Helping Children Memorize Scripture

I hope that we can all agree that memorizing God’s Word on a regular basis is important. Since it is important, how can we make it happen in our Olympian Clubs? Before we get into some helpful ideas for helping your children memorize Scripture, let’s discuss some of the philosophy behind why we memorize Scripture. Word of Life’s philosophy on the topic of scripture memory is summed up in this statement: “Internalizing Scripture to connect to life’s needs and problems is essential for a growing, obedient Christian.” As leaders, we can’t focus on our Olympians memorizing just words. If that is our focus, there would be little difference between memorizing Scripture and memorizing a school textbook. Instead, we need to teach children to hide God’s Word in their heart, not just their head. One way to make sure that the children know what the verse means is to regularly ask them questions like: “What does that verse mean?” or “Can you explain that verse in your own words?” Lastly, we need to be very careful how we motivate our Olympians. We may use positive reinforcement such as stickers, certificates and medals; but, our focus is on spiritual growth, not just on the awards.

Here are some ideas for helping children who aren’t doing well memorizing Scripture:

• Work together.
Even if some of the Olympians in your Personal Training group are doing great, having your whole small group work together will encourage those who aren’t doing well, and will teach those who are doing well how to help others.

• Be visual.
Some children learn best with their eyes. Make a poster with pictures representing the words of the verse to help them learn. You can also use motions or sign language to teach the words of the verses.

• Make a game.
One example is to write out a verse on a chalkboard or a whiteboard. Have all your Olympians read the verse out loud. After one time, erase a few words and have them say it again. Keep going through the verse, deleting a few words each time, until all of the words are gone.

• Break them down.
That is the verses, not the Olympians! A whole verse can be intimidating for a child. Instead of focusing on the whole verse at once, have the Olympian work on half or a third of the verse each week, until they get it done. That way, they see progress as they work. The following are ideas for helping children who excel at memorizing scripture:

• Slow them down.
This might seem like the opposite of what you would want to do; but, there is a point to it. When memorizing Scripture comes easy for a child, it can become easy for them to rush through their verses without stopping to apply the verses to their life. For example, if your Olympian has memorized all of her Bronze verses, and the Bronze goal date is still two weeks away, have her review the Bronze verses. If a child is on track with his verses, I would not let them quote more than one to you each week.

• Get them more.
If an Olympian memorizes all of the verses before the end of the club year; there are always more. If they are a Challenger or Conqueror, they can memorize some of the other eight Champion verses. If they are a Champion, there are an additional 24 verses in the Bible Study each year that are not used on the Scripture Memory Cards. They can be found after the lesson title of each lesson where it says “Key Verse.” Having God’s Word hidden in our hearts is one of our best tools for facing temptations.

We need to do our best to help our Olympians have God’s Word memorized and applied to their lives.

[Jordan Wertz is the Word of Life children’s missionary in Eastern Michigan. Jordan and his wife, Bonnie, make their home in Corunna, MI. Questions or comments about this article may be directed to Jordan at jordanwertz@wol.org.]