Don’t Guide Your Child in a Salvation Decision without This

“How can I get to Heaven?”

The eyes of a sincere, young child look up at you, eager to know. Maybe this is a child from the Sunday School class you teach. Maybe this child calls you Mommy or Daddy. Regardless of who this child is, can you confidently answer their question? Thankfully, there is a tool you can use both to help a child easily understand the Gospel and prepare yourself to clearly share it.

Guiding a child to Christ is one of the greatest privileges a believer can have. We know Jesus cares for children, and He doesn’t want one to perish without knowing Him (Matthew 18:14). We can be sure that whoever believes in Christ as their Savior will have eternal life (John 3:15-16). Knowing these things, we can have confidence that salvation is also for children. They are fully capable of believing—which is why we must be fully prepared to help children understand the Gospel message.

While there are some great methods you can use to present the Gospel, there is one easy method that can be used with children of any age. This method has a rich heritage of being used in the past by believers such as Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Fanny Crosby, and Amy Carmichael.

The Wordless Book, a simple tool consisting of five different colors used to share the message of salvation, has been effective with children for many years and is still a wonderful resource today. Child Evangelism Fellowship® (CEF®) works to not only produce The Wordless Book, but also train believers on how to use The Wordless Book with children.

Why Use Colors?

The five colors of The Wordless Book work successfully for several reasons. Because it uses colors instead of words, even children too young to read can follow along. The five simple colors also give children a visual to which each main part of the Gospel message can be tied to, aiding in memory and understanding. Many children will be intrigued to hear the story told by a book with no words. At least one Scripture verse is used with every page of The Wordless Book showing the children that the truths they’re being taught are from God Himself and can be found in His Word. These are just a few reasons why The Wordless Book is so effective in sharing the Gospel with children.

The Wordless Book

The first page of The Wordless Book is the gold or yellow color, which is used to gain the child’s interest and teach the child about God. After a few key truths about who God is and how He loves the child are shared, the child will learn about their sin and how it separates them from God on the dark page.

The dark page focuses on the condition of the human heart. This is the page where sin is explained, and examples of sin a child can relate to are given. Also taught on this page are how every person to ever live—including the child—is born in sin and has sinned, and how sin deserves to be punished with separation from God forever.

The red page is where the person and work of Jesus Christ is taught, and how, because of what Jesus has done, the child can be forgiven of their sin. This is also where the child learns Jesus is the only one who can save them from their sins, that He was seen by many people after He died and came back to life, and that He is alive today in Heaven with all power.

The clean page of The Wordless Book is where the child is given an invitation and opportunity to receive Christ as Savior. John 1:12 is used to show the child it is only through belief in Jesus as their Savior from sin that they can become God’s child and have their sins forgiven. A review of the Gospel also happens on this page. Based on the child’s conviction of sin and understanding of the Gospel, the child is asked if they would like to receive Jesus as their Savior. If they say yes, they are invited to pray and tell God they believe in Jesus as their Savior. It is made clear that the prayer does not save the child, but is simply a way they can tell God they are choosing to believe in Jesus. If a child does accept Christ, assurance of salvation, promises of God, and confession of sin for the believer are taught.

The green page is the final page of The Wordless Book. It is used to teach the child who has accepted Christ how they can grow in their new faith. This page teaches the saved child how to get to know God better by going to church, reading the Bible and praying, obeying God and His Word, and by witnessing and telling others who Jesus is and what He has done for them. Here is a great method for helping the saved child remember how to grow in their faith.

Preparing Yourself and the Child

Sharing the Gospel is a great privilege and responsibility. Because of this, it is important to equip yourself to the best of your abilities for this task. This is done by preparing yourself ahead of time. Child Evangelism Fellowship has a free online training seminar on how to present The Wordless Book. CEF also provides a 12-minute demonstration video of The Wordless Book being taught. Through CEF Press, you can purchase additional resources to help you learn how to present The Wordless Book and similar products to a child.

There are other methods you can use to share the Gospel with a child—The Wordless Book is just one. No matter which method you use, prepare yourself beforehand so you can present it comfortably and confidently. Pray that God will prepare the hearts of the children to be ready to receive and accept the Gospel. Pray that God will help you remember what you have prepared and give you opportunities to share the Gospel with others. Finally, pray that the Holy Spirit will work in both of your life and the life of the child as the Gospel is shared. In the words of a recent song by Mercy Me, the Gospel is not just “the good news,” it’s the BEST news ever!

Fred Pry Child Evangelism Fellowship is an international, nonprofit, Christian ministry that has been teaching the Bible to children since 1937. CEF has 400 offices in the USA and is organized in most nations of the world, with over 3,500 paid staff and hundreds of thousands of volunteers. In its last ministry year, CEF ministered to over 25 million children in its face-to-face teaching ministries.

Fred Pry is the Acting Vice President of Administration at Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), the most impactful child evangelism ministry in the world, reaching over 25 million children with its face-to-face ministry in 2023. Fred joined CEF in 2003 as director of a local chapter in Pennsylvania before being appointed state director of Virginia. Later, he was invited to lead USA Ministries, and since 2024 he has been serving in the role of Vice President of Administration and providing further leadership to the organization as one of CEF’s executive staff.