We all know the key to discipleship and pointing preteens to Jesus is building strong relationships with them. And we all want a team of leaders who are involved in the lives of preteens. But how do we get there?

I believe the secret sauce to preteen ministry is building relationships with parents AND students. Both are equally important.

I currently lead a small group of 7th grade guys that I’ve been with since the beginning of their 6th grade year. I started the journey with them in preteen ministry, then moved up with them to junior high. During that time we’ve gone through a lot of peaks and valleys together. I’ve cried with them, laughed with them, and have had the opportunity on a regular basis to point out what I see God doing in their lives. Honestly, I feel like an uncle to them all.

And then it hit me.

The reason I am so close to them is because I am close with the parents. My relationship with them and ability to speak into their lives is directly related to my connection with their parents.

As I was getting to know them in the beginning, I made it a point to meet and connect with the parents. I’ve showed up to countless football, lacrosse and soccer games to cheer on the boys. And who am I talking to 99% of the time at those games? The parents. I send out weekly emails to the parents with specifics of how our small group is going (this is in addition to the weekly email from our junior high ministry). They love those emails! I’m in regular text / phone conversation with them about what’s going on in their sons’ lives.

What does all that do? It builds trust. Parents see me as a partner. They feel supported and encouraged by my presence. As a result, they’re highly motivated to bring their boys to Sunday, Wednesday night, camp and other events. They’ll go the extra mile to get them to youth group even if sports is a conflict on the calendar. They’re even open for me to meet up with their boys outside of youth events. (I typically do this in small pods of 2-3 students at a time. Ex: grab a burger, eat pizza, get some gelato, etc.)

What’s the takeaway for you? Train your team to build relationships with students AND parents. Both are important in order to effectively point preteens to Jesus. Imagine having a team of leaders who are fully invested in the lives of students and parents. What kind of impact could that make?

Written by Nick Diliberto, the Founder of Ministry to Youth & Ministry to Preteens.

Living a life of thankfulness extends far beyond that one day of the year when our families are gathered around a turkey.

Being grateful should be practiced in the thoughts and attitudes of our daily lives.

Whether we can see God’s goodness all around us or we are in a season of trusting him in the unknown, God is always with us.

Use this lesson to teach preteens that we can be thankful even when we don’t know everything God is doing.

-Nick Diliberto, Ministry to Preteens

Looking for preteen curriculum? Check out the…

ONE YEAR PRETEEN CURRICULUM, VOLUME 1 – One year of preteen ministry curriculum designed to help 4th-6th graders explore their faith and wholeheartedly follow Jesus.

PRETEEN MINISTRY LESSON ON THANKFULNESS

Written by Rob Quinn

Bible: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Proverbs 3:5-6


Bottom Line: We can be thankful even when we don’t know everything God is doing.

SUPPLIES

  • 2 blenders
  • Supplies to make milkshakes
    • Really good milkshake supplies: Ice cream, chocolate syrup, milk, etc
    • Gross milkshake supplies: Turkey, Potatoes, Hotdogs, milk, salsa, etc.

OPENING GAME: THANKS, OR NO THANKS

GAME PREP

Prepare three different shakes before your meeting – two good ones and one gross one.

Place the ingredients or packages with the milkshakes to show what is in each of them.

Hide one of the good milkshakes where no one can see it.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Divide preteens into two groups – boys and girls.

The groups will decide on one person to be their representative up front.

Once the representatives come forward, tell them they will have to rely on their team to help them win a milkshake to drink.

Show the students the shakes they will be playing to win.

Teams will now compete to win points “Family Feud” style.

The team with the best score wins the choice of which shake would be the worst for someone to drink.

Be very careful not to say which team they are choosing for, just have them make a choice… there’s a catch later.

Here are 10 questions about Thanksgiving:

  1. What year was the celebration that is most commonly considered to be the first Thanksgiving?
    • ANSWER: 1621 (Answer can be within 4 years)
  2. How many days did the first Thanksgiving celebration last?
    • ANSWER: 3 days (Answer can be within one day)
  3. Under which president did Thanksgiving become an annual holiday?
    • ANSWER: Abraham Lincoln (Give students two guesses)
  4. In what decade did both the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and America’s Thanksgiving Parade start?
    • ANSWER: 1920’s (Answer can be within 5 years)
  5. What are turkey chicks called?
    • ANSWER: Turkeylings
  6. What is the wobbly red piece of flesh on top of the beak of a turkey?
    • ANSWER: Snood
  7. What state raises the most turkeys?
    • ANSWER: Minnesota (Give students two guesses)
  8. In what century were the first pumpkin pies as we know them made?
    • ANSWER: 17th century
  9. What food was present at the first Thanksgiving but is rarely eaten at Thanksgiving now
    • ANSWER: Seafood
  10. BONUS QUESTION (worth 5 points) – Thanksgiving in the USA is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, but when is Canada’s Thanksgiving?
    • ANSWER: Second Monday in October

Congratulate the winning team and present them their choice of milkshakes.

Once they choose the worst milkshake to drink,  bring forward the two chosen representatives.

Ask the winning team’s representative: How thankful are you that your team got the most points?

Ask the losing team’s representative: Do you still have faith in your team?

Once the choice is made get ready to present the shakes to the representatives to drink.

Say: Okay, so the winning team got the choice of which milkshake, but we never said which team they were choosing the milkshake for.

Remind them they were only choosing the shake they thought would be worst to drink.

Hand the gross shake over to the winning team’s rep and the good shake to the losing team’s rep.

Ask: Are you still thankful your team won now?

Get ready to drink it… Ready… Set… WAIT. WAIT. WAIT.

Did you really think we were going to make you drink this gross shake?

No, we would never do that.

So, here is another good shake and we would like to give this one to you.

Allow them to take the shakes and drink them as you get started.

TEACH

Say: How awesome was that?

I mean you guys really thought someone was going to drink a really gross milkshake.

However, I bet the person that thought they had to drink it wasn’t so happy?

And they were super thankful once they found out they didn’t have to!

I’ll be honest… I didn’t want to watch them drink that gross milkshake!

This actually leads us to what we are going to be talking about today.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I want to take a quick survey.

How many of you go around the table and say something you’re thankful for before you eat your Thanksgiving meal?

I know this a tradition for many families, but it has always made me wonder: Why do we only do that on Thanksgiving?

Let’s read 1Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Always be joyful.

Never stop praying.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Say: So, if we only give thanks during the Thanksgiving season, is there more we should be doing?

According to this verse, we should be thankful in all circumstances – even when things aren’t going well.

Think about this for a minute… we should be thankful when we are sick, hurt, sad, or don’t get what we want.

This is a really hard thing, even for us as adults.

It’s easy to be thankful when things are going good, right?

But when things aren’t going right it can be super hard!

What I really love is what this verse says right after telling us to be thankful in all circumstances… “for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

The cool thing we need to know is God has a plan for us and sometimes it’s not exactly what we think the plan should be.

We also may not understand what His plan is and it may be something that hurts us or makes us sad.

But, we can be thankful because God’s plans are and will always be perfect for us.

Let’s read another verse that may serve as a good guide for us.

Read Proverbs 3:5-6.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

This is telling us that when we trust God with all of our heart, we should try to understand His plans for us.

When we do this it makes it so much easier to be thankful in all circumstances.

Let me tell you a story about a time in my life when I didn’t know what God was doing in my life, but I chose to be thankful.

Tell a personal story about a time when you had difficulty being thankful for what God was doing in your life.

Every person on the planet has to deal with times we don’t understand what is happening to us.

But the way we respond will make the difference in how we work through it.

This leads us to our bottom line today: “We can be thankful even when we don’t know everything God is doing.”

You see… we don’t always see what God is doing and we aren’t supposed to know everything.

So, knowing that should make it easier to be thankful in all circumstances.

Maybe it isn’t easy for you to have faith in the “unknown” times, but God can help you.

As we close in prayer, let’s ask God to help us believe that He knows what is best for our lives, even when we can’t see it with our own eyes.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. What do you think the gross milkshake would have tasted like?
  2. Would you have wanted to be the one who had to drink it?
  3. What would you have thought if you were the one who it was changed to?
  4. How does it make you feel that we should always be thankful?
  5. What are some things in your life that make it hard to be always thankful?
  6. How do you respond to those difficult times?
  7. Why do you think we have a hard time always being thankful in every situation?
  8. What do you have to do to start living this way?
  9. How does knowing God always has a plan make change your thinking?
  10. What is one thing you can think of that is hard in your life that you can be thankful for?

End Lesson

Looking for preteen curriculum? Check out the…

ONE YEAR PRETEEN CURRICULUM, VOLUME 1 – One year of preteen ministry curriculum designed to help 4th-6th graders explore their faith and wholeheartedly follow Jesus.

Here’s a free preteen ministry lesson on sharing your faith or sharing the good news of Jesus. It’s based on John 1:40-45.

The big ideas:

  • Choosing to follow Jesus is a big moment in someone’s life.
  • When you share your faith with others, you set in motion the “domino effect”.

A few months ago, I wrote this lesson for the 4th-6th graders at my church. The students were really engaged, so I decided to post it online for everyone to use.

Enjoy the lesson!

Nick Diliberto, Ministry to Preteens

Looking for preteen curriculum? Check out the…

PRETEEN BACK TO SCHOOL BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

PRETEEN LESSON ON SHARING YOUR FAITH

Note: This lesson is in outline form, rather than being written out word for word.

Play this opening video about following Jesus.

Point #1: Choosing to follow Jesus is a BIG moment in someone’s life.
  • People in the video all made a decision to follow Jesus, which made a huge difference in their lives. 
  • Leader note: Talk about how deciding to follow Jesus was a big moment in your life.
  • You probably have friends who have never made that decision.
Point #2: When you share your faith with others, you set in motion the “domino effect”.
  • Setup a row of dominos on a table nearby. Ask a preteen to come up front to knock over the first domino, which will eventually knock them all down.
  • I call this the “domino effect” – Every piece in a row of dominos is a link to the next one tipping over.
  • Similarly, when you share Jesus with a friend, the “domino effect” is set in motion. Let’s see how this happened in the Bible.
  • Have a preteen read John 1:40-42 – “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.”
  • Ask a different preteen read John 1:43-45 – The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
  • Ask – How is this like the domino effect?
  • When you share the good news of Jesus with others, you set in motion the domino effect. Some of those people will surrender their lives to Jesus and share the message with others. It could be now, or in the future. Throughout their lifetime, they’ll share Jesus with others. Some of those people will decide to follow Jesus as well. And the “domino effect” will go on and on.
  • So, how do you share your faith with others? Through your words and actions!
  • Examples: Pray for a friend. Stick up for someone that’s being picked on. Say something encouraging to a classmate. When a friend asks you why you go to church, talk about your relationship with Jesus. Etc.
  • Ask – Can you think of some other examples?
  • When you speak and act different than everyone else, others will notice. This opens up the door for you to share the good news of Jesus with others.

Dismiss preteens to small groups of 6-8.

Small Group Dominos Activity: 

  • Supplies – A small pack of dominos for each small group.

Have preteens work together to create multiple rows of dominoes that all connect. Use all of the dominoes in the pack. The more creative, the better. The goal is to tip over one piece, and all the dominos fall over. If students fail at their first attempt, continue until they’re successful.  

Small Group Discussion Questions:

  1. How is this activity LIKE sharing what it means to have a relationship with Jesus with others? 
  2. How is this activity NOT LIKE it?
  3. On a scale of 1-10, how difficult is it for you to share about Jesus with friends? (1 = REALLY EASY & 10 = REALLY DIFFICULT) Explain your answer. 
  4. In today’s passage (John 1:40-45), how is Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael’s decision to follow Jesus like “the domino effect”? 

END LESSON

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PRETEEN BACK TO SCHOOL BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

The end of summer is upon us, and preteens will soon be headed back to school.

So, we put together these 10 free back to school preteen object lessons for you. Add them to an upcoming message or use them as a foundation to build your own lesson.

Check them out below.

On a personal note..

You may or may not know this, but I launched my first preteen ministry way back in 1998. We started with a handful of students and leaders. I was humbled to see it grow. We soon had around 100 preteens at our weekend services. We were also able to develop a rock star team of committed volunteers. God did so many amazing things in those students and leaders. I led that preteen ministry until 2007. I moved to San Diego a couple of years later where I led a couple of preteen ministries, and eventually transitioned into youth ministry (junior high and young high schoolers). I stayed in youth ministry for a number of years. I thought I was done with preteen ministry.

In August of 2022, I dove back in preteen ministry as a volunteer small group leader at my church. Something opened up inside me. I felt God was calling me back to this age group. So, I went “all in”. The last year has been amazing journey. I had the opportunity to co-lead the preteen ministry on an interim basis, and I built some amazing relationships with the 6th graders in my small group. The interim position has now ended, but I remain on the preteen ministry staff part-time. I’ve also moved up with those 6th graders, who have now entered 7th grade in our junior high program. I’m a hybrid leader. Serving on the preteen staff, and volunteer with junior high.

Why do I mention all that? To let you know I’ve gone back to my roots.. preteen ministry. Back to the beginning of my ministry journey. Back to the reason I launched this website. I’ve come full circle. As a result, I’m motivated more than ever to rally our team to create amazing resources for preteen ministry! And I want to share my current journey in preteen ministry with you, hoping it inspires and educates you along the way.

So, stay tuned for many good things to come!

Nick Diliberto

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 
10 BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN OBJECT LESSONS

Here’s a snapshot of all 10:

  1. Backpack (Burdens)
  2. Chair (Faith)  
  3. Computer (Purpose)
  4. Glasses (God’s Eyes) 
  5. Highlighter (Living for God) 
  6. Lunch Money (Accepting Salvation) 
  7. Markers (Unique & Valued)
  8. P.E. (Prayer)
  9. Pencil Sharpener (Stronger Together)
  10. Whiteboard (Forgiveness) 

OBJECT LESSON 1: BACKPACK

Lesson: Burdens 

Bible Verses: Luke 6:36, James 2:13 

We don’t know what burdens others are carrying. 

Prep: Get 3 backpacks of different sizes if possible (but they can be the same size if necessary). In the largest one put some light weight items, such as feathers. In the medium sized one put some heavier items, such as a number of water bottles and in the smallest backpack put as heavy of items as you can, such as bricks or a lot of canned food items. 

Mark your Bible to Luke 6:36 and James 2:13. 

Demonstration: Call up 3 volunteers and privately tell them that you are going to give them each a backpack weighing a different amount and that you want them to try to each act like their backpack is the opposite of what it really is. So the person with the light backpack should try to act like it’s really heavy, the 2 folks with the heavier backpacks should act like they are pretty light. 

Then give them each a backpack to put on their backs and have them follow you to the front of your class. 

Tell your preteens you now need 3 additional volunteers who are willing to do jumping jacks in front of the class. Call up the 3 one at a time and let them choose which backpack they each want to wear while doing 10 jumping jacks. 

As they choose which backpack they want, have them say why they have chosen that backback. 

The point is to have them pick the ones that seem the lightest. 

Then have all 3 put on a backpack on their back and try to do 10 jumping jacks. 

“When you saw the backpacks being worn it was hard to tell how much each of them really weighed. One only had light objects but it seemed heavy and one had very heavy objects and it seemed pretty light. 

Many times this same thing happens in life. We see what people are like outwardly but we don’t know what they are going through in their lives or the feelings they may be dealing with. 

We are called by God to have mercy on everyone. Having mercy means having compassion for someone, especially someone who doesn’t deserve it. 

Luke 6:36 reminds us that “We first show mercy because God has shown us such great mercy by forgiving ALL our sins.” And the last part of James 2:13 says, “Mercy is better than judgment.” 

Instead of judging people by looking down on them, we should have mercy on everyone and love people no matter what.” 

Wrap Up 

“Remember that it doesn’t matter what we see about others on the outside. Maybe someone’s life seems perfect or maybe someone seems like a real jerk, but we have to remember to love everyone and show everyone mercy because we don’t know what others are going through.” 

OBJECT LESSON 2: CHAIR

Lesson: Faith 

Bible Verse: Hebrews 11:1 

Faith is trusting God. 

Prep 

Put a chair at the front of your room facing the class. 

Mark your Bible to Hebrews 11:1. 

Demonstration 

Ask a volunteer to come up and sit down facing the class. 

After they take their seat, act surprised questioning the student, “You aren’t going to make sure that chair is sturdy before you sit in it?” “You sat down so quickly. What if the chair wasn’t strong enough to hold you?” 

“Why did you trust that chair without knowing anything about it?” 

Object Lesson 

“If we walk into a new place, we don’t usually think before we sit right down in a chair. We don’t check to see if the chair is stable or strong enough to hold us; we just trust that it can do it. 

Faith works the same way. Faith means believing or trusting something without proof. 

Just like we have faith that chairs will hold us, God has called us to have faith in Him and in his word, the Bible. 

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”” 

Wrap Up 

“Trusting God can be hard because we can’t see him, and often we can’t understand what He’s doing in our lives. But He has told us to have total faith in Him.”

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

OBJECT LESSON 3: COMPUTER

Lesson: Purpose 

Bible Verse: Matthew 22:37-39 

We have been created for a purpose. 

Prep 

Get a laptop, a plate, a small amount of food, and a napkin. 

Mark your Bible to Matthew 22:37-39. 

Demonstration 

Hold up the computer and ask you’re class what they like to use this object for. 

After they give some answers tell them that you like to use this laptop only as a little lap table. 

Sit down and put it on your lap and then put a plate and napkin on top of it and proceed to eat something off the plate. 

Object Lesson 

“Have you ever seen a laptop computer used only as a table? That would be such a waste, wouldn’t it? 

You can use a computer for many things. You could lay it down, put a little tablecloth on it and make it a small table. You could stand on it as a small stool. You could open it and use its screen as a really poor mirror. 

If you use a computer for anything other than a computer, it is a big waste of all the potential the computer has, like using the Internet, typing stories on it, playing games, etc. 

God created you with specific purposes special for your life. Obviously you can be and do a lot of things, just like a computer, but the challenge is finding the special things God created you for and doing them to the best of your ability.

Our main purpose is to love God more than anything and then to love other people. 

Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-39, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

God has also created each of you with important purposes unique to just you. You have special gifts and talents from God. You may not even know yet what your special gifts and talents are, but you can find out by praying and asking God and possibly by asking other believers, too.” 

Wrap Up 

“We have been created to love God and others and to use our special talents and gifts from God. We can be like a computer that is used the right way, or we can be like a computer used for a lesser purpose. We have to decide.” 

OBJECT LESSON 4: GLASSES

Lesson: God’s Eyes 

Bible Verse: 1 Samuel 16:7 

We should see others the same way that God sees them. 

Prep 

Get a poster board and use a black permanent maker to make something like an eye chart you’d see at an eye doctor’s office. Make a top row of a few large letters, make the second row of letters a little smaller and then make the third row pretty small, but still readable for someone with good sight from a distance. 

Find a student or teacher who wears glasses or contacts (the poorer their vision the better), and privately ask them if they’d be comfortable doing a sight test in front of the class first without their glasses and then with them on. 

Mark your Bible to 1 Samuel 16:7. 

Demonstration 

Call up the student or teacher who agreed to participate. 

Have them take off their glasses and then give another student the poster and hold it up at a distance. Try to have them hold it facing the class so everyone can see when the volunteer is right and wrong. 

Then have the volunteer without their glasses on try to read from the poster line by line starting from the top. 

After they’ve read all the lines on the poster have them put on their glasses and try again from the top. 

Object Lesson 

“Some of us have to wear glasses so that we can see things how they really are. When someone without perfect vision puts on glasses they can see clearly. 

In the same way that our vision works, we as people aren’t perfect; so, we often don’t see many things correctly. 

Instead of seeing people how we naturally see them we need to see people through God’s eyes, the way he sees them. 

If someone is attractive or cute we like them more, are nicer to them, or try extra hard to be their friends. 

We often judge people by how they look. But the Bible clearly says that this is not how God views people. 

In the book of 1 Samuel, God tells Samuel, a very important prophet—which means a man who told people God’s will—to visit a certain family because a son in that family would one day be the king of their nation Israel. Samuel sees the oldest brother and instantly thinks he must be the future king, but God corrects him in I Samuel 16:7, saying, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

Samuel then met 6 more brothers until God told him none of them would be king. Finally, God showed Samuel that the youngest brother, who was actually outside watching sheep, would be the king of Israel. The boy’s name was David and he was a man very special to God. 

You see, God didn’t care about how David looked. He didn’t care who was the most handsome, the biggest, oldest or the most experienced. God knew David’s heart.” 

Wrap Up 

When we see other people, let us see them with our God glasses on so that we look at their hearts instead of judging them by what we see on the outside. 

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

OBJECT LESSON 5: HIGHLIGHTER

Lesson: Living for God 

Bible Verse: Mark 5:15 

Our lives should constantly highlight God’s work. 

Prep 

Print out a paper with a short sentence on it in large bold letters so that it can be seen from a distance. Then completely highlight just one of the words with a bright highlighter. 

Demonstration 

Hold your paper up in front of your class. Ask for them to tell you which word stands out. 

Then ask them why that word specifically stood out? 

Object Lesson 

“A highlighter is an interesting tool. It’s designed to make certain words stand out by putting a bright color over them to draw attention to them specifically. If you’ve ever read something that you or someone else had highlighted, the highlighted words jump out at you and you know they are the most important. Jesus told us to be highlighters. He said in Mark 5:15 that you wouldn’t light a lamp and then hide it under a bowl. Instead, you’d put it in a place where it would give light to your home. In the same way, we should live our lives so that people can see Jesus through us. We shouldn’t hide our faith, but should be highlighters, making God stand out through our words and actions.” 

Wrap up “When others see us, they should see God’s work highlighted so it stands out, and they can see it more clearly. We should be so much like Jesus that our lives constantly ‘highlight’ who he is.” 

OBJECT LESSON 6: LUNCH MONEY

Lesson: Accepting Salvation 

Bible Verse: John 3:16 

Jesus paid the price for us to have a relationship with God, but it’s our choice to accept that relationship or not. 

Prep 

Get 2 $5 bills and get 2 cool prizes. 

Mark your Bible to John 3:16. 

Demonstration 

Call up 2 volunteers and give each a $5 bill. Tell them that they can use their $5 to get a prize you have for them or they can keep the money. After they think about it a moment, tell them there’s a catch. Say, “If you keep the money, you can have it the entire class time, but you must give it back before you leave the room when class is over.” 

Then let them either purchase the prizes or keep the money (until class is over). 

Object Lesson 

Ask students: 

1. “What was a better decision in this situation?” (Take responses) “Yeah, the prize they could keep!” 

2. “When did the prize become the volunteers’ to keep?” (Take responses) “Right, when they gave me the money for it.” 

3. “Many of you go to school with lunch money in your pocket, but it’s your choice to spend the money or not. If you’re in the cafeteria, when does a lunch tray become yours?” (Take responses) “Right! After you pay for it! So it’s not enough to have lunch money, you have to pay for lunch if you want food.” 

Having a relationship with God works the same way. Jesus died on a cross to pay for our sins so that we can freely know God, but that’s not enough. We have to decide whether we will accept that gift and use Jesus’ sacrifice to pay for our sins or not, just like we have to decide whether to spend our lunch money or not. 

However, the great news is that all we have to do is to believe Jesus is Gods’ son, ask him to forgive us for everything we’ve done wrong, and commit to loving and obeying him. 

John 3:16 sums this all up saying, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”” 

Wrap Up 

“God is offering us a relationship with Him, but we have to do our part and accept His offer and then we will have a relationship with Jesus forever.” 

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

OBJECT LESSON 7: MARKERS

Lesson: Unique & Valued 

Bible Verse: 1 Corinthians 12:21 

Everyone in the Body of Christ is unique and valuable. 

Prep 

Get a whiteboard/white poster and as many different colored markers as you can find. 

Draw a line in each color on your whiteboard or poster. 

Mark your Bible to 1 Corinthians 12:21. 

Demonstration 

Call up a volunteer to the whiteboard or poster. 

Go through the colored lines one at a time and have all your student’s raise their hands for which color they think is best. 

Have your volunteer write the number of hands raised for each color beside each colored line. 

Object Lesson 

“Honestly, is one color better or more important than another? 

Well, you may think so, but that’s just your opinion. 

No colors are good, bad, or better or worse than others. 

You may like one color more than another, but that’s just your taste versus someone else’s. 

Just like all colors are different and beautiful in their own way, all followers of Jesus are different but special and have their own unique purpose. 

The Bible tells us that all people who follow Jesus make up the Body of Christ, and we each have a special but different role in the Body. 

1 Corinthians 12:21 explains, “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” Every Believer is different but important.”” 

Wrap Up 

“Just like we use different colors for different purposes, we are each different and made for different purposes. None of us are better or worse than others, we all are created differently so that we can work together to make one beautiful picture.” 

OBJECT LESSON 8: P.E. / SPORTS

Lesson: Prayer 

Prayer practice makes perfect! 

Prep 

None! 

Demonstration 

Ask two volunteers to come to the front of your class and have them try to pat the top of their heads while rubbing their stomachs in a circle motion at the same time. 

After they try for a minute, have everyone else stand up and try. Then give everyone a minute or two to practice. Then see if anyone is able to do both at the same time successfully. 

Object Lesson 

“Just like with patting our heads while rubbing our bellies, if we don’t practice certain athletic activities or sports, we aren’t as good as we could be. Even if you’re naturally good at a certain sport, failure to practice will keep you from being the best you can be. 

Practicing is often hard and takes a lot of patience because it’s not easy to challenge yourself to improve. But luckily, when we see positive results, we forget all the hassle of practicing. 

Can anyone tell us about something you weren’t good at, but eventually got better at with practice? 

That’s a lot like how prayer works. Sometimes praying can be hard. It can be really difficult to make time to pray, and then when we do pray, we get distracted or can’t think of anything to say to God. 

The good news is that the more we practice praying, the easier and more natural it is. 

If you will take the time and effort to practice praying, it will get easier and you’ll get much better at it!” 

Wrap Up 

“I challenge you to start praying 5 full minutes every morning before school this week. Wake up 5 minutes early, kneel beside your bed, and talk and listen to God the whole time. This may be hard at first, but with practice you will be shocked at how easy and enjoyable it will become.” 

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OBJECT LESSON 9: PENCIL SHARPENER

Lesson: Stronger Together 

Bible Verse: Proverbs 27:17 

We are called to help make our fellow Christians stronger. 

Prep 

Get 4 unsharpened pencils, a pencil sharpener, a rock, a piece of paper, and a lemon. 

Mark your Bible to Proverbs 27:17. 

Demonstration 

Call up 4 volunteers and give each an unsharpened pencil and 1 of the 4 other items. 

Then tell them they each have 20 seconds to sharpen their pencil using only what they each have. Obviously only one will be successful. 

Object Lesson 

“No matter how much you need or want a pencil sharpened, a lemon cannot sharpen it. 

And without being sharpened, a pencil isn’t useful at all. 

Being sharp reminds me of the verse Proverbs 27:17 which says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” 

We are called as followers of Jesus to “sharpen” each other; to help each other become stronger and more purposeful Christians. 

Some ways we can sharpen each other are: to pray for each other, to be encouraging, to be good examples, and to lovingly teach each other. 

But we have to remember, for us to make others sharp we have to be sharp ourselves.” 

Wrap Up 

“We are called to be sharp and to help sharpen our fellow Jesus followers. The sharper we are, the sharper those around us will be by spending time together.” 

OBJECT LESSON 10: WHITEBOARD

Lesson: Forgiveness 

Bible Verses: Isaiah 43:25; 1 John 1:9 

Jesus wants to erase all our sins forever. 

Prep 

Get a clean whiteboard, 2 dry erase markers and 2 erasers and/or cleaning spray and paper towels. 

Mark your Bible to Isaiah 43:25 and 1 John 1:9. 

Demonstration 

Invite 2 volunteers to the white board and give both of them a dry erase marker. 

Direct them to use the markers to make the board as “messy” as they can within 15 seconds. 

When the time is up, invite 2 new volunteers and give them each erasers or cleaning spray and paper towels and have them clean the board completely as quickly as they can. 

Object Lesson 

“Now that it’s erased, can you still see the marks on the white board? 

What if these marks had been made and erased 2 weeks ago? Could they just reappear on their own? 

Right. Once something has been erased from a whiteboard (as long as it was erased well) you can’t see it again. It doesn’t matter if it was just erased an hour ago or years ago. 

In the same way, when we ask Jesus to forgive our sins he forgives them completely. It doesn’t matter if you start to have a relationship with Jesus today, or made that commitment years ago. Once you ask God to forgive you, he erases all your sins and they are forgotten completely. 

In Isaiah 43:25 God says, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.” 

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We’re excited to announce the release of the 2023 Preteen Back to School Bundle!

Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond.

The bundle includes these preteen ministry series:

BACK TO SCHOOL – This 4-week back to school series teaches preteens about loving God and others, being a good friend to others, God’s purpose, and having a kingdom mindset.

SALT & LIGHT – This new and improved 4-week series helps preteens become salt and light to the world around them.

ROOTED – This new & improved 4-week series helps preteens become grounded in their faith as they follow Jesus. This series will help students build a strong foundation as they study the basic fundamentals of their faith – salvation, repentance, how to grow their relationship with Jesus, and how to share their faith.

JESUS’ PARABLES – A new & improved 4-week preteen series taking a look at Jesus’ parables in a unique & interesting way. We’ll dive into the Lost Parables (Luke 15:1-32), Good Samaritan )Luke 10:25-37;), the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23; Matthew 9:35-38), and the Builders (Matthew 7:24-27).

And more!

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“Don’t tell me what to do!”

That phrase either runs through the mind or pops out of the mouth of every preteen student at one time or another.

Instinctively, none of us like being told what to do, but as followers of Jesus it’s less about what we want and more about who we love and how we demonstrate it.

Use this preteen lesson to teach students that we obey God because we love Him.

  • Nick Diliberto, Preteen Ministry

PRETEEN MINISTRY LESSON ON OBEDIENCE

DOWNLOAD THE PDF OF THIS LESSON

Bible: Isaiah 38:1-5

Bottom Line: We obey God because we love Him.

SUPPLIES

  • Masking tape
  • Strips of fabric cut into blindfolds (one for each student)

OPENING GAME: CROWDED OBSTACLE COURSE

GAME PREP

Use the masking tape to create two maze patterns on the floor – one for each team.

Note: You can find some great, easy maze patterns if you search the internet – “masking tape maze.”

Each maze should be wide enough for one person to walk through it and should extend from one side of your youth space to the other.

Cut strips of fabric to use as blindfolds and give one to each student.

Divide students into two teams of equal size.

Have each team pick one student from their team who will not be blindfolded.

Have the blindfolded students stand at one end of the maze and the unblindfolded students stand at the other end of their individual team’s maze.

You will need one adult leader for each team that will watch the teams as they travel through the maze.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Say: Raise your hand if you enjoy being told what to do.

I could have just told you to raise your hands, but I really wanted you to do it because I wanted to know how you feel.

We’re about to play a game where you don’t get to choose what you want to do.

Well, only one of you from each of your teams will get to do what they want.

When I say “GO,” you’re going to put on your blindfolds and put your hands on the shoulders of the person in front of you.

Your teammate at the other end of the maze will begin telling you what to do so you can successfully make it through the maze – as a team. 

If someone on your team steps outside of the maze lines or takes their blindfold off, the leader that is watching your team will take you out of the game and your team will have to start at the beginning of the maze again.

The object of the game is for your team to successfully walk through the maze.

Here’s a hint – walk slowly so you can hear instructions from your teammate that is telling you where to walk.

The team that makes it through the maze with the greatest number of people left at the end of the game – wins!

TEACH

Say: Some people view being told what to do as “taking orders” or “being bossed around.”

But as followers of Jesus, being obedient to what God says is part of our daily lives.

When we obey what God tells us to do we should to do it out of a willing heart that understands His direction for our lives is given because He loves us.

So, when we make decisions that we wouldn’t have chosen on our own, but know it’s what God wants us to do, we need to trust that God knows what is best for us.

Sometimes that’s really hard – like when someone tells a lie about you and instead of getting back at them, you show them love.

Why? Because the Bible says to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

And sometimes it’s really, really hard to do the right thing – like if you saw someone drop money and your family could really use it to pay the bills.

But, you know that it doesn’t belong to you and the Bible says, “Don’t steal.”

So, instead of taking it you trust God to provide for your family.

I think we can agree that it’s much easier to be obey God when everything is going great in our lives, but what about the times when it isn’t.

“Obedience is not a momentary option… it is a die-cast decision made beforehand.” 

Meaning that before you are ever in a situation where you have to choose to be obedient, you should have already decided that you willbe obedient.

That is a quote from Nate Saint – a man who was killed by a tribe in Ecuador while he was sharing the Gospel. 

Before he had the option to choose to obey God, he had already decided that he would – and in his case, no matter what.

Ask: Are you known as being an obedient person? What do obedient people do?

Allow a few responses from students.

In the Old Testament, we read about King Hezekiah.

Here are a few quick things about his life in case you have never heard of him:

He became the King of Judah when he was about 25 years old and reigned for 29 years.

His name means “Yahweh (Jehovah) strengthens.”

When he became king, he went to great lengths to get rid of the idols that were all over the city and place God back at the center of Jerusalem.

He was known as being a great and good king and for his obedience to God throughout his entire life.

Read Isaiah 38:1-5.

About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’”

When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord:“Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life…”

This story is really interesting because Hezekiah was about to die.

In fact, God sent Isaiah, a prophet with a message for Hezekiah – “you are going to die.”

That would be an upsetting message to receive!

But Hezekiah reminded God how he had lived a faithful life of doing what pleased God.

And what did God do?

He sent Isaiah back to Hezekiah to tell him that He heard his prayer and was going to add fifteen years to his life!

Wow! Maybe that story wouldn’t have ended the same way if Hezekiah couldn’t say that about his life, or maybe it would have… we don’t know.

But God honored Hezekiah because Hezekiah had a heart that obeyed God.

Today, my prayer for each of you is that you would choose to obey God, not because you have to, but because you love Him and you want to honor Him with your life.

It won’t be easy, but if you ask, God will help you obey what He says.

Close in prayer.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Can you think of a time when it would have been easier to do what you wanted instead of obeying God?
  2. Have you ever seen someone suffer the consequences of disobeying God?
  3. Why is it sometimes difficult to do what God says? 
  4. How do we know what God says? What are some ways that He talks to us?
  5. What did you learn from the story of King Hezekiah?
  6. What are some things you can do to help you choose to obey God before you have to make decisions?
  7. Do people who don’t follow God ever obey what He says? How?
  8. Does it get easier or harder to do the right things as you grow older?
  9. Think about the last time you disobeyed your parents or teachers. Why do you think you made the decisions you made?
  10. How does today’s lesson help you think about what it means to be obedient?

DOWNLOAD THE PDF OF THIS LESSON

PRETEEN MINISTRY LESSON ON WORSHIP

No matter our age, life is challenging and we need God’s wisdom on a daily basis.

The new year is a great time to remind preteens that no matter where they are in their walk with God, they can always ask Him for help to live a life that honors God.

Use this preteen ministry lesson to remind students to seek God’s wisdom every day of the year.

– Nick Diliberto, Ministry to Preteens

Looking for preteen ministry curriculum? Check out our…

One Year Preteen Curriculum, Volume 2 – Get one year of preteen ministry curriculum designed to help 4th-6th graders explore their faith and wholeheartedly follow Jesus.

one year of tween bible lessons

PRETEEN MINISTRY NEW YEAR’S LESSON

Bible: Psalm 90:12

Bottom Line: Seek God’s wisdom every day of the year.

SUPPLIES

  • Paper party horns (one for each person)
  • TEAM A and TEAM B Song Lists
  • 2 Clipboards
  • 2 pens/pencils

OPENING GAME: PARTY HORN CHOIR COMPETITION

GAME PREP

Divide students into two teams of equal size and have them form huddles.

Choose one to be TEAM A and another TEAM B.

Assign a leader to each team who will serve as a “judge” and keep score for their team.

Give each leader their team’s “SONG LIST,” a clipboard, and a pen/pencil.

Give each student a party horn and instruct them not to blow in it until they are instructed to.

TEAM A SONG LIST

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Happy Birthday

Amazing Grace

Yankee Doodle

Deck the Halls

Joy to the World

Star Spangled Banner

TEAM B SONG LIST

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Jingle Bells

Ring Around the Rosie

When the Saints Go Marching In

Twelve Days of Christmas

God Bless America

Jesus Loves Me

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Say: Have you ever been given one of these party horns at a birthday party?

When a little kid gets a hold of one of them… they can be kind of annoying!

But, today, we all have them and we’re about to make a lot of noise!

Each of you has been placed on a team and given a party horn.

For our game, the teams will take turns – TEAM A will go first.

TEAM A will choose one person from their team to stand up in front of everyone.

The leader for TEAM A will tell the rest of the huddled team the name of the first song on their list.

When the leader says “GO,” TEAM A will begin to sing or play the song through their party horns – all together, like a Party Horn Choir.

The person up front will have 30 seconds to guess the title of the song.

If they succeed, they get ONE point for their team.

If they are unsuccessful in guessing, then TEAM B will get one guess.

If TEAM B guesses correctly, they get TWO points for their team.

Then, the next round will begin with a person from TEAM B standing up front.

The same process will continue back and forth until all of the songs have been played by the Party Horn Choirs.

The team with the most points at the end of the game – wins!

You might want to collect all of the party horns at the end of the game so the students are not tempted to play them during the lesson.

TEACH

Say: It’s exciting to begin a new year!

Usually, as we reflect on everything that has happened in the previous year, we also look forward to a fresh start in the new year.

And let’s face it, most of us could really benefit from a new beginning.

But, just because the calendar changes from one year to the next doesn’t mean that anything else has really changed in our lives.

Tough situations, strained friendships, the grades you have earned that you aren’t happy about… they don’t disappear on January 1st.

So, while the New Year brings us hope that things can be different unless we seek God’s help and make changes, nothing will really change.

When we ask, God can give us the wisdom we need to make good decisions every day of the year.

Read Psalm 90:12.

So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Ask: Does anyone know the age of the oldest person who has ever lived? (In modern time… because people in the Bible lived for extraordinary amounts of time.)

Allow a few guesses from students.

The oldest living person recorded in recent history was Jeanne Louise Calment.

She lived to be over 122 years – that’s 44,694 days!

Jeanne had a strict routine that she had followed for the last half of her life.

That routine included a morning ritual – every day, she requested to be woken at 6:45 am and started the day with a long prayer at her window thanking God for being alive and for the beautiful day which was starting.

She was in the habit of spending time with God before she did anything else for the day.

Ask: Can you think of any routines that someone could have in their life that involve their relationship with God?

Allow a few responses from students.

Those were some great answers – talking to God, keeping a journal of things God has done in your life, spending time with other people who encourage you in your faith – those are all things that prioritize your relationship with God.

If you live to be 122 years old, wouldn’t it be incredible to look back on your life and realize you lived with wisdom and knowledge God gave to you?

Well, that begins with asking God to give you wisdom today.

The scripture we read in Psalms talked about gaining a “heart of wisdom.”

The author Charles Dickens said, “There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart.”

That’s a great way to illustrate the difference between our own wisdom and God’s wisdom.

“Wisdom of the head” refers to the times when we think and come up with our own ideas and plans.

“Wisdom of the heart” is the kind of wisdom God wants to give to us.

In the Bible, our hearts represent our inner self, our soul, the part of us that can choose to love God.

God wants to give us the wisdom to make good decisions, to know the right things to say and do, and the paths to take for our lives.

On our own, we often make decisions based on emotions and feelings.

God’s wisdom helps us decide things based on His Word and His truths that never change.

Every day, we can choose to ask God to help us be wise and understand things that otherwise we wouldn’t know.

In the Old Testament, we read about King Solomon.

When he was 20 years old he became the King in Jerusalem.

I’m pretty sure he had a ton of questions – otherwise, how would he know how to rule a kingdom at such a young age?

The Bible says that God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wanted.

Ask: If God offered to give you anything, what would you ask for?

Allow a few responses from students.

Solomon could have asked for anything – wealth, success, anything you can think of, but Solomon asked God for wisdom and God gave it to him.

And he continued to seek after God’s wisdom throughout his life.

Imagine sitting here again at this time next year – how differently would your life be if you asked God for wisdom every day?

Maybe you won’t argue with others as much or use your time unwisely.

Maybe you will be more intentional about taking time for other people and spending time with God.

This year, right now, ask God to give you the wisdom that you need, and then ask him every day.

And when He does, thank God for providing the knowledge you need to live for him.

Close in prayer.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Do you have any daily routines that help you get closer to God?
  2. Why do we feel like a new year is like starting over even if nothing has changed?
  3. Why do you think King Solomon asked God for wisdom when he could have asked for anything?
  4. Have you ever made an unwise decision and suffered the consequences? Give us an example.
  5. How would your life be different if you asked God for wisdom every day?
  6. Can you think of a situation where God gave you the wisdom to know what to do? How did you know it was God and just not common sense?
  7. Have you ever been scared to make decisions because you might not be doing the right thing? How would asking God for wisdom give you confidence?
  8. Can God give you wisdom to share with other people? How?
  9. Think of an area of your life that you need God’s help. If you’re comfortable, share it with your group and pray that God will give you wisdom.
  10. Who is the wisest person you know? What makes them seem to be wise.

[End Lesson]

Looking for preteen ministry curriculum? Check out our…

One Year Preteen Curriculum, Volume 2 – Get one year of preteen ministry curriculum designed to help 4th-6th graders explore their faith and wholeheartedly follow Jesus.

one year of tween bible lessons

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