How to Teach Children about the Gospel

The Four Part Gospel
We teach our children a simple, four-part version of the Gospel. The four parts are the basic elements of the Nicene Creed, which we say on every Sunday at Mass. Three interventions — Creation, Redemption, and Pentecost have already come. The fourth intervention, the Second Coming, is a promise yet to come.

First, we talk about God’s good creation. When we “get on a roll” with our children, it’s fun. We thank God for creating the sun, the stars, the flowers, the trees, and the animals. We thank God for the life he has given us. We talk about God’s love for us.

Second, we talk about Jesus. We make sure our children know that Jesus saved us from our sins through his death on the cross. We talk about the way Adam and Eve didn’t trust God and disobeyed him.

Third, we talk about the Holy Spirit and the church. The Holy Spirit is God in us, helping us to be good. The church is the bride of Jesus. The church is a body of people who join together to give worship to God.

Fourth, we tell our children that Jesus will come again. When Jesus comes, there will be no more hunger, pain, sickness, fighting, suffering, or crying. Everything will be perfect, and everyone will be happy.

Children Experiencing Jesus
It is one thing to know the Gospel by memory. However, our children need to know that they can experience the power of the Gospel.

1. Giving Their Lives to Jesus
Children need to know that they are going to heaven. The thief who died on the cross next to Jesus is our verification that faith in Jesus is a guarantee of everlasting life. We tell our children that: “If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe it in your hearts, you will go to heaven.” When children consecrate (give) their lives to Jesus each day, they make a confession of faith.
When children say simple words like, “Jesus you are my Lord; I give my life to you; please guide and protect me,” they will be given a grace-filled reminder each day that Jesus is present and that he is their friend.

2. Going to Mass
When we go to Mass, we talk to our children about three critical points: Reconciliation, the Gospel, and the Eucharist.
At the Reconciliation time —called the Penitential Rite — we urge our children to ask Jesus for forgiveness. All their sins are washed away. In my family, the Gospel is linked to a reward. My children get donuts if they can explain the Gospel to me on the way home from church. When they explain the Gospel to me, I usually try to link the Gospel to some aspect of our family life. You might be surprised at the way your children respond to the Gospel. I remember one time talking to my children about God knowing everything. One of my younger sons persistently said: “If God knows everything, then he knows who is going to heaven. Therefore, we really do not have a free will. God decides everything beforehand.” I was amazed at his insight. I never did resolve his anxiety. Your children have the same kinds of questions. If you make “Gospel conversation” you will hear their insights. The Eucharist is Jesus coming into us to help us be good.

When my children receive, I ask them to say some prayers (sometimes formal, sometimes in their own words) and to try and see Jesus in their mind’s eye. I ask them, “What is Jesus saying to you?” Sometimes their answers are dull. They are out of it. Other times, their responses are remarkable. You, too, will be amazed at what your kids might see in their mind’s eye after they receive the
Eucharist.

3. Family Prayer
Family prayer will help your family experience the power of Jesus. Even after the most uneventful, dull, and difficult times of family prayer, my children feel better. Children know it is good and right to pray to Jesus. We have family prayer every Sunday and, maybe on another weeknight. First, we pray together for a short while. Sometimes, we say a whole rosary or just a decade. Then, we have prayers to honor Jesus and prayers of petition – always in our own words. Then, we read Together in Christ. Then, we talk about the Gospel, or about the reflection in Together in Christ, or about our family. The more your family gathers together, the more you will be blessed and the more your children will see Jesus as a regular part of their lives.

Jesus wants to be a part of every family. He wants every family, including your family and mine, to know that he is with us and that he loves us. Jesus loves us. He will help us. He will meet us at least halfway. He wants to be invited to your family prayer time. He wants every child to know the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May God bless you.