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
I’m thankful our children’s ministry volunteers read through this - a helpful and practical guide to teaching the gospel and not just morals to our kids.
I think this book is summed up well by this quote from page 109. “Don’t: Look for a moral lesson about human character. Instead: Look for the worth and work of the main character, God.”
“Without constant revival from the good news, kids—and adults—start trying to obey God under their own strength and willpower. The good news was never meant to be background. It's foreground—THE source we look to for the power to do everything else.” Honestly so good. Practical & helpful. Great resource for anyone trying to disciple kids. I was reminded to keep the main thing (the Gospel) the main thing. It was also just encouraging on a personal level. The Gospel is amazing. A lot of this felt pretty straightforward and what I was expecting, but some of it was actually really profound. This quote, in particular, in his chapter about positive reinforcement, left me really thinking: “A classroom culture built on rewards for performance wouldn’t fit the good news I planned to teach. It wouldn’t do to teach that God’s rewards in salvation come freely, by grace, but that rewards in the church come by being good and memorizing verses. Nor would it work to teach that God values faith over superior churchy behavior, and then give prizes to kids who excel in churchy behavior. I couldn’t say that Jesus is better than absolutely anything else, but reward what kids learned about him with a slip of paper redeemable for candy.” I am still processing the book, but I am certainly re-considering some things in the context of teaching in Sunday school and public school settings: What does rewarding positive behavior communicate to kids about the Gospel? What does making church (or even school) “fun” as a way to draw them in communicate about the Gospel? Am I really preaching the Gospel of Jesus or the Gospel of Good Behavior? Really just a great resource. I was very impressed! If you work with kids, I would highly recommend.
My thought progression as I read. “These are good points. I can definitely see how there can be too much moralism in Sunday School teaching.” “‘Focus on Jesus and the Gospel.’ Where have I heard that before? That sounds great on paper, but how does that actually play out in real life?” “Ok, cool, some good illustrations of when it works out. But really? I bet it’s not always so picture perfect. But no one talks about all the times when it doesn’t work.” “Wow… Negative personal illustrations? You don’t hear that very often.” “Addressing and recognizing objections? Wow. Usually people just dismiss or ignore objections.” “So good… ” I started off a little skeptical. Not trying to be, but it’s easy to say “Let’s emphasize Jesus and gospel more!” How could anyone disagree with that? It’s easy to write a book that is idealistic and presents your method as flawless. If it doesn’t work for you, that means you aren't doing it right. But that is not what I found here. This book takes a serious and evaluative look at the current typical model teaching the Bible to children. “Is this really how we should be teaching the Bible?” It then highlights some serious dangers and pitfalls that are easy to fall into with the current model, and proposes a way that we can do a better job at making the main point, the main point. That’s all well and good, but what makes this book stand out is the humble and realistic approach. It recognizes that it will not always work out perfectly. The author shares stories of times when things didn’t go the way he would have liked. How he has failed and regrets he has. He recognizes that this is no silver bullet. However, he shows clearly how this is a much more Biblical approach to teaching the Bible than the current popular alternative.
As a pastor I have read a lot of books on ministry. This is one of the most important books that I have read for teaching children about Jesus for the emphasis on gospel-focused, Christ-centric lessons! I loved it and have given it to all of our children's volunteers, and encourage our parents to read it as well!
This book is so good! It is full of biblical truth that is missing in much of Christianity. The author reminds us that Jesus is the whole point of the Bible. Go. After. Christ. Everything else will follow. Moralism does not save us. The love of Jesus does. Just beautiful. I wish the author had been my Sunday school teacher. All my life I've known the truth of Jesus. It's right there in the Bible, woven into every story. And yet I've still always felt like love was to be earned and moralism was at the front of my faith. This book makes me see how the cross is what I need. Jesus loves me. He is for me. Morals don't earn me points with God. The blood of Jesus paid all. And my desire to obey and be like him flows out of my love for him... and his abundant love for me. __
This book is a must read for any Sunday school teacher, camp counselor, or parent. Essentially anyone who might at some point is teaching the Bible. The author gives clear examples of how to teach Jesus throughout all of scripture making him the focus even when it might seem difficult or “out of place.” I also loved his humility and vulnerability. A lot of his examples weren’t “here’s how I did this perfectly” but instead “here’s how I really missed the mark on this lesson and what you can do that would be better.” It’s a good reminder of yes the weight of our teaching but also the grace God gives when we don’t teach a perfect lesson time to time.
Practical, impactful, super doable
Slightly repetitive at times, but true, honest and helpful nonetheless.
I read this as a parent of toddlers and I'm glad that I could get all this insight at the beginning of my parenting journey. This book gives both Gospel principles and practical applications in the context of Christian parenting/Sunday school teaching under the headings of 'Why Teach the Gospel' and 'How to Teach the Gospel'. The author has no dearth of experiences with teaching children the Gospel, and is shockingly honest with his own failures and what he has learnt from them. Some of my takeaways have been: That the Gospel should permeate every area of our lives. Children should grow in a Gospel-environment. That we ourselves should be transformed by the Gospel and live it out daily. That although it is our duty to show them Jesus, it is God who ultimately chooses them and calls them and preserves them. It is His job, and He will do it well, giving us freedom from that burden. That Christ should be preached, whether we're teaching from the Old Testament or the New, or while walking and talking with them, or while discilplining and training them. As Spurgeon said, "Oh, to speak of Christ alone!"