3-5 years
Juniors 3-5 years:
A sound childhood faith
Hearing the Bible stories and getting to know Jesus as a reliable and good friend from the age of 3 lays a foundation and provides assurance for the future. Children in this age group come with a natural, childlike faith and are curious and imaginative. In order to receive the message, children need a safe framework and an environment where they feel kindness and support.
Tips for Juniors gatherings
- Juniors like to know what to expect and often look forward to revisiting something they remember from last time. Repetition and similar setups for gatherings help in promoting calm and creating a good atmosphere.
- Being welcomed by name and perhaps receiving a small welcome gift such as a sticker when they arrive makes children feel included, seen and valued. Something placed on their chair or a nice animated image on the screen that fits the theme builds anticipation.
- A Bible story should not be longer than 10 minutes and should be told in simple language that children can understand. Visualizations and tools that appeal to all the senses are especially important for this age group. Short sessions and lots of variety help them stay focused.
- Engaging songs that relate to the theme and story, preferably with actions, help children remember the message and ensure that they enjoy singing along.
- The activity component is very important for the children’s enjoyment, creates good memories and helps them make friends. It is important to have variety so that you can engage the calm, creative children, as well as more active, outgoing children.
Latest published themes for Juniors
The Christmas story
At Christmas, we celebrate that Jesus was born. He is our best...
David, the shepherd boy
The shepherd boy David confronted both a bear and a lion, knowing...
Noah’s ark
Sarah and Simon see a rainbow. What does it remind us of?...
The Good Samaritan
Simon hears Jesus tell the parable of the Good Samaritan and learns...
Jesus walks on water and calms the storm
Jesus walks on water – in this story, we learn what it...
God made me – and He loves me!
God made everything. But of all the things He made, He loves...
The man who said thank you
Why should we say thank you?...
Jesus, the Good Shepherd
Jesus is called “The Good Shepherd.” What is a shepherd, and what...
Jesus feeds the 5000
Jesus cares for our faith, and that we will have everything we...
You can always turn to Jesus
Jesus could help a sick man who couldn’t walk, and today He...
I can make others happy
Everyone can join in making other people happy and then we get...
I can learn to say sorry
Saying sorry for something wrong we have done gives us a clean...
I become so happy when I give
It can be tempting to keep all the good things I have...
Jesus and the unpopular Zacchaeus
Zacchaeus was actually quite a lonely man. He had almost no friends,...
The kingdom of God belongs to the children
Jesus is especially fond of children and He has said that the...
Jesus healed people
Jesus could really help the people he met. He healed the sick,...
Whats it like to have Jesus as a friend?
Jesus is not here on earth anymore, so how can he be...
Jesus grows up in Nazareth
Although Jesus was the son of God, he grew up as an...
Why Jesus came to earth
Do you know why Jesus came to earth? Jesus was in heaven...