s not the book itself that is precious, but rather the God-breathed words inside.

I have noticed a pattern though. Our Bible story times in our kid’s classes consist of our children watching a four minute video. Or we teach while we play a game. Or we read a summary of a Bible story out of our leader guide. All these things are great ways to reiterate the story and help kids remember what they’ve learned. But what I see instead is, these things are often replacing a Bible teaching time in our kid’s classes. A lot of kid’s leaders don’t actually open a Bible and teach kids out of it. It is possible that I am old fashioned (even as a millennial). I see in my own children, the desire to be entertained. But I have also seen the value in pulling children in really close, opening up a Bible and teaching them from it. Sometimes we don’t give kids enough credit. We think we have to keep them moving constantly, keep church exciting so they won’t get bored or bribe them with treats and candy. Most of them can sit, they do listen and they are learning. So what are we teaching them?

I’m really just asking questions and praying through these convictions. I’m not the expert or a hero here to save the day. I’m not bashing the curriculum or the teachers or offering answers. I do believe it is possible to use different means to get the same final result. As a parent it has been easier to notice how different teaching styles affect what my kids are grasping. I have picked up on certain patterns, which has led me to certain thoughts on how I teach. I’d love to hear other kid’s ministry teachers and leaders thoughts on this.

In the preschool class that I teach, I have felt a personal conviction to not teach from a tablet or a video or a guide. I teach two year olds so I also don’t read directly from my Bible. But I do have it open on my lap as I summarize the story on their level. I draw a little purple heart by the Bible passage I am teaching from that week. I remind them every single week that we are reading from God’s word and that means what we are reading is true. I hold the Bible open and let each of them reach out their sweet little finger and touch the purple heart. I desperately want them to know that when we open that sacred book, it’s important enough to stop and listen. It’s special. I want them to know that what I’m teaching isn’t some made up fairy tale. Or even just a really nice story with a good moral lesson in the end. It’s not Ms. Lindsey’s opinion of what the Bible says either. I want them to know it’s God’s word and it’s the most valuable thing they could ever read.

I’ve had some interesting conversions lately. Someone suggested to me last week that teaching a preschool Bible class is easier than teaching an adult class. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that they have never taught a preschool Bible class. I think the weight of teaching the Bible to any group should bring us to our knees. The responsibility to rightly divide the word of truth is rarely “easy.” I told a good friend the other day that I literally feel like I’m in a battle each week that I teach these precious ones. Each Sunday driving to my church I feel like I’m heading into a battle to fight for the souls of these sweet kiddos. While my lesson is condensed to an appropriate amount of time for my two year old class, we are still teaching the rest of the hour. Against popular belief, we don’t just play in our class and we don’t just love on the kids. It is quite the challenge to make sure every single craft, every single activity, every single song points these kids back to Jesus. And not just back to Jesus, but back to how Jesus was in the story for that day. Back to the truth of what we want these kids to remember that week. We take our designated discipleship hour seriously. You can believe that we are striving to pour truth into these kid’s hearts the whole time. It is an intentional and exhausting effort each week but I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think it was worth it.

I still bring an actual Bible to church. Often, I do pull up a different translation on my phone and read it parallel to my Bible. I was tempted to let my five year old bring a tablet to church and pull up a digital Bible to follow along during the sermons. But we got him a Bible for Christmas instead. He was so excited when he opened it. I’m pretty sure that was my favorite gift that I gave this year. He picked it up, hugged it against his chest, smiled and said, “My own Bible!” If only every American kindergartner could say that about receiving a Bible. There are so many people around the world that are desperate to get their hands on a Bible in their own language. Are we that desperate to open up our Bibles each day and cling to every word we read?

These are just my own thoughts that I ponder every week. As the statistics and reality of the number of kids that fall away from the church when they graduate weigh heavy on my heart, I can’t help but continually pray about what we need to be doing for our kids while they are little. Is teaching them to treasure God’s Word one of the missing pieces to the puzzle? Are we challenging them to memorize and hide God’s word in their heart so they can run from temptation, choose the right path and have comfort and hope in affliction? Do they understand the big picture that the whole Bible is about Jesus? Do they really know and believe in their hearts “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work?” I question do I really treasure God’s word? How can I effectively teach something I don’t know myself? I will keep thinking and praying on these things.