Show Them Jesus: Teaching the Gospel to Kids

Klumpenhower gives a humble yet powerful look at teaching children the Gospel. Show Them Jesus gives practical wisdom and insight into making every Bible story pop with the power of Christ.

Very significant book for children's ministry - but also for the whole church. We bought copies for every member of the SS/children's ministry volunteer staff, elders, and Bible study leaders because it's a perfect fit with our church's purposes/principles statement. I've also given copies to two dear friends in missions, because it's so helpful there too.

I am only to chapter 3 but am very excited about the rest of it. An easy read about centering every lesson on what Jesus did for us rather than what we can do for him (obedience based behavior). Looking forward to implementing it in our children's ministry!

Inspiring book. I'm 24 and have no real interest in publicly teaching but this proves that no matter who you are - as a christian we are called to teach, in actions, language, and thought. Our Almighty God works through anyone. Read it and apply it

I bought this last year at Bethlehem Seminary bookstore in Minneapolis on a bibliophile impulse. It was so remarkable, that I bought multiple copies here on Amazon to give to leaders and fellow-teachers of our children's outreach program at church. For instead of the typical way of teaching bible stories to children, it proposes a different way, one wrapped around the gospel of grace. Most of the time, children are taught the stories of David and Goliath, or Gideon, or whatever, to urge them on to moral behavior. "Do this like like this person did, don't do that like that other person did, and God will bless you". And so kids grow up in the church thinking that this is what the gospel is: do good and you'll gain God's favor. This book instead shows how God has always provided a solution for the wretched consequences of the fall. The writer doesn't recommend we automatically shy away from teaching the difficult stories of the bible, which is so common in children's ministries (like the captivity in Babylon, and the wretched stories in Judges, for instance). Instead, it shows teachers how to teach (AND see for themselves) the mercy of God in each of those bible accounts. It is not a curriculum, though it is very bible literate: for instance, Mr. Klumpenhower points out the not-always-so-obvious parts of a story that point to a coming redeemer. It has practical insights for showing the beauty of God's love and mercy in EVERY bible story, and for those who need further direction and insight, Mr. Klumpenower's website gives curricular-type lesson plans you can use when teaching those stories. In our church now, we continue to use a national bible-memory program that many churches use. But we use this as the outline for our group teaching times. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to teach the gospel from the scriptures, instead of just from a formula.

Amazing! Made me rethink lots of the things I do as a teacher. Grace all the way!

When we think of Sunday school lessons we think of David and how he believed God and was able to be brave when faced with great opposition. Lessons like this one are important and Sunday school or Church Camp is the only time some of these kids get to hear about the importance of being obedient to God. But as author Jack Klumpenhower points out in his book "Show Them Jesus" most of the teachings our kids are hearing are meant to instruct them on what they should be doing and how they should be living, when what these kids really need is the good news of what God has done for them in Jesus. It's not that we aren't teaching the Gospel to the children but we often resort to a single day dedicated to presenting it rather than mixing it in every lesson. Let me give my own example from the story above. Davids obedience to God's word led him to conquer Israel's enemy. Where is the Gospel in this story? In Israel there was none who fully trusted God except one who God raised up to be king. This man was faithful to God and rescued his people from the Philistines. Sound familiar? The teacher could also point out that though David was clearly not perfect and made many mistakes, God would later raise up another King who was perfect and saved His people from their greatest enemy, sin and death. It's not that teaching obedience to God is wrong. Paul lists a whole group of things we are to do in Romans 12 but if you notice in verse 1 he says "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to..." The "mercies of God" is a reference back to earlier in Romans where Paul talks about our salvation in Jesus. Our lessons on obedience need to be an outflow of our teaching the Gospel and though we usually have this in mind, if we're not regularly showing what God has done for us, our teaching beginnings to produce a sort of Christian moralism. Kids either become puffed up with pride because of the good job they have done or overwhelmed by guilt because they can't live up to God's standard. The Gospel is the cure for both of these problems. Klumpenhower does a great job arguing all these points through out his book and at the end of each chapter he includes answers to all the objections I'm sure many of you have. The book is laid out into two sections. The first section is about what the Gospel is, it's importance, and why it needs to be foremost in our teaching children. The second section is on how to implement this "good news teaching" into the classroom and at times like lessons at camp or the devotion time at home. This book is aimed at everyone who ministers to kids and teenagers and not just the teachers but anyone with kids in their life. The chapters end with questions one might have towards the teaching and a well presented answer addressing each concern. I found the examples to be very helpful because we often learn from watching others and Jack is not shy about his mistakes, presenting his failures to the reader allows discussion on how things could have went better. This book's aim is that of the apostle Paul "to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified". That doesn't mean we don't teach the rest of the Bible but that we present it in the glorious light of the cross. Our teaching should reflect our confidence in the sovereign power of God through the preaching of the Gospel both to save the lost and sanctify us into the image of His son. I I highly recommend this book to anyone involved in the ministering of children. Jack Klumpenhower is a thorough teacher and a real delight to read. Grab a copy of "Show Them Jesus" and begin to be to show Jesus to your kids and become partners in the gospel today.