Translating God's Story for Kids: Moving From Study to Teaching

In my last post I talked about the need to Know God’s Story before beginning to teach children. Learning a Bible story as an adult is a very different process than teaching Bible stories to kids!

For adults, it involves digging into the historical and biblical context, grappling with theological implications and differing interpretations, and engaging in personal reflection. This process shapes us in profound ways—it places us face-to-face with God’s story, revealing who He is and challenging us to respond. In fact, I’ve always found that as a teacher, I end up learning far more than my students ever do.

As teachers, how do we bridge the gap between studying and teaching? It’s often surprising to realize how much of what we learn as adults doesn’t directly translate to teaching kids. Yet, the beauty of God’s story lies in its timeless truths—truths that transcend age and experience. Our role as teachers is to uncover these truths and communicate them in ways that children can understand and connect with.

When teaching kids, it’s essential to consider their developmental stage and how much they can understand. The goal isn’t to share every detail we’ve learned, but to distill the message—and, more importantly, the life of the story—into something they can grasp at their level. Bringing the story to life becomes much easier when it has already sparked curiosity and excitement in your own heart during study. However, crafting the right words, conversation starters, and focus for activities takes intentionality. It all begins with asking: What do I want kids to walk away knowing about God and His story?

As I look through my own study notes, I begin asking myself some of the following questions:

• What of this story is most relevant for children to understand?

• What do I need to teach in order for children to more fully understand the story? (Biblical context, historical setting, explaining words/language, etc.)

• Are there any parts of the story that are worth skipping over? (I have a list of stories I intentionally avoid teaching to kids, so this advice assumes you’ve already chosen a thoughtfully selected, appropriate story to begin with.)

• How can I present the story in a way that is accessible, but still true to the original text and context?

• What aspects of the story can children relate to, either through their own experiences or through simple truths that they can apply to their lives?

• How does this story reveal who God is and His relationship with the world?

• How can I help children understand that they are loved by God and that He is actively involved in their lives?

The answers to these questions shape the overarching goals for my lesson. By the time I start planning the details—how to tell the story, which activities to use, or what games to play—the answers to the questions above have already provided a clear vision of what’s most important. This clarity helps me select activities and guide conversations in a way that ensures we’re truly engaging with the story and its message.

If you’re like me, getting really good at “Job #1 – Knowing God’s Story” can highlight a whole new set of challenges with Sunday School curriculum. Too often, I’ve found that the suggested activities don’t connect with the heart of the story. For example, teaching about Jesus’ disciples and the call to be “Fishers of Men” has little to do with playing a game like Go Fish! Similarly, baking a recipe with ingredients that spell out an acronym like “PEACE” doesn’t necessarily deepen anyone’s understanding of God’s peace. I’ll explore some of these challenges in future posts, but if you’ve noticed these gaps too, don’t be discouraged. It is possible to translate God’s story for kids in ways that are super creative, age-appropriate, and still faithful to the story itself.

As we navigate these challenges, it’s helpful to keep the bigger picture in mind. Sunday School lessons are just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Learning God’s story isn’t meant to be confined to a single lesson or teaching moment. Getting to know God’s story is a lifelong journey—both for us as teachers and for our students. Our adult study deepens our relationship with God, and our teaching flows from that understanding. We’re not just teaching facts; we’re inviting children into a story that is alive, vibrant, and transformational. Keeping this perspective has freed me from the pressure to “get it right” or “cover every detail” in every lesson. In fact, my lessons have become simpler over time. My goal is for kids to fall in love with God’s story so deeply that they’ll keep coming back to it throughout their lives. This means it’s okay to linger on small truths or moments—God has plenty of time to speak to us as we journey with Him.

In my next series of posts, I’ll share simple storytelling techniques you can use in your Sunday School program. These methods will help you take all that you’ve learned in your study of the Bible and bring God’s story to life in a way that engages children, inviting them into the story and helping them understand who God is. Stay tuned for practical tools that will allow you to communicate the story with depth and clarity, making it accessible and meaningful for kids.