An open bible with a bookmark, a cup of coffee, pens, and a notebook | Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
As an educator, you need a Bible study lesson plan to help you convey the lessons to the learners effectively.
Mary D. McCorvey shares her knowledge of teaching a group of young learners in her book, The Character of Christ Bible Study Series. Her book provides lessons about humility, obedience, and servanthood that engage youth leaders and kids. McCorvey’s book is perfect for both face-to-face and online classes.
When teaching the word of God to young learners, you have to prepare a Bible study lesson plan to help you organize your thoughts when teaching. The lesson plan also helps you budget your time as an educator and keep up with the lessons you are about to convey to the young learners.
Here are steps in creating a perfect bible study lesson plan for your classes:
Open with a Prayer
It is always best to start with a prayer when creating your bible study lesson plan. With this, you get to ask God for guidance when it comes to passing down knowledge to young learners. You can ask God for wisdom, clarity, and a purpose to finalize the plan.
Set It Up/ Choose Your Main Bible Passage
When setting up for a lesson, you must have a main Bible passage to talk about in class. This passage will be your leverage in conveying the lessons of obedience, humility, servanthood, or knowing the character of Christ more. Passages are parables or stories that introduce the glory of God to young learners. Prepare your main Bible passage to break them down into more specific lessons.
Explore It/ Prepare Thought-Provoking Discussion Questions
Children are curious in nature. When creating your bible study lesson plan, you must have a part for more explorations on your main passage. You may use other Bible verses to reference or support the main passage. To promote student talk ask open-ended questions that will engage them further along in the lesson. If time is a factor, consider how many questions are posed. You may also use these questions to let them discuss among themselves.
Teach It/ The “Meat” of the Lesson and Active Learning
This part of the Bible study lesson plan provides the main activity of the class. As the teacher, you can create activities for students that relate either to the main scripture or the theme of the lessons. Activities should be age-appropriate and can include things such as role-playing, technology integration, card sorts, or art projects. It is best to give activities that promote active learning.
Connect It/ Choose a Memory Verse
A good Bible study lesson plan lets the learners connect the newly learned lessons to their daily lives. Pick a verse from the main passage that you will let the kids reflect on. You may also let them choose a verse on their own and relate this to their everyday activities.
Reflect On It/ Explore Applications
This part of the Bible study lesson plan allows the kids to discuss their thoughts, feelings or questions on the lesson. Reflection also helps them consider how they will apply the lesson in their lives. This can be done in several formats: writing/responding to a question prompt, circle time (for younger kids), technology integration or testimony. If a student wants to share a personal testimony, make sure that a safe and trusting atmosphere has been established prior to this moment. Some students may feel more comfortable sharing in a one-to-one moment instead of whole group. Allow discernment to guide you on how to frame this time in your class.
End with a Prayer
Just as how you started creating the Bible study lesson plan with a prayer, do not overlook ending with a prayer to thank God for wisdom and fellowship. Let the class have their moment to be thankful and ask for guidance in applying the lessons in their lives.
Mary D. McCorvey’s The Character of Christ Bible Study Series provides the aforementioned parts to guide the teachers in the lessons that teach humility, obedience, and servanthood to young learners. You may buy the book on Amazon to get a closer look at an effective way to teach kids about the Word of God
