Evangelizing to Children – Dos and Don’ts

Here are some points to bear in mind as you share the gospel with children.

Do

Do be prepared.
(See "Preparing Yourself for Evangelism".)

Do rely on God.
Remember that you are merely God's agent, whom God has chosen to present the Gospel to the child. Your role is to do your best in communicating the Gospel clearly & simply to the child. It is the role of the Holy Spirit to convict the child & open the child's heart to accepting the Gospel.

Do be sincere.
Be genuinely interested in the child as a person. Every child is precious and loved by God.

Do appeal to the child's need for love and belonging.
Help the child see that Jesus loves him and wants him to go to heaven.

Do mark out Bible passages for easy reference with bookmarks or post-it tabs.

Do keep it simple.
Use words that the child can understand.

Do keep it short.
In general, children have short attention spans. While that doesn't mean you should sacrifice key points or speak too quickly, it means that you should stick to the bare essentials.

Do keep it interactive.
It is difficult for children to sit still and listen for a long time. Create opportunities for the child to speak by asking open-ended questions and encourage the child to ask questions. Consider allowing the child to "play with" your presentation tools or props, but be careful not to let that become a distraction.

Do check that the child has understood you correctly.
What you say is not necessarily the same as what the child hears. Ask simple open-ended questions to find out whether the child has understood you correctly. Be ready to correct any errors in the child's understanding.

Do ask the child to pray personally.
Realize that the issue of salvation is between the child and God. You can facilitate the process, but you cannot get the child saved on his/her behalf. The child must communicate directly with Jesus.

Do check on the child's prayer.
It is ok for the child to pray silently to accept Jesus. But if the child did pray a silent prayer, do ask the child specifically about his prayer. Ensure that the child has indeed confessed his sins and that he has invited Jesus to be his own personal Savior.

Do continue to keep your door open to the child.
Regardless of whether or not the child accepts the gospel, continue to be available to answer the child's questions and to help the child grow.

Don'ts

Don't assume that the child is unsaved.
Perhaps the child has already has already accepted Christ, but is in need of assurance. Perhaps the child is sure of his salvation, but needs someone to help him grow as a Christian. Perhaps what the child needs is a church or Christian family to belong to, who can support him in his journey as a Christian.

Don't talk down to the child.
Always show due respect to the child as an individual. Remember that the child is uniquely created by God in his image.

Don't confuse the child.
Present the Gospel as simply and clearly as possible. Don't confuse the child with difficult words, or with too many examples or Scripture verses.

Don't only ask yes/no questions.
One of the purposes of asking questions is to invite the child to participate in your presentation. You can't do that by merely asking yes/no questions.

Don't only ask leading questions.
One of the purposes of asking questions is check on the child's understanding. You can't do that by merely asking leading questions.

Don't frighten the child into accepting the gospel.
Don't dwell on the topic of hell.

Don't pressurize the child into accepting the gospel.
The child may not be ready to accept the gospel. Do not try to "play god" and insist that the child accepts the gospel.

Don't think that your job is over once the child accepts Christ.
The Bible says, "So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age." (Matthew 28:19-20) The child's conversion is only the first step in the discipleship process.

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