Want a fun, super-clear way to explain the Gospel to your kids? Check this out…
[youtube id=”NvMuYNLgJQU” height=”360″ width=”640″]
Like it? Click this download button to share the video at your church:
Using the ABC’s of Salvation to Keep The Message Clear & Simple
A couple years ago, Gordon West from Kidz At Heart came to our church and put on one of the best children’s ministry training events we’ve ever had.
One of Gordon’s passions is making sure we don’t hinder kids from coming to Jesus. Gordon taught us that one hindrance to avoid at all costs is, “Making the gospel (salvation) more abstract (complex or hard to understand) than it already is!” [Kidz At Heart Training Manual, p.25]
I’ve thought about that warning often. And I really believe having a plan for sharing the Gospel simply (like using the ABC’s of Salvation) helps me avoid making the Gospel more complex. It keeps me from going off on tangents, such as getting into details of what heaven will be like, or where Satan comes from, or any other hundreds of great topics to discuss — but not in the middle of a Gospel presentation.
Gordon also warned us about using theological terms without explaining them to the kids. Terms that Gordon listed that could be confusing and need an explanation, include… Sin, Savior, Crucify, Resurrection, Forgive, and Eternal Life.
Gordon told us to focus on explaining the crucial information clearly
- God made and loves us…
- But you and I and everyone did bad things, called sin.
- So Jesus, God’s one and only Son, came to earth to die on the cross…
- So that you and I can live with God forever…
- Just by praying and believing.
- [from the Kidz At Heart Training Manual, p.30, hand motions removed]
And to use a super-simple, super-clear “invitation”:
- Would you like to become a member of God’s family right now? You can.
- If so, then you can tell God right now by just repeating this prayer:
- Dear God, Thank you for loving me.
- I am sorry that I have done bad things. Please forgive me.
- Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay for the bad things I’ve done.
- I believe in you.
- I believe that Jesus died on the cross and came back to life again.
- Please make me a member of your family. Amen.
- [from the Kidz At Heart Training Manual, p.30, hand motions and pauses removed]
If you’d like to introduce this topic to your kids using the fun “ABC’s of Salvation” video, click this button…
How Did I Make This Video?
I used the Zoobe app (it’s super-fun!). I put the app on my IPhone, then I watched a commercial to get access to the Dinosaur character. Then I recorded my script in 30-second segments, since that’s all the app allows.
Then I stitched those segments together in Adobe Premiere Elements, and added the graphics on the whiteboard. Finally, I exported the video and uploaded it to YouTube. It took most of Monday, my “day off,” but it was a fun way to spend a day. 🙂
If you want to make a video of your own, feel free to send me any questions you have here.
Finally… Please Share This Kids Gospel Video!
Pass it on to anyone you think could use it in their classes. Just click here to share on Facebook, then tag your friends in children’s ministry. Thanks!
And if you like that video, we’re guessing you’ll LOVE Spyence Headquarters!
Check out the robots, superheroes, dragons, magic, and more, that make up this amazing children’s church curriculum!
And finally, finally, if you’d like to see a TRANSCRIPT of the whole “ABC’s of Salvation” video, we’ve got you covered:
———-begin transcript———-
Hi Guys, I’m Melvin, here with the GNITBFY, the Good News In The Bible For You.
First, the Bible says God created us to know Him and be a part of His family, but each of us has done bad things and disobeyed God. The Bible calls that “sin.”
And the Bible says that sin breaks our relationship with God. It means we can’t be a part of his family anymore. And that’s a big problem.
But God decided to do something about our sin problem. God came down to earth and lived as a person named Jesus. And Jesus was perfect, he never did anything wrong, he didn’t anything do to get in trouble for, but… he volunteered to get in trouble for all the bad things that everyone else did. For all the bad things that you and I do.
So Jesus was killed on a cross – that’s where he got in trouble for those bad things we do. And He actually died! Romans 5:8 in the Bible says “But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us.”
Jesus died so he could get in trouble instead of us, but He didn’t stay dead. Jesus came back to life, and He’s alive today, and He wants you to live with Him as part of His family forever. The Bible calls that Eternal Life!
So what do you have to do to get this eternal life and live in God’s family forever? That’s what we call the ABC’s…
A – Admit You’ve Done Bad Things. That should be easy, I’ve done plenty of bad things, like when I took Mrs. McGillicutty’s brand new… well, let’s not go into that now. Rom 3:23 says, “Everyone has sinned…” That includes you and me.
B – Believe that Jesus died on the cross for you, and got in trouble for all the bad things you’ve done, so that you could be forgiven and have eternal life. John 6:47 says, “Everyone who believes has eternal life.”
And C – Celebrate that you’re adopted into God’s Family. John 1:12 says, “Yet to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—“
Isn’t that awesome? If you A – admit you’re a sinner and B – believe in Jesus as your Savior, then you can C – celebrate the fact that you’re a child of God. Woot Woot!
———-end transcript———-