Ideas and tips for supporting parents of Sunday School children - - 

1 Work with your church pastor to get his or her ideas. Children’s ministry can be a wonderful doorway to ministry with families – young and old.

2 Provide faith resources, such as books or articles, that can help parents deepen their own faith.

3 Organize fun events or activities that allow parents and children to connect and build community with one another.

4 Create a network of support where parents can talk to one another about their experiences and challenges. This has a benefit for the whole church fellowship.

5 Provide childcare during Sunday school classes so parents can attend worship services or participate in other church activities. Sadly, I know many parents who have dropped out of church because it was simply too much stress and worry to attend.

6 Encourage parents to volunteer in Sunday school, which can give them a deeper understanding of their child's experience and also provide support for the Sunday school teacher. (They could assist with lesson presentations or help provides snacks for the snack time.

7 Offer opportunities for parents to serve in the wider community, such as organizing a service project or participating in a local charity event. Many church have community fun raising projects to support Sunday School ministry.

8 Provide opportunities for parents to receive training or education on topics related to parenting, such as discipline, communication, or spiritual growth. Although parents are older, they may be still grappling with keep questions about the Christian faith.

9 Provide resources and support for parents who are dealing with difficult family situations, such as divorce, illness, or financial hardship. Their needs provide an opportunity to show love in action.

10 Be available to listen and offer support to parents who are struggling with the challenges of raising children in a Christian context. The culture has shifted so much and there certainly is hostility to the good news of Jesus.

- Andrew Hewlett

This is the new template.

Children's Sermons Should Be:

It should be a Biblical children's story: The theology for the Sunday Morning Kids Story doesn't need to be sophisticated but it does need to be Biblical. Keep it simple but keep it scriptural.

It should be an Interactive children's message. Don't preach to the children. Involve them in the learning experience. 

It should be a short children's message. Most kids have a very short attention span. Don't let them get bored. Otherwise, the main thing they will learn is that church is boring. I would keep it under 5 minutes. 

It should clearly present some aspect of the Gospel. If you get too abstract most kids will miss the point. Keep the thought progression simple.

It should be a FUN children's message. Ideally the children should look forward to this time in the service.

It should be a "risk free" children's message: Protect the kids from being embarrassed in front of the congregation.

About Sundaychildrensfocus - Short Sermons and object lessons for Children -

For Children's Church and Sunday School  

FAQs  - I will be adding material to this site ASAP. Please consider making a small donation to keep this site going - Thank you! -

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Can I use these stories on Sunday morning?  Yes.  Just give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus.com.  I'd really appreciate it if you could put a link to this site on your church web site - or any web site you have. Thank you!   I've come up 95% of these messages but some of them have been inspired elsewhere.

Are there more coming?   Yes.

Could these be arranged by the Revised Common Lectionary?   Yes.  I've started posting them for each (or most) Sundays. 

Who is the site author?  My name is Andrew Hewlett (BA MDiv. -Wycliffe College, U. Of T.)  I am a retired pastor / minister in Canada. I live in Victoria B.C. with my wife and two children. I have served as a pastor at three churches here on Vancouver Island and am now retired (more or less).  When I'm not doing church stuff I enjoy spending time with my wife Lucy and our two children. I also volunteer at our church food distribution and downtown street ministry to the disadvantaged. 

Why this web site? Jesus said "let the children come unto me." That says it all.

I believe the most important part of doing kids sermons is to proclaim in word and example the tranforming love of Jesus Christ.  Even if the theology goes over their heads my prayer is that they will remember church as the place where they heard about Jesus and experienced a bit of his love and joy. That just might open them up to the unconditional love of God that reaches out to us all.

I'm trusting that this material can be used by a wide variety of churches. (I'm not wading into theological controversy here: I'm focusing on the main and plain teachings of Jesus Christ.) 


RevHewlett at Gmail dot com

Blessings, Andrew Hewlett

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