Because Jesus was born at Christmas, we can know that he is with us always. My newest board book helps toddlers and preschoolers understand the true meaning of Christmas in a personal, memorable way. Jesus Came for Me is part of The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible series. For children ages 3 to 7, this book begins with the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth to Zechariah and ends with the visit of the wise men. Recently, New Growth Press director of publicity and social media, Audra Jennings, asked me to answer the following questions about why I wrote the book. Here is our conversation.

What’s the best way to communicate the message of Christmas to your toddler? I can’t emphasize enough how important it is just to read and tell the story. According to child psychologists, a “narrative” function emerges in children by age 3. That’s just science recognizing the truth that God made the human brain so that we think in stories. Preschoolers are definitely able to grasp the basic plot line of a good story. And, from a young age, toddlers also begin to tell stories about their daily lives. As they grow, kids begin to make up even more stories about themselves—about their toys and about imaginative adventures they’re going on. Hearing and telling stories give kids a sense of rooted identity. 

But another big thing is creating some family traditions that help you tell that story well. That can be as simple as a bedtime routine or some particular traditions you do together as a family at Christmas. Our family will read our Christmas devotional then ride around local neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights. When our preschoolers were buckled into car seats those drives were short. As they grew older, we added a stop at a coffee shop for a cup of hot chocolate. And our kids remind us to do that year after year even now that they’ve become teenagers. 

Jesus Came for Me sets out to teach toddlers and preschoolers about the true story of Christmas. How much are children that young able to grasp the importance of Jesus as the promised Savior?

You know, toddlers and young preschoolers are learning by rote and by recognition. Here’s what I mean by that. Little kids are learning to repeat back stories, verses, and biblical truth; sometimes they do that without a whole lot of thought about what the words and stories mean. But those basic concepts are foundational; learning these truths are essential for kids if they’re going to grow up to have a more mature faith later in life.

Think about this for a moment. 2-year-old’s typically have a 200-word vocabulary while three-year-old’s have a 1,500-word vocabulary. That’s 1,300 words in a year! Even if we’re faithfully learning the “word of the day” along with Alexa, adults might only learn 350 or so new words in a year. But our youngest kids are learning so many brand-new truths! So, when you read to your preschooler about basic Bible concepts—God’s promise, Jesus being both God and man, his miraculous birth and the angels’ announcement, or even the word, Christmas—they’re just learning those words and their significance for the first time. Later on, preschoolers will be able to recognize biblical concepts that have been taught before. And, by God’s grace, they’ll spend their whole lives learning to trust the God those stories point them to.

Do you begin the retelling of the story on the night of his birth or do you tell more leading up and following his actual birth? The board book begins with the announcement of John the Baptist’s birth to Zechariah and ends with the visit of the wise men.

How do you interject thoughts and questions into the book to make the Bible story more personal to the little readers?

Each of the three stories is accompanied by brightly colored illustrations by Trish Mahoney that both highlight the story and add fun interactive elements to keep even the youngest child’s attention. Each of the stories also ends with a question that parents and caregivers can use to further reinforce the key truth of each story, fun questions like: “Have you ever had a wait a long time? Will you share the good news like the shepherds?”

I’d encourage parents to read the book slowly, to point out the facial expressions on the Bible people’s faces, and talk with your children about how the Bible people in the stories reacted to the events of Christmas. Point out how the birth of Jesus in a Bethlehem stable and the announcement to poor shepherds isn’t what we’d expect when a king is born. 

So much of Christmas in our culture revolves around gifts, decorations, and Santa Claus. Is there anything wrong with participating in all those aspects of the holiday season? How do you connect the dots between those things and the true meaning of Christmas for Christians?

There’s no way around it, pretty much every kid in America is going to know about Santa Claus. Thanks to Coca-Cola, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and Bass Pro shops everywhere, the jolly ole’ man in red is a cultural Christmas staple who probably isn’t going away any time soon. Honestly, I think it’s fine to enjoy the Chipmunks Christmas album and Gene Autry—those were the hits in my house growing up—and enjoy other holiday songs too. It’s okay for your kids to experience joyful aspects of our culture. In fact, those can be great connecting points with neighbors who don’t know Jesus. But we must remember that it is our job to teach kids about the true meaning of Christmas—about Jesus’ incarnation and birth as a baby in Bethlehem. As I’ve already said, I think it’s important to make sure telling the true Christmas story is a tradition in your home, and the main emphasis in your Christmas celebration. There’s all kinds of ways to do that: Making a birthday cake for Jesus or using an Advent devotional or just reading the story again and again. 

There’s two things I’d encourage you to avoid. One, recognize that we live in a very materialistic world. Work some traditions of giving to others without expecting anything in return into your schedule; maybe that’s just baking a pan of cookies for the neighbors. Second, I think we need to remind kids from a young age that Christ’s love isn’t earned. Jesus came as God’s free gift. Whether it’s Santa’s naughty list or Elf on the Shelf, there can be a real emphasis in our culture on behaving well in order to get gifts as a reward. But the truth is that Santa is not our judge. If he really was making a list, there are days when all of us would be taken off of the “nice” list. Deep down, we’re all still sinful in our hearts. 

Jesus, being born of a virgin in a little manger in Bethlehem, was the only person who made it onto God’s “nice” list. And we have hope because, through faith in him, God has made it possible for us to be added to that list as well! He sees us in all our sin, but he still gives us hia good and perfect gifts. 

Does your family have any special traditions at Christmas that center around Jesus? We do. Each year, we use a Jesse Tree to tell the Christmas story. In our home, the Jesse Tree is a tiny one and a half foot discount store Christmas tree. On it, we hang a laminated paper ornament for each day of Advent. Each ornament on the tree represents the story of a person in Jesus’ family tree. The idea of using a Jesse Tree to celebrate Advent (and the name Jesse Tree) comes from Isaiah 11:1 which says, “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Jesse was the father of David, Israel’s greatest king. And it was from David’s lineage that Jesus came. Before each symbol is hung on the tree, we read a Bible passage or a story from the Bible. 

Can you share more about Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible series, including the story Bible itself?

In The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible, my goal was to trace God’s perfect promises through fifty-two Old and New Testament stories, to retell them in simple and compelling ways with toddlers and preschoolers in mind. Each gospel-centered story highlights God’s tale of redemption through Jesus and the unexpected and surprising ways that God’s grace and mercy are revealed throughout the Bible.

Jesus Rose for Me is the first book in the storybook series. It includes the four Easter week stories from the story Bible but in a durable, board book format. A third board book is coming out in July 2021. It’s a board book about Jesus’s miracles, and it’s tentatively titled: Jesus is Bigger than Me. 

Jesus Came for Me isn’t your only new release. Can you tell us a little about your other new book, God Made Me for Worship?

Yes, it’s called God Made Me for Worship. This new book focuses on teaching kids about the key movements in a church worship gathering, including the call to worship, praise and adoration, confession, assurance, passing the peace, ministry of the Word and sacraments, and benediction and sending. 

My goal with that books was to help parents help their kids understand why we're intentional about worship, encouraging them to engage not just to manage behavior during a worship gathering, but to invite kids to respond to God along with the whole church body.

Jesus, our great God, was born as a little baby, and his birth is good news and great joy for all people—including your child! Consider picking up Jesus Came for Me to help your little one know that Jesus is always present, and he helps us believe and wait for him. Help your kids to live in the joy of the great truth that Jesus is with us!