Here is our FREE Fishers of Men Sunday School Lesson! Teach kids that God wants us to love others and introduce them to Jesus. And by the end of this lesson, kids will learn that people are drawn to Jesus when we share God's love. This lesson is great for every Children's Ministry, Kids Church, and Sunday School! Gentoos are the fastest swimmers of all penguins and excellent at catching fish. Jesus wants us to be fishers of men, and share the gospel by sharing Jesus’ love. A good fisherman knows that he needs a good lure to draw in the fish. Fishers of men know the one thing that draws people to Jesus is His love. Ask God to make you a fisher of men. Ask him to help you share His love with others. Then be ready to tell your friends about Jesus once you have their attention. And, if you like this lesson we have over 100 more free Sunday School Lessons for Kids! You're also going to want to take a look at our  Penguins 4-Week Children's Ministry Curriculum. 

Fishers of Men Sunday School Lesson for Kids:

BOTTOM LINE:

God wants us to love others and introduce them to Jesus.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn that people are drawn to Jesus when we share God’s love.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 4:18-22, Fishers of men.

MEMORY VERSE:

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” - Matthew 4:19 (NIV)

SUMMARY:

Gentoos are the fastest swimmers of all penguins and excellent at catching fish. Jesus wants us to be fishers of men, and share the gospel by sharing Jesus’ love.

SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Thank for you the people who taught us about Jesus. Use us to share His love with others.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

MEMORY VERSE

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” - Matthew 4:19 (NIV)

“Come. Follow me,” Jesus said. “I will make you fishers of people.” - Matthew 4:19 (NIrV)

LARGE GROUP:

Divide the room into girls and boys. Have the boys read it aloud, and then have the girls read it aloud. Who can read the loudest?

SMALL GROUP:

Give all the kids a Bible.  Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

 

SKIT

FISHERS OF MEN

ITEMS NEEDED:

A toy penguin

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:

2M

CHARACTERS:

Kurt - A penguin expert

Peter - An apostle

Kurt enters, carrying the penguin. Peter enters from the other side of the stage.

KURT: This is a penguin.

PETER: And I am Peter.

KURT: Penguins eat fish.

PETER: I eat fish too.

KURT: Penguins are excellent fishermen.

PETER: I am a fisher of men.

KURT: Penguins can swim up to 35 miles an hour!

PETER: I can walk about three miles in an hour, unless it’s uphill.

KURT: Penguins dive deep under the water to catch their fish.

PETER: I walked on water once, but only because I was looking at Jesus.

KURT: When a penguin catches fish, he eats it.

PETER: I… don’t eat the people I catch. That would be gross.

KURT: The penguin uses its beak to do the catching.

PETER: And I use love.

KURT: I’m sorry, did you say love?

PETER: Absolutely. Nothing catches people faster than the love of Jesus.

KURT: Jesus? Who’s Jesus?

PETER: Oh, he’s God’s Son.

KURT: Really?

PETER: He was one of my best friends. In fact, he’s the guy who made me a fisher of men.

KURT: Why did he do that?

PETER: So that other people would know that Jesus loves them.

KURT: And?

PETER: And, so they could have eternal life.

KURT: Eternal life? I want to have eternal life.

PETER: See? Told you it works.

KURT: What works?

PETER: The love of Jesus. Catches people every time.

KURT: Ha, well you caught me.

PETER: I’m so glad I did. Come on, I’ll tell you more about Jesus.

KURT: Can I bring the penguin?

PETER: That would be lovely!

 

OBJECT LESSON

ITEMS NEEDED:

A fishing pole with bait

A red paper heart

Have any of you ever been fishing? Fishing is a fun, quiet, and relaxing hobby. It’s a great way to spend some time outdoors, and it’s fun to catch fish for sport, or for food.

It doesn’t take much to get started, either. You need a pole, a line, and one thing more. Do you know what that is?

You need to put some bait on the line. Whether it’s a worm, a smaller fish, or a specially made lure, you need something to catch the fish’s eye and make him bite.

Jesus wants us to be fishers of men. Like any good fishermen, we need to have good bait when we go fishing (attach the paper heart onto the hook). The best bait is the love of God. When we love others the way Jesus loves us, we show people how much Jesus loves them. Nothing draws people to Jesus more than seeing real love in action.

Jesus is counting on us to reach out to others and share the good news. Let’s love our neighbors and give them a reason to believe.

 

LARGE GROUP GAME

GOIN’ FISHIN’

ITEMS NEEDED:

Paper cut outs of fish with paperclips attached

Fishing poles with a magnet at the end of the string

INSTRUCTIONS:

Choose two players for this game. Set the fish on the ground. Each player will have 30 seconds to catch as many fish as he can. The person who catches the most fish wins.

VARIATION:

You can make it more competitive and challenging for older kids by letting them fish at the same time.

WHAT’S THE POINT?

Jesus wants us to be fishers of men. We can lure others to God by hooking them with the love of Jesus.

 

LARGE GROUP LESSON

BOTTOM LINE:

God wants us to love others and introduce them to Jesus.

OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn that people are drawn to Jesus when we share God’s love.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 4:18-22, Fishers of men.

INTRO

When people think of penguins, they think of funny, flightless birds waddling around on the ice. They see in their mind’s eye thousands of little black and white birds, each one identical, swimming the Antarctic waters and crowding together on an island ice.

Most people don’t realize that there are not one but many kinds of penguins! There are black and white penguins, black white and orange penguins, and even blue and white penguins. There are penguins that swim, and some that don’t. There are penguins that live in the cold, and there are many penguins that prefer warm climates. There are penguins with regal names like the Emperor Penguin and the King Penguin, and there are penguins with fun names like the Macaroni Penguin and the tiny Blue Fairy Penguin. There are even penguins in Pennsylvania that play ice hockey!

Okay, so those are not a real penguins.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be talking about a few species of penguin, starting with the Gentoo. Gentoo penguins are the third largest species of penguin, growing to almost three feet in height. They are distinguished from other breeds by the white band that crosses the top of their heads like a bonnet. They are also the fastest penguins under water, reaching speeds of 22 miles an hour when they swim.

That speed means they are also very good at catching fish. That’s important, because what do penguins eat? Fish!

In today’s scripture, Jesus calls his first disciples. He doesn’t call them to be preachers or even teachers. He calls them to do something the Gentoo know a lot about.

READ MATTHEW 4:18-22

MAIN POINT

Jesus tells Peter, Andrew, James, and John that he wants them to be fishers of men. That sounds pretty strange, but when you remember that Peter, Andrew, James, and John were actually fishermen, you realize Jesus was speaking their language.

Fishermen go out to sea to gather up fish. They use lures and bait to draw the fish in so that they can be caught. As Christians we don’t want to catch other people, but we do want to catch their attention so that we can tell them about Jesus. Like fishermen, we need bait that is attractive to people. Unlike fishermen, we can’t dangle worms in front of them! We need bait that will help people see how much Jesus loves them.

There’s no better way to draw people to Jesus than by loving others the way Jesus first loved us!

DRIVE IT HOME

If you read through the gospels, you’ll see how Jesus used love to draw people to him, one at a time. From the Samaritan woman at the well, to the religious leader Nicodemus, to Zacchaeus the tax collector, Jesus showed people how much he loved them. That love, more than anything, led them to believe and then go out and tell other people about Jesus.

We can love others by being a good friend. That means being there for our friends, being a helpful hand when it’s needed, and being a good listener. It also means reaching out to people who don’t have many friends. That takes courage, but it’s a great way to show the love of Jesus.

Loving others also means we resist the temptation to hurt others. When someone pushes us, we don’t push back. When people gossip, we don’t join in. When we are called names and made fun of, we respond with love instead of not cruel words.

People may think we are strange for doing such things. Anyone else would fight back! But we are not “anyone else.” We are fishers of men. We are people saved by Jesus, commanded to share Jesus’ awesome love with others.

A good fisherman knows that he needs a good lure to draw in the fish. Fishers of men know the one thing that draws people to Jesus is His love. Ask God to make you a fisher of men. Ask him to help you share His love with others. Then be ready to tell your friends about Jesus once you have their attention.

CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank for you the people who taught us about Jesus. Use us to share His love with others.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)

ICEBREAKER

Why do you think people love penguins?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY

Matthew 4:19

Give all the kids a Bible.  Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY

Have the kids walk around and do their best penguin walk imitation.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Read Matthew 4:18-22

Who did Jesus call to be his first disciples?

How did he call to them?

How is fishing like sharing Jesus with others?

What “lure” can Christians use to draw people to Jesus?

Why does Jesus want us to be fishers of men?

SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank you for Jesus, and for your amazing love. Teach us to love others like Jesus loves us so we may draw them to Christ.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)

ICEBREAKER

Why do you think people love penguins?

MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY

Matthew 4:19

Give all the kids a Bible.  Then after you read the verse, give them the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.

SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY

Have the kids take turns doing their best impression of a penguin.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Read Matthew 4:18-22

How did Jesus call his first disciples?

How is fishing like sharing Jesus with others?

What “lure” can Christians use to draw people to Jesus?

What are some ways we can share Jesus’ love with other people?

How does loving others draw people to Christ?

SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank you for Jesus, and for your amazing love. Teach us to love others like Jesus loves us so we may draw them to Christ.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

 

For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Fishers of Men Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link). 

Here's a video from Saddleback kids that you might find helpful to go along with your Sunday School Lesson on the Fishers of Men.

Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching a Fishers of Men Sunday School Lesson: 

Fishers of Men (Luke 5:1-11) Sunday School Lesson

Fishers of Men Bible Crafts - Danielle's Place

Going Fishing - Children's Sermons from Sermons4kids.com