Matthew 19:14 ~ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them. For to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
Sharing the Gospel with children can be daunting. In some ways, it can be more complicated than sharing with an adult. We have the responsibility to make sure, that whomever we are talking to – young or old – understands what the Gospel message is fundamentally about. It requires us, as evangelists, to be patient and to draw on as many visual and illustrative aids as possible.
The following is an example of a visual illustration you can use when sharing the gospel with a child. It is called the Wordless Book. While slowly paging through this, small, cardboard book you explain each colour’s meaning or symbolism in sequence, paraphrasing verses and using simple words.
Gold: God is holy and sinless
Base your explanation on 1 Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.” God is without sin and where He is there is no sin. God is the only One who can save others from sin, forgive their sin, or “make right”.
Black: Sin is darkness and evil
Base your explanation on John 3:19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” We are all sinners. We are all born with a default setting to want to decide for ourselves what is good and bad, wrong, or right. This is called a “sin nature” - instead of trusting/believing our Maker, the only holy and pure One. We cannot do anything good or right apart from Him.
Red: Jesus’ blood was necessary
Base your explanation on 1 Thessalonians 5:10 “He who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” Jesus never ever sinned. That means He is the only one that could die on the cross and that His blood was the payment for our sins. He died in our place as a sacrifice on our behalf.
White: We can be new
Base your explanation on 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If you are sorry for doing wrong against the Holy Creator, and you agree that the only way to become clean/free is to believe that Jesus paid for those sins, God makes you knew. Instead of only having a “sin nature” God gives you another nature. You are no longer a slave to your “sin nature.” Now you can choose to believe and do what God has to say about good or bad, wrong, or right.
Green: We can grow
Base your explanation on Psalm 2:3 “(You) shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, which brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper…” Being made new or being “born again” is the beginning and then we must grow. We do that by getting to know our Father through prayer, reading what He has to say (the Bible), putting that into practice, and meeting with fellow believers frequently.
Sharing the Gospel with children in your own way
The above is a guideline. You can add or memorize other verses that fit each point or even weave your own testimony into the colours. The simpler the better – for young or old. The Wordless Book can be a wonderful resource in your evangelistic kit, always ready.
Think outside the book! You can make your own wordless “book” in the form of beads on a bracelet, balloons at a special event, crayons while colouring, paint on your nails, or for the current season, Christmas, as tree ornaments. Be creative and say a lot with your own wordless “book”.
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