Back to Basics: 5-Week Children's Ministry Curriculum

“Back to Basics” is a 5-week lesson series that lays a foundation on the doctrine of the church. In these lessons, children will hear a Biblical explanation of why the church does what it does and learn more about various aspects of what makes a church a church – proclaiming the gospel, worshiping, hearing the Bible taught, having Biblical leaders, and observing the ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s Supper). This series is perfect for Sunday School, a midweek discipleship time, or even a special class before children begin to attend the main worship gathering.

For 200+ lessons by Bethany Darwin and many other ministry resources, please click here.

5-Week Curriculum Overview

1. Churches Proclaim the Gospel
   • Text – Acts 4:1-22
   • Peter and John Preach the Gospel
   • Main Point – The Gospel is the Good News that Jesus died to pay the price for sin
2. Churches Worship God
   • Text – John 4, Psalm 100, Romans 12:1, 1 Samuel 15, 1 John 4:19
   • What is Worship?Main Point – Worship is focusing 100% on God
3. Churches Gather to Hear the Bible Taught
   • Text – 2 Timothy 4:1-4
   • Paul’s Charge to Timothy to Teach the Gospel
   • Main Point – Faith Comes from Hearing
4. Churches Have Biblical Leaders
   • Text – Acts 6:1-7
   • The Choosing of the Seven
   • Main Point – God chooses men to be leaders of His church on earth and to teach about Him
5. Churches Celebrate Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
   • Text – Acts 16 and 1 Corinthians 11
   • Lydia’s Baptism and Paul’s Teaching on the Lord’s Supper
   • Main Point – Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are pictures of the gospel in the church

 ** PLEASE NOTE: Lesson 4 on Biblical leaders teaches the roles of elders as overseers and deacons as servants of the church. Lesson 5 on baptism teaches believer's baptism by immersion. With the WORD format included in the download, you can easily edit these sections to fit your church's teaching if different than these views. 

EACH LESSON INCLUDES

• Introductory Activity
• Large Group Worship Time
  • Welcome activity
  • Study God’s Word – teaching materials for the Biblical text
  • Prayer
    
• Small Group Lessons (2 options – ages 5-8 and ages 8-12)
  • Review
  • Application
  • Memory Verse
  • Prayer
  • All necessary printables and resources
• Take home – family devotional guide 

ABOUT THIS CURRICULUM

• Perfect for ages 5-11 (grades K-6 in the USA)
  
• 5-weeks of teaching material
• 125+ pages of material
  
• Requires 60-90 minutes per lesson
• Scripture verses from ESV
• This is an instant download curriculum
  

The key verse for this unit is Romans 10:9 - “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bethany Darwin spent 20 years working full-time in children’s ministry before recently coming home to raise her son. During her years in children’s ministry, Bethany discovered gaps in the available curriculum and often struggled to find a curriculum that worked in her church setting. It was this discovery that awakened a passion in her for writing children’s ministry curriculum. 

Bethany is a popular curriculum writer for Ministry-to-children and you can find many resources of hers there. You can connect with Bethany through Facebook at ‘Treasure Trunk Books’ or on IG at ‘Treasure Trunk Kids.’ On these pages, she shares articles and resources for families as well as what she is doing to point her little one to Christ. You can also find other resources of hers there. Bethany is a member of Bethany Bible Church in Thousand Oaks, CA.