Teach Bible Study to an 8-Year-Old

Last week, I asked my class what God had taught them so far this year through our study of Romans. Here’s what I got:

I’ve learned that I can’t please God by keeping the law, doing good deeds, or through church rituals.

I learned that Abraham was justified by faith.

Everyone is sinful and needs righteousness from Jesus.

I learned what circumcision means.

No joke. These four remarks came from a group of 3rd-to-5th grade boys in our local AWANA club class. My friend Jeff and I have had the honor of teaching these boys since the beginning of September. The AWANA program focuses on Scripture memory, and our 30-minute teaching time gave us the opportunity to develop the boys with the skills not only to memorize verses but also to read and study larger passages.

When I asked them what they’ve learned so far, I honestly had low expectations about what they’d say—and shame on me. Their answers delightfully shocked me and showed me evidence of God’s powerful work through his word.

And here’s what I’ve learned in the process.

1. Read the Bible

These kids can handle more than we brilliant adults usually think they can handle. So Jeff and I decided not to use a specialized curriculum to drive our class. We’d simply read the book of Romans and talk about it with the kids. We started at Romans 1:1. We’d read a verse, ask some questions, read the next verse, and continue week after week. It’s tempting to think these children need pre-packaged guidance from experts who have never met them. But we wanted them to get used to hearing the voice of their God who knitted them in the womb.

On the first week of class, I told the boys we’d have a special visitor with us every week. “He’s an old, old teacher. His voice breaks the oak trees in Park Forest, and he moves Mount Nittany out of his way to get here. He will speak to us in this very classroom. You can’t see him, but a silly thing like that won’t stop us from hearing him.”

Wide-eyed, they took a minute to figure out who this teacher would be. But once they realized it, they were ready to hear him. From time to time, I could quiet rowdy chatter by asking one of them to read the next verse to the class. I’d then project my voice and say, “Quiet! God is about to speak to you through [reader’s name]. You’ll want to hear this.”

2. Know the main point

Classes went well when we came prepared with a clear main point to focus on. And by “main point,” I mean the main point of the passage and not the main point of whatever we decided the children needed to hear that day. The lessons that stuck (see the first three quotes above) were the ones where they could see the main point right from the text. It made those lessons clear and memorable, and it gave the boys something to return to every time they read Romans from here on out.

3. Observe the structure

The structure of the passage gives them a summary of key lessons. The children struggled in classes when we didn’t have a clear structure, because a long verse-by-verse stream of consciousness wouldn’t hold their attention. But when we could show them, paragraph by paragraph, what Paul was saying—breaking down the argument into simple chunks—they were much more engaged.

4. Make them observe the text

The children loved to answer questions. And they loved to shout out whatever answers came to mind. But we refused to accept any answer that didn’t have a verse number attached to it. Week after week, we had to remind them that the answer to every question was right in the passage we had just read. Now that the year’s almost over, they’ve gotten it. Most questions produce a corporate nose-dive effect, where most heads in the room bow down to examine the text.

5. Define terms

We didn’t use children’s Bibles or work books. We wanted to give each child the confidence to open, read, and understand his own Bible. Most of them had the NIV, so that’s the version we taught from.

This means we had to deal with “atonement,” “righteousness,” “justification,” “Gentiles,” “reconciliation,” and “circumcision.” We had great fun on the day we dealt with that last term, which is why it showed up in quote #4 above. Though some boys won’t stop giggling at the term, most have learned from it how earthy and relevant the Bible is.

6. Illustrate everything

I need to work on this one more. Our application time had some rough spots. But one highlight came when we discussed Romans 6:15-18, and we talked about the start of soccer season. Sin is like your coach from last year. Jesus is like your new coach this year. Choosing to sin is like scoring goals on your own net just because the opposing team is led by the coach you played for last year.

We didn’t complete the book of Romans, as I had expected. We’d cover 2-3 verses per week at first, but now we’re up to 10-15. I hope we can cook through chapter 7 in these next few classes and land on Romans 8:1 in the last week. But it was worth it to adjust my expectations to give the boys time to really get it.

And we haven’t discussed OIA principles at all; we’ve merely practiced them every week. Our intention has been to inspire them with confidence to read and study the Bible on their own. We can give them helpful terminology for the process another time.

It’s great fun to see them learning to study the Bible. Next year, Jeff and I might get to teach the girls’ class, and we’ll have to reconsider how to handle “circumcision” then… Suggestions are welcome.