Are you interested in fun youth lessons for your Sunday school group? Using fun youth lessons and Sunday school games in church really helps the children engage in the concepts you are teaching them, and helps it stick with them beyond the Sunday school room.
But where does a person find fun youth lessons? While the best curriculum for your Sunday school depends on the faith of your church and the needs of your children, many church websites have downloadable bible studies for PowerPoint, that’s a good place to start. However, after you’ve chosen the curriculum to use, we have a few simple ways to create fun youth lessons:
Five Tips for Creating Fun Bible Lessons for Kids
- Create an environment where your kids can let their guard down.
If your Sunday school looks like a class room the kids sit in at school, it will constrict them from speaking freely, or connecting the lessons with their walk of life. Instead, take the “coffee shop” approach to you Sunday school classroom. Arrange the seating in a circle (maybe even incorporate beanbag chairs or couches, if you can). If the kids feel more relaxed, they’ll be more likely to open up about their challenges and struggles, and connect with you. This opens the door for you to really impart lessons that apply to their daily lives. - Think outside of the walls.
You want the children to enjoy their Sunday school class, as this is the only way they’ll engage with the lessons. Sometimes, all it takes for them to really enjoy themselves is changing the environment they’re in. Consider meeting on the front lawn of your church. Is there any better way to learn about God’s great creation than in God’s great creation?
If your church is close enough to other establishments, and the class you’re teaching is old enough, you could take a walk to a nearby coffee shop or eatery to conduct your lesson. Being creative about where you hold your Sunday school class is a great way to make the children look forward to going to your class! - Encourage the youth to lead the youth.
Arrange for older children to aide in your class, and occasion teach the lessons for you. This serves a dual purpose: The younger are more likely to connect with an older youth than an adult, so their lesson is often more effective. On the other hand, the older child will also learn and grow through the experience of teaching, and make them more eager to serve in other capacities. - Make your class a church-centered model instead of an age-centered model.
When all of the Sunday school classes are divided by age, it puts barriers between the generations, and stifles the growth of the church body. Instead of isolating your Sunday school class and preventing them from making meaningful relationships with people of other ages, create an interest-driven Sunday school class. For instance, perhaps you set your Sunday school class up for youth interested in athletics, of all ages. Your class could incorporate physical activity as well as the core lesson. Maybe you have a crafty class for students who enjoy making things. Catering the the interests of your students will get them more engaged with your class, and allowing youth of all ages will help your church grow into a single unit.
To help your youth build friendships with older perishers, set up a process in which they need to conduct interviews with a new “mature” member of the church each week. This gets them mingling, and helps the youth learn life lessons from adults in the same faith. - Involve the parents.
Sometimes, when a child is not engaged in Sunday school, it’s because the parents are equally not engaged. If you create a Sunday school model that involves both kids and parents, it might make both parent and child more interested in participating. You can allow the parents to have a particular role in the class, that makes them interested in being involved, but also allow a portion of the class to be geared towards just the kids, so they have the chance to develop their Christian identity on their own.
Do you have any other questions or comments about creating a fun Sunday school environment? Share below!