Sunday School Teaching Methods
There are many teaching methods to get thru to middle school students. The way that comes naturally to you isn’t the only way it’s just your most comfortable way. Get out of the teaching rut and try some of these other Sunday school teaching methods.
Different ways to teach Middle School Sunday School:
Fun Youth Group Lesson: Teaching Through Murals
This youth group lesson idea can be used for just about any lesson you want to teach. I use this method mostly for teaching a passage in the Bible, like The Exodus, or The Christmas Story.
Here’s the plan: Get a long strip of white butcher paper (about eighteen inches per kid). Have plenty of colored markers, felt tip pens, and crayons ready. Pin or tape the butcher paper to a flat wall at the kids eye level. Give each kid a piece of paper containing a verse or verses that is easily drawn as a picture.
Example: To teach the Christmas story use sections of Luke 2:8, ” And there were shepherds living out in the fields…” Suggest that this teen draw shepherds and a flock of sheep. The next kid would draw the “heavenly host”, the next the manger scene, etc. While they drew I added things like clouds, sky, a road, trees, etc to connect the scenes. Let them draw for about 20 minutes then start at the beginning of the line and have each kid read their verses to the rest of the kids and show their illustration. By the end they will have learned the Christmas story and created a master piece of artwork they will be proud of. Move the masterpiece to the top edge of the wall. After several lessons your entire youth room will be ringed by illustrated Bible lessons that they’ll remember.
Christmas story already done for you
For the Christmas story I printed the passages I wanted then taped these along the bottom edge of the mural. Here is the .pdf of the text ready to use. We made it in the lobby. I had the kids sign their names. The congregation appreciatively viewed their masterpiece on the way out of church. Parents eagerly looked for their kids contribution. Younger teenagers actually love doing this.
The older teenagers are a bit reluctant. For them, and for those who have no drawing skills, I printed out some coloring pages from Free Coloring Pages website that matched the Bible story. They sat at the table and colored while chatting. Then we trimmed their drawings and pasted them to the mural.
Here’s some free coloring pages of Bible story illustrations done by a previous student of mine (It goes without saying that I am very proud of her): Not So Boring Bible Coloring Pages
Letting the kids teach:
As a closer to the year (the Sunday after Christmas) I celebrate “Boxing-day“. This is actually a real holiday in some countries, celebrated in different ways. One way is for the boss to trade places for the day with an employee (not a popular TV show).
In my case I have the kids become the teacher and the teacher becomes the student. I encourage each kid to come prepared to do a five minute presentation on the most significant Bible verse, faith lesson, or spiritual growth from the past year. They also have to bring me a snack since I’ve been bringing them the snack for the past year.
I have a backup lesson ready to go, and a game, just in case.
Update: Over the years this method identified for me the teens within my groups who had teaching and leadership gifts. I allowed these kids to use their gifts in the class. Many have gone on to become worship leaders, teachers, pastors, and youth leaders.
Ministry by Teenagers: Developing Leaders from Within
By Jonathan McKee & David R. Smith / Youth Specialties
If you’re searching for passionate, committed, creative leaders for your youth ministry, you could be sitting on a gold mine! Ministry by Teenagers is jam-packed with ideas, resources, and practical strategies to help identify teens with leadership potential, foster their missional spirits, and give them opportunities to discover and use their gifts in ministry.
“What would happen if we gave teenagers opportunities to serve and use their gifts in ministry prior to high school graduation? What if we poured into these young leaders, discipling them and doing ministry alongside of them, helping them grow spiritually, seeing and experiencing God working through them? We could ease back on our ministry to students, supplementing it with ministry by students?”
These compelling questions are at the heart of Ministry by Teenagers, and once authors McKee and Smith lay out the “what ifs” they combine their collective experience in youth ministry to provide a practical and detailed guide for “how to.” The book is jam-packed with ideas, advice, and resources for:
– Fostering discipleship – Building student leadership teams – Identifying student talent – Helping students discover and use their spiritual gifts – Creating service teams – Equipping students to reach their friends
It’s a must-have tool for youth workers who want to tap the gold mine of talent, passion, and leadership potential they see every day in young Christians.
Use Puppets to illustrate a Bible passage.
You might think your kids are too old for puppets but it can still be tons of fun. Let them develop a skit to illustrate a Bible passage and then put on a puppet show for the rest of the group. Supply them with a handful of puppet characters or make your own. They laughed so hard I was afraid they’d choke on their powered donuts.
With a wide selection of cute characters, active animals and delightful dinosaurs, they are easily animated, fun to play with.
Instant Puppet Skits: 20 Stories From People Who Met Jesus
By John Cutshall & Mikal Keefer / Group Publishing
Just add puppets and your skits are instantly ready! Music, sound effects and audio of the scripts are on the 2 CDs included in the purchase. The book has recommended motions for the puppeteers, which is particularly helpful to novices. For those ready to handle more complexity, directions for creating a stage, props and Bible puppet costumes are also easy to follow. There is a wide range of skits that could be used for almost any occasion including Christmas, Easter, VBS and any teachable opportunity for your young people.
Lead kids to discover more about Jesus from the people who knew him best–those he met…like one of the shepherds, Zacchaeus, a Roman soldier, and more!
Here’s what you get: 2 compact discs with audio for each script, Scripture reference in Table of Contents; Directions for creating a stage; Simple puppet Bible costumes; Reproducible patterns for props; Reproducible scripts with staging instructions; A Puppet Primer with tips for powerful and imaginative productions; Scripts have no more than four puppets on stage at any one time; Fun audience involvement. In “Fish and Loaves”, the audience acts the part of the crowd, each of them stuffed with food; Group discussion points in the “For Deeper Learning” section.
More Sunday School Teaching Methods:
Using SKITS and PLAYS to teach Middle School Sunday School
I went to the thrift store and bought several bags full of clothing that could be used for impromptu costumes. They were available in the Youth Group room to grab when I needed them. We had the best times dressing up in robes, boas, fancy hats, and outrageous coats.
Acting Out: 20 Skits for Teenagers to Illustrate God’s Word
Bryan has crafted 20 user-friendly sketches that will help drive home the point of your message-or get students talking about the tough moments and choices of teenage life.
Your students don’t want spiritual propaganda-they want and need stories that help them to explore the human experience. For teenagers, experience supersedes cold, hard facts, and stories facilitate an encounter with truth that applies directly to their own life situation-meanings that might be vastly unique. Each script will challenge different people in different ways. That’s why we’ve included two sets of discussion questions with each script to fuel student conversation and application.
Here’s a bonus with this resource: We’ve included some training videos to help you transform a skit into a video. You’ll find this particularly helpful if you don’t currently have a drama team in your youth ministry, you want to inspire students with film making aspirations, or if you’d just rather use a video in your youth service.
Every skit is editable and reproducible for the students in your ministry.
These skits will give you the tools for building a drama team, encouraging creativity among your students, generating meaningful discussions, and effectively communicating God’s timeless truths to teenagers hungry for real-world wisdom and guidance in a language that connects and sticks with them.
Helping kids visualize Biblical culture and geographical area as a Sunday School Teaching Method:
The DVD shown at the below is a great asset for helping kids understand the culture and geography where the Bible stories took place. There are three one-hour episodes that cover the stories from the first five books of the Bible. Made for PBS, it’s not completely theologically accurate but it is really great to help them envision the settings and cultures of the Bible stories.
When reading the Bible we automatically fill in the scene using our imagination. Being able to properly envision the scene or setting helps to properly understand what the author is trying to tell us.
Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses, DVD
By Tmc Entertainment
Embark on an once-in-a-lifetime odyssey that’s part adventure, part archaeological expedition, and part soul journey! Taking you on a 10,000-mile trek through the Middle East, Bruce Feiler offers a poignant, personal perspective on the events of the Pentateuch. His fresh insights will cause you to view biblical history with new eyes. Two DVDs, approx. 2 hours total, plus bonus DVD, An Inspirational Bible Journey.
Teaching with Love & Logic: Taking Control of the Classroom by Jim Fay
Teachers often find themselves facing a variety of classroom situations never covered in initial training. This valuable resource helps teachers increase skills, enhance professional development and maximize classroom learning time.
Discover why Love and Logic works in the school environment and understand the psychological reasons for its effectiveness. Jim Fay and David Funk’s truly positive approach and time-tested ideas and strategies will empower teachers to effectively manage classroom dynamics while bringing the joy back to teaching.
I have read this book so many times it’s now an automatic part of my relational style. This works with even the toughest kids.
Teaching Theology Thru Hymns
Christian hymns are often based directly on scripture or a specific belief. Those of us who grew up signing hymns in church remember the words decades later. This is a great way to help children memorize scripture. You do not need an entire worship band to sing a hymn. Many hymns are meant to be sung without instruments. The book below is a DVD of 80 hymns you can sing along to.
The Kids Hymnal Sing-Along DVD
By Hendrickson Publishers
Everybody can participate with this wonderful complement to The Kids Hymnal! Loaded with 80 hymns, praise and worship selections, Scripture songs, kids’ favorites and seasonal classics, you’ll see the lyrics for each song over a coordinating background on your TV screen so kids of all ages can sing along! It’s perfect for children’s choirs, Sunday school sing-alongs, children’s church, or family fun at home!
Most denominations have their own specific hymnal that incorporates their individual worship styles and theological 
viewpoints. Many hymns can be seasonal, rich in tradition, and reflect church history. Knowing the story behind the hymn (link right) will help the kids value their beliefs. Hymns will help them worship God.
101 Hymn Stories: The Inspiring True Stories Behind 101 Favorite Hymns
Perfect for devotions, sermon illustrations, bulletin inserts, and introducing congregational hymns, this collection of uplifting, informative hymn stories includes each hymn’s full text and musical score as well as information about the author, composer, and Scripture that inspired the song.
