Teaching Kids to Follow Jesus One Step at a Time
One of the most important gifts we can give our kids is the opportunity to encounter and discover Jesus. Following Jesus is more than a cool way of living or some sort of aid to make life more bearable. Jesus is real, and He’s actively helping us live right every single day.
Kids also imitate people or characters they admire. And while Flynn and his dog pals are fun, in the most recent episode of Flynn Files: The Fishy Follow, the dogs help kids discover that Jesus is worth following! He’s worth imitating!
Why is Jesus worth following, though? And how does a kid do that?
The idea can seem vague to a child. “Am I following Him to school?” or “Where is He so I can follow Him?” These are innocent questions that might come to a child’s mind when they hear that they need to follow Jesus.
It goes deeper than that, actually. It’s about learning who Jesus is from the Bible, trusting what He says, and applying His way of living to our own lives every day.
The Bible story connected to this most recent episode is found in Luke 5. Jesus approaches fishermen by the Sea of Galilee who were cleaning their nets and asks to use one of their boats so He can teach the crowds. After He’s done, Jesus tells the men to go out into deeper water and catch more fish.
One of the fishermen, Peter, protested, saying, “We worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if You say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And when they did, they pulled in so many fish that their nets began to tear.
As soon as they came to shore, Peter, along with James and John, left everything and followed Jesus.
Who is Jesus that people respond this way to Him when they encounter Him?
It wasn’t that they followed Jesus because they understood everything in that moment; they followed because, after their encounter, they knew He was worth following.
For kids, this can sometimes be a large concept, but we can help them along the way.
Whether you’re a parent, grandparent, or guardian, here are some ways you can help your kids choose to follow Jesus:
Read the Bible, especially stories where Jesus tells us how to live, how to pray and forgive, and even the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7.
Show them how to pray, even simple prayers.
Teach them to tell the truth because Jesus asks us to.
Help them choose to show kindness and forgiveness.
Teach them that obeying their parents is part of following Jesus.
Encourage them to ask questions about who Jesus is.
If any of these sound daunting, they don’t have to be. There’s no single, secret moment that causes this to happen immediately. Our kids develop a deeper faith in Jesus over time through what they consistently consume. So put on good Bible shows when they’re watching cartoons (like Flynn Files 😉) have them read fun adventure books that point them to Jesus, read the Bible together, or even put on some worship music.
Not sure where to start? Watch our most recent episode of Flynn Files linked below, read the story in Luke 5:1–11, and try some conversation starters like these:
Why do you think Flynn and Niko were surprised that the fishermen left their fish?
What did Jesus ask the fishermen to do?
Why do you think they were willing to follow Him?
What do you think it means to follow Jesus today?
What is one thing Jesus teaches that we can practice this week?
Is there anything that makes following Jesus feel difficult sometimes?
What can we do when we make a wrong choice?
And remember, it’s not about following Jesus perfectly, because none of us can do that. It’s about choosing Jesus every day.
You can even lead them in this simple prayer:
“Jesus, thank You for who You are! Please help me know and follow You every day. Help me trust You and do what You say. Thank You for giving me courage to live right and for forgiving me when I fail. I know that You are worth following! In Jesus’ name, amen!”
Parents, you don’t need a lesson plan or to have everything thought out. Simply take advantage of each moment, and trust that Jesus is helping you teach your kids, too!
