In this transformative resource for youth workers, children's ministry teachers, parents, and VBS volunteers, Jack Klumpenhower teaches how to discover the gospel connections in every Bible story. Show Them Jesus is an instruction manual for teachers of kids and teens written by a lay Bible teacher with thirty years of experience.
With a simple framework and real-life examples, Jack helps teachers identify and communicate the heart of the gospel to each child in each lesson.
Show Them Jesus challenges the culture of low-stakes, low-expectations teaching and invites teachers to do nothing less than teach and treasure the good news of Jesus in every lesson.
Instead of leaving kids with lessons about changing their behavior, Show Them Jesus offers a new way by sweetly, masterfully, and powerfully showing kids how the gospel really applies to their lives and changes them for eternity.
In sharing example after example from his years of experience, Jack provides readers with a more enriched view of Jesus and how to teach this gospel perspective in a classroom setting. This life-changing tool will complement and enrich existing lessons or teaching materials, and it's appropriate for teachers of children and teens in any setting.
Millions of church kids are growing up and deciding to leave the church. If we are not primarily teaching our kids about God's love for us in Christ, we may miss our opportunity to capture their hearts. Don't miss your opportunity to show them Jesus.
"Sunday school curriculum is relentlessly moralistic. That is, it tells you what to do, but not how to do it. Jack Klumpenhower shows us how by taking us back to the person and work of Christ. Every Sunday school teacher should read this book."
Paul Miller, Director of seeJesus; author of A Praying Life and A Loving Life
"The most common way of teaching a Bible story to children involves holding up the main human character and encouraging (or discouraging) children to be like him or her. Show Them Jesus: Teaching the Gospel to Kids provides welcome relief. The book is packed full of biblical reasons, practical guidance, and bountiful examples for teachers and parents who want to show children Jesus when they teach the Bible."
Starr Meade, Author of Training Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions based on the Shorter Catechism and Mighty Acts of God: A Family Bible Story Book
"Klumpenhower states the problem well: 'Today, a frightening number of kids are growing up in churches and Christian homes without ever being captured by the gospel of Jesus.' We want them to know about Jesus, but we leave them with lessons about behavior and they leave the church as soon as possible. Here's a book that sweetly, masterfully, and powerfully tells us what the gospel really is and how it can really change a child's life and eternity."
Bryan Chapell, Author of Christ-Centered Preaching; pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, IL
"Show Them Jesus is a must-read for every youth worker, children's ministry teacher, parent, and VBS volunteer. Jack Klumpenhower does a masterful job helping us learn how to discover the gospel connections in every Bible story. In sharing example after example from his years of experience, Jack gives the reader a front-row seat in his classroom to learn how to give children a 'rock-their-world' vision of Jesus. This is the perfect training tool for pastors and children's ministry leaders to use to train their teachers. I'll be buying a copy for all my children's ministry leaders."
Marty Machowski, Family Life Pastor, Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA; author of the Gospel Story for Kids curriculum
"Jack's book has done a very rare thing he has taken the message of grace and applied it simply and directly to both teachers' hearts and the children they shepherd. He doesn't settle for mere external obedience in his students but bravely and compassionately goes much deeper, seeking out their hearts. This is a great application of Serge's values to a central part of every church its children."
Bob Osborne, Executive Director, Serge
"Show Them Jesus deals with the tough questions that keep children's ministry leaders up at night. How do I encourage kids to repent and obey without becoming a legalist? Should I tone down Old Testament violence when I'm teaching fourth graders? Klumpenhower answers these questions and more with his eyes on Jesus from first to last. But he doesn't just speak to the head. He engages heart and hands as well, giving teachers an inspiring and practical framework for preparing Bible lessons, classroom environments, and family ministry where Jesus is the focus. I plan to purchase a copy for every volunteer in our children's ministry."
Jared Kennedy, Family Pastor, Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY
"In Show Them Jesus, Jack Klumpenhower tells how to make Spirit-fed renewal, which springs from a foundation of love for Jesus, the overarching theme of our teaching. He impresses on us the importance of being 'good-news' teachers who 'exit' every Bible story through the cross of Christ. Make your aim in teaching to build in your kids a love for Jesus, because that's where the Christian life begins. Read this book for your kids; and reread it for yourself."
Nancy Winter, Curriculum writer and editor; long-time Sunday school teacher
"This book is a must-read for every Christian and challenges us to ask the question: How are we handling the good news about Jesus? Do we really believe that Jesus is the goal of God's great story of redemption 'the way, the truth, and the life'? Jack reminds us that our teaching and application of the Scripture is to be unflinchingly centered on Jesus. Why? So we can all fall more in love with him and worship him wholeheartedly!"
Rosemarie Green, Director of Children's Ministry, New Life Church, Glenside, PA
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I thought this was very informative. So many takeaways. Can't wait to implement so of these suggestions.
Useful book on teaching kids the Bible! His main goal is to help teachers teach the good news and not mere moralism. The book has a really deft balance of the why behind gospel teaching, the author’s own experiences as a teacher, and practical application points.
VERY impactful. The intersection of the set of all education and the set of all Christians ought to read this book. It was so good that I read it twice in succession. I plan to reread it next year.
Feeling so convicted but also encouraged by this book. I realize I’ve been teaching my children morality more than the beauty of Jesus. Love the helpful steps he gave on how to help your “lessons” focus on Christ!
I wish I had read this before I taught the youth group at my previous church. It’s a fantastic book on teaching the gospel, and it should be considered by all who are called to that role. But beyond that, this book was surprisingly profound to me. It held up a mirror to my soul, and revealed a lot of the baggage I unknowingly harbored from my particular upbringing. I didn’t realize the extent to which the church community I grew up in emphasized good behavior over Christ’s sufficiency until reading this book. To be clear, I love my childhood church dearly. They did many things well, but they definitely could have taken some notes from Mr. Klumpenhower with regard to teaching the heart of the gospel. As a result, I’ve carried around a works-based theology for years, operating like a modern day Pharisee. This book shocked me back into an authentic dependency on a Jesus crucified for my sins, rather than a mere acknowledgement of a Jesus who simply sets an example for me to follow.
This was so so so good! So helpful and practical for the ministry circles i find myself out, even ones without kids. Was a sweet reminder that everything really does point back to the Gospel. I thought the authors claim that teaching kids to do good things without the Gospel is just behavior modification, what we should do is lead people to the cross and allow the power of Jesus to change them. So many practical tips i can definitely implement!
Great book to encourage veteran Children’s Ministry workers or to give to brand new believers looking for where to faithfully start and for everyone in between. Loved it.
This book was a stellar read. It helped me refresh my love for pointing other to Jesus. Klumpenhower has the same theme throughout the whole book: Show them Jesus. It's a good mantra. Don't point them towards themselves. Their good deeds. Their desire to do better. Their fight against sin. Nothing about them will make them better. Only Jesus makes them better. Jesus transforms lives. And we can teach that in Sunday School classrooms, or at home as we love the kids under our care.
Excellent book on teaching the gospel to kids. A must read for Sunday school teachers
Will be purchasing a hard copy of this. Lots of great teaching material and practical examples. A great reminder in ministry to keep all teaching centered in the work of the cross!! Really enjoyed the section talking about kids’s misconceptions of the gospel and how to explain it to correct those.