Wondering if a sermon notebook is necessary? You will love how it will help your kids get more out of the sermon and GROW in faith!
I grew up in the church. Twice on Sundays and once on Wednesdays, I would sit next to my mom in the pews. I remember gazing up at the stained glass windows for what seemed like hours and hours each time we went to church. Sometimes my sister and I would draw “sermon notes” on the church bulletin, but let’s just say those notes weren’t so focused on the actual sermon.
Sadly, I don’t remember much of anything all of those pastors preached. As a result, when I grew up and life threw curveballs into my neatly manicured white-picket-fence life, I had little foundation to help me. In fact, I almost become one of those statistics.
I desperately needed a personal faith. I had the Christian label and a salvation story, but zero application of that in my own life.
If there is anything I want to do as a parent, it’s to make sure this doesn’t happen to my kids. I can’t guarantee they will choose to have a personal relationship with Christ, but I can make sure they have the foundation and teaching they need to understand why they would want one.
As parents, God commands us to teach our children diligently, to provide for them, and to live a Christ-like example before them. Of course, this starts at home with an intentional plan for devotions for kids. But we can’t stop there.
What we do in the pews of our local churches is crucial to the spiritual growth of our kids.
I can’t wait to show you how a sermon notebook will help you provide the foundation your kids need!
Why take sermon notes?
When both of my girls began attending worship with me, I had some very clear ideas of what I wanted to see. Since I knew something was lacking from my childhood, I paid close attention to this topic. Books like Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship were helpful in guiding my thoughts as I considered what was important to my family.
I realized that the message I’m sending to my kids in the pew is loud and clear.
The things I allow my kids to do or NOT do during the sermon clearly communicate to them the value I place on the sermon.
Mostly, I wanted for them to NEVER get the idea that worship was something we HAVE to do or HATE to do. I also wanted to be sure I didn’t convey the message that the pastor’s sermon was boring or that they needed to be entertained during that time. So I set forth a few guidelines:
*Sitting in the pews with me was never a punishment…it was a joyful privilege!
*Electronics, coloring books, puzzles, and other distractions were to have no place in the pew with us.
*Full participation would be expected of all my children. (That means no sleeping, sitting during songs, or flipping through the Bible/Hymnal for fun.)
Now, I don’t want anyone to read that and think I’m a crazy legalist here. After a lifetime of meaningless pew-sitting, I want to make sure I don’t convey that same idea to my own children.
This starts with the behaviors I don’t want to see, but the best part is the behaviors I do want to see.
From a young age, all my children have carried a notebook to church.
I wish I could say this started because I was intentional to buy them one, but it didn’t. It started because I carry one and my kids wanted to be like me. (Aren’t you thankful when they copy the good stuff and not just the stupid things we do?)
My oldest daughter saw me carrying a sermon notebook each week and wanted one of her own. So, I bought her a blank notebook too.
She was excited to get hers and took copious notes (by copying mine) for many weeks. As time went on, I found that she was struggling a lot to figure out what to write down. My pastor is partially to blame for this as he isn’t much of an outline kinda guy, but even if he was I think she would still have struggled to take notes in the same manner I did.
So, I created a sermon notebook specifically designed for kids. Instead of blank spaces, it was designed to help the kids focus on the sermon and actually record key points they could take away from it.
The goal of our sermon notebook
The sermon notebook was designed to help kids focus on the sermon and record the key points in a simple way. I wanted something that would be easily understood (so parents didn’t have to help), but at the same time still hold the interest of kids of all ages.
Most importantly, I wanted to create something that would excite our children and capitalize on their love of God’s Word so they could grow in faith!
What is included?
The sermon notebook starts with an “about me” page which includes name, grade, and space for the child’s testimony. This part is a precious keepsake as your kids grow.
The notebook also includes a favorite verses page and a prayer request page. My kids love to jot down requests that are mentioned in the service and pray for them throughout the week.
The heart of the sermon notebook is the 52 pages for taking sermon notes. This gives kids space for one sermon per week for an entire year or 6 months if you have 2 sermons a week.
We have 2 age levels: junior and youth. The junior sermon notebook is written for kids ages 4-10. Pictured above, it includes boxes with common words your kids might hear during the sermon. They can draw a star each time they hear it or simply make a tally mark.
The junior sermon notebook also includes a space at the bottom for kids to draw a picture. The text encourages them to draw something related to what they are learning. (Some kids listen better when they draw!)
The youth sermon notebook is designed for ages 10 and up. Instead of space for tally marks, there are two unique note-taking pages designed to draw their attention to the sermon.
The first page focuses on keywords and themes in the sermon. The second focuses on the passage that is being preached.
Get your Sermon Notebook For Kids
If you are looking for ways to help your kids grow in faith and develop a personal relationship with Jesus, this sermon notebook is for you! Give your kids the tools they need to know and understand God’s Word.
Click the image below to find out more about our sermon notebook for kids.
April Christmas says
This is so great! I have been trying to find something like this for my SS kids I have the 8-12 year olds and I believe they should be learning to sit in services. I also want them to enjoy it and not be entertaining themselves with things. Thanks again for all this!
Kim Sorgius says
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that you can use it.
Jayne Testor says
Thank you Kim for these wonderful sermon notes 😀 surely my 7 yr.old and 15 yr.old will love it. Stay Blessed and continue to inspire others 😀
Kim Sorgius says
You’re welcome!
Chellie says
I have been trying to design something like this for my kiddos. My oldest uses the note outline our pastor has printed on our weekly bulletin, and she helps her brother to fill out the major points, but I have been really trying to figure something out for my two youngest. Thank you so much for giving these away. They are exactly what I am needing. I am so glad to have found your blog and have been very blessed to read it for several months now.
Kim Sorgius says
Aww…you’re so sweet! I’m thrilled that you will be able to use them!
Heatherly says
Thank you for this!
Tonia says
Great ideas! I teach sunday school and once a month or so I keep the kids upstairs and I’m teaching them to take notes during the sermon. Such a good thing for kids to learn.
Danielle says
First, thank you so much for this. I have been trying to figure a way to get my son to pay better attention to the sermons in church! I so appreciate you sharing this! My question though…..What size is the printed version? When I downloaded it, it looked like it was half a page size but I do not get how to assemble it to look right. Can you help? Do I print it double sided? Thanks!
Kim Sorgius says
Yes they are half pages. You can print them double sided and that should work perfectly!
Melanie says
Hi! I tried printing them double sided, and the pages are all out of order when you assemble the booklet. Maybe I’m doing it wrong? Do you mean print it double sided and then fold like a booklet? If so, I think that’s what I did. Do you think you could describe how to put the pages in order to make the booklet? Thanks so much!
Melanie
Kim Sorgius says
I actually didn’t fold them. The main pages are actually super easy. The first few might take a few minutes of positioning to get them just right. One option, if you can’t figure it out is to just print the first few pages without being back-to-back. Then you can do the main pages after that. Hope that helps!
Christi says
Hi! This is such an amazing resource and I am so excited to have found it! However, I am also a little confused on how to put this together. Did you cut the pages in half and staple? It very much looks like it is meant to be a booklet but I can’t seem to get the pages to line up right. What order did you put them in? I would really appreciate any help you could offer. I’m sure I am making this more difficult than it has to be! Ha!
Kim Sorgius says
You should be able to print and fold in the exact order we have them in the file.
Linda says
Wow! My child is getting baptized this weekend, and he struggles with listening to the sermon. He already has a Bible and a worship basket (for personal devotions- contains Bible lesson study papers, ruler for underlining, Bible marking pencils, journal and pen, devotional, & his Bible stays there when it’s not in use), so I was at a loss about what to do for a gift for his baptism. This is it. Thanks so much!
Kim Sorgius says
What a GREAT idea!
Lacy says
Thank you for this. I have been paying my girls to write down the scripture references (1 cent for each reference 5 cents if it is spelled correctly and 10 cents if they write the whole scripture) pastor uses to keep them listening. I love this writing the main points also. I may have to reconfigure the sermon page a little to fit our service but the rest is lovely. Our pastor uses many many scripture references throughout the sermon.
Vivian Brister says
I couldn’t get it to let me enter my information. The fields were there, but no button to submit them. I so want this outline as my son just recently decided to leave the kids class to attend the adult service so he can “learn more”.
Kim Sorgius says
Hmm…that was weird. I fixed it. Please try again!
Karen says
Do you have a notebook for adults to purchase?
Kim Sorgius says
No, unfortunately I don’t. I guess I should consider that, huh? 🙂
vicki says
Hi,
Thanks for this post, it has really helped my husband and I. We have just started ministry in a church w no kids programs, we have been looking for new a creative ideas for our 5 – 11 years olds. We have a total no technology in church or on Sunday just give us all a day off a week. Do you find it difficult talking to other parents that allow technology in church? We find it difficult as our kids gravitate to screens and think we are the bad guys when we ask them to turn away. So good to hear what you have to say.
Kim Sorgius says
At my present church, it’s not a problem. Parents are rather serious about discipling their children, especially in the service. At previous churches, there were many things that I found that I was the “bad guy” on. I just always try to explain to my kids that I am accountable for the decisions in our family and that I have to make decisions based on what I believe God is telling me through His Word. I never make it about other people, but it does naturally point out that others are doing it. The bottom line in this case is that if we are Christians, we should be thirsty for what is going on in the service!
Linda says
I wish I’d have found this before I got my son in the bad habit of taking his iPad mini to service. I can’t wait to start implementing it and having some interesting conversations about what was learned.
Kim Sorgius says
It’s never too late to start over. Whenever I change something like this with my kids (and it happens often enough), I’m usually very honest with them. I just tell them that I messed up and that I should have let them do that. I tell them that it’s my job to parent and I failed them. It’s amazing what this kind of humility does for the situation. Seems like it makes them so much more willing to make the change!
Nikki says
thanks for sharing! I love the “rules”! I think it’s great to set the expectation of participating during service. Great job!
Elaine Driggers says
I would like an adult copy of sermons!
Stacy White says
I gave this to my 7-year-old last Sunday and she LOVED it! The best part was watching her give the completed sheet to our pastor. He got to see evidence of a young child who was enthusiastically and whole-heartedly listening to his sermon. Thank you so much for providing this resource.
Kim Sorgius says
How sweet! I love that.
shannon says
I love this idea and use something much like it for my older daughter. I keep seeing a picture with a pink and lime green “theme” that leads me to this page every time…is that one available for download? I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Thanks for any help!
Julie says
I have been looking for something to use with 11 and 12 year old girls. The youngest is very new to church, but the older has grown up in the church. This is perfect! It is simple without being childish. This is a great beginners guide to worship notes. I plan to print them out and put them in a binder so wet can just add more as needed. Thank you so much for this wonderful resource!
Kim Sorgius says
So glad it’s useful!
Julie says
Thank you so much for making this available not only to families, but to ministries as well!! I’ll be sharing your site with the families here at Wesley UMC so they can look for more resources to meet their needs as well. 🙂
Angela says
God Bless You!! Thank You so much for such a wonderful resource. Our church just launched a Spiritual and Academic Program for our youth. I’ve looked all over trying to find a sermon notebook for the Kids. Again Thank You so much!!! This is AMAZING!!!