Need ideas for how to make your Bible lessons for kids more fun? Try these 10 best Bible puppets for children’s ministry to spice up your Sunday School lessons or children’s church session!
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How to keep kids interested in your Bible lesson
Do you ever struggle to keep kids’ attention during your Bible lessons?
I’m a BIG believer in using as many fun, unique teaching aids as you can to catch kids’ interest while you teach. But I also think you shouldn’t have to spend much on your teaching aids, either.
That’s why Bible puppets are such a fantastic idea for your Sunday School or children’s ministry. You can get nice hand puppets relatively inexpensively—and then you can use them again and again and again!
Plus, you can also give them to the kids after your lesson and let them retell the story, using the puppets. Voila! Another easy way to reinforce your lesson!
The top 10 Bible puppets for kids
These are the top 10 Bible character puppets I’d recommend for your kids’ ministry or children’s church:
Scroll down for details about each recommendation!
1. Adam & Eve puppets
This is where it all starts. But you’ll have a hard time finding Adam & Eve puppets in their original outfits!
My recommendation? Find a generic puppet like this dad and mom puppet and glue or pin a few felt leaves to the clothing. Your kids will get the idea. 😉
2. Noah puppet
The story of Noah and the ark is one of the best-known in the entire Bible. My favorite aspect of this story, though, is how it hints at the concept of salvation—laying the groundwork for the Savior to come.
Teach Noah’s story to your Sunday School class using the “Noah” puppet!
3. Shepherd puppet
The shepherd is a fantastic generic Bible character puppet. He’s sold as a shepherd, but he could easily be any young man in the Bible, such as Jacob, Joseph, or Daniel.
If your budget is super tight but you’d still like to begin a Bible puppet collection for your children’s ministry, make this shepherd puppet one of your first purchases. He will serve you well! 😉
4. Joseph puppet
Joseph’s story has the same powerful effect as Noah’s—it foreshadows the story of the Savior!
The “Joseph” Bible character puppet lacks the coat of many colors, which means he could also double as the Joseph of the New Testament who married Jesus’s mother (or any of the other Josephs in the New Testament, for that matter). It would also be easy to buy or make a coat of many colors for this Joseph puppet.
5. Moses puppet
How can you build a Bible puppet collection without including the man who wrote the first five books of the Old Testament and led the nation of Israel for so many years?!
The “Moses” puppet could easily double for any of the old patriarchs, too, with his white hair and long beard.
6. David puppet
Here’s another man who contributed huge sections to the Bible—the “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).
Plus, the “King David” puppet can also stand in as Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, or any other ruler in your Bible story! 😉
7. Mary puppet
There are certainly many important women in the Bible, and although the mother of Jesus is the only one who made this list, the “Mary” puppet can certainly play the part of any other female biblical character as well, with her flowing outfit and white headcovering.
8. Lamb puppet
If you’re going to buy just one animal puppet, make it a lamb. The Bible mentions lambs frequently, because of their connection with sacrifice and with Christ, the “Lamb” of God.
We use our lamb a LOT; I’m so thankful that we have it! Grab your own lamb puppet here.
9. Children puppets
I am passionate about helping kids realize that the Bible isn’t just old stories; it’s something that is meaningful for them, today, in their lives!!
I hope you share that same passion to teach your kids that the Bible makes a difference in their lives, too.
Use modern-day children puppets (like this girl or this boy) to help your kids see how God’s Word applies to kids today!
10. Jesus puppet
Jesus is the most important character in the entire Bible. And yet I’ve saved the “Jesus” puppet for last. In fact, it barely made this list at all. Why? Personally, I feel a little uncomfortable about depicting Christ for kids. I’m not against it; I just think it’s important to present Him in an accurate and respectful way. So sometimes, if I can, I avoid showing the kids pictures of Him, or including Him in skits. Am I weird?? Tell me in the comments whether you agree with me or not! 🙂
That said, I do recognize that He is a key player in many of the stories of the Bible. So I’m not leaving the Jesus puppet off of this list entirely. I realize you may want or need to use this puppet! So here’s the “Jesus” puppet to complete this list of the top 10 Bible puppets I think you should include in your puppet ministry.
The best Bible puppets for children’s ministry
The great thing about Bible puppets is that you can add to your collection bit by bit, if you have to. Purchase just one or two to get started—maybe something generic like the shepherd or the lamb. Then add other Bible characters as you’re able.
And enjoy presenting the accounts of the Bible to your kids in a fun and engaging way! 😀
TEACH THE BIBLE SUCCESSFULLY!
Chris says
I agree with you about the Jesus puppet. I’m a little uncomfortable, too. How can we, who are so imperfect, dramatize Christ, who was truly perfect? I do see the value, though. Maybe use the Jesus puppet when using Scripture for the skit. I’d probably be tempted to do a “What would Jesus do?” kind of skit, showing a tricky scenario for a kid to handle, and then showing how Jesus would handle it…except we can only surmise what Jesus would do, so is it right to put words into the Jesus puppet’s mouth? Probably not. Maybe just stick to scripture for the Jesus puppet, showing an example of what he did and said in the Bible, and have the child puppets think through it, pray about it, and do their best.
I will think about puppets for our ministry!
Sarah at BibleBaton says
Thanks for your thoughts, Chris. I like the idea of only using Scripture quotes for Jesus! 🙂