Hiding God’s Word in Our Hearts: 7 Bible Memory Tips to Make Scripture Stick

Helping kids learn Scripture is important. But what does it really look like? We want kids to hide God’s Word in their hearts, but does that mean rote Bible memory?

We talked with Krissy Richardson to find out what she’s done to ensure God’s Word has meaning in kids’ lives. Krissy teaches a mixed-age class including kids with varied reading skills and ability levels. She’s passionate about ensuring that learning Scripture is inclusive and accessible for kids of all abilities!

So how can you approach Bible memory in a way that’s meaningful for all kids? Find out with these seven ideas for helping Scripture stick!

Begin Bible Memory by Looking It Up

Krissy always begins by having kids look up the verse in a very guided process. This includes kids who can’t yet read!

She chooses a kid-friendly Bible translation (she often uses the NIrV, but the NLT is another great choice!), and directs kids to the Table of Contents. She first helps them find the book name and page number. Then she directs them to find the “big number” for the chapter and the smaller verse number.

For non-readers, she has them put their finger on the verse. Even though they can’t read it, this provides a tactile memory of finding the verse! Kids who can read point to the verse and read it.

If Krissy has preteens, she may also teach them how to navigate the Bible via a phone app.

Krissy does the same technique whether kids are first-time visitors or regular attenders. She believes this repetition will help kids learn how to navigate their Bibles. She also provides contextual information so kids can better grasp why what they’re reading or hearing matters.

The goals are to make Scripture tactile and meaningful by offering context, and to help kids feel more comfortable and confident with their Bibles before jumping into Bible memory.

Make the Verse Personal

Krissy picked up a beautiful habit from one of her preschool teachers. She makes the verse a special and personal message directed at each child.

One by one, she calls up each child to say the verse directly to them, rather than just saying it broadly to the whole group of kids.

This practice creates an impactful relationship moment and makes the verse feel more personal. This allows kids to discover for themselves that  God’s Word is for them. And as a bonus, the kids awaiting their turn still get to hear it spoken repeatedly to each child, which can help with Bible memory.

Include All Learners in Bible Memory

Krissy also likes to teach the verse in a variety of ways, keeping all her kids’ unique learning preferences in mind. She might use kinetic, visual, artistic, auditory, or even math techniques to help kids engage with the verse.

For example, she might ask kids to count how many words are in the verse as she says it. That may not mean much to her, but to the kids who enjoy math, it gives them an avenue to connect with the verse in a way that’s exciting to them.

Similarly, she might portray the verse with pictures, like showing a picture of Jesus, a heart, and a globe to help kids learn “For God so loved the world.” This helps visual learners and also gives kids who can’t read words yet a chance to “read” the verse.

And she’ll teach the same verse in many different ways so there’s something for everyone. And as an added benefit, much like saying the verse to each child individually, kids are hearing the verse over and over again through all these methods of exploration.

The bottom line: when you look at a verse from many varied angles, all kids feel seen and involved in Bible memory time.

Have Kids Interact With the Verse

Krissy also wants kids to interact with the Bible memory verse in a tactile way. For example, she might make pictures to represent the verse and use those for a matching or memory game. This is great for visual learners and non-readers, and it also provides a similar tactile experience to pointing to the verse in the Bible.

And interacting with the verse doesn’t just mean interacting with the words. It means making sure we give kids the chance to think about the verse. Krissy says, “Rote memorization requires memory; thinking through the Bible verse and understanding it is a whole other concept.”

To help kids think about the verse and what it means, she might have them read it in another translation so they can consider its meaning with different words. Or she might have them say it slower so that they’re thinking about the words they’re saying instead of just rattling them off.

She asks open-ended questions about the verse like, “What’s your favorite part about this verse?” or “Could we take something out and have it still mean the same thing?” or “Is there anywhere else in the Bible we hear something similar?” to pull in connections to previous Bible learning.

These interactions with the verse form deeper connections and meaning than simply learning a set of words in order.

Enlist Helpers for Bible Memory

Since Krissy teaches a mixed-age group, she has a great opportunity to enlist her older kids as helpers! This is a great way to build leadership skills in kids, and giving them a role as a “teacher” helps them feel more invested in learning the Bible memory verse.

For example, she might ask her older kids to create a poster for kids who can’t read that will help them learn the verse. In order to accomplish that task, older kids must think about the meaning of the verse and how to portray it for younger kids—and that helps them understand the concept of the verse and its meaning in their lives.

Kids love to be helpers, so giving them this kind of assignment is a win-win!

Recite Until It Sticks

Krissy also employs a strategy of “reciting it until it sticks.” But let’s clearly define those terms.

First of all, reciting doesn’t necessarily mean just saying the verse over and over again by rote. Instead, reciting means interacting with the verse or the meaning of it in different ways.

And “sticks” may not mean being able to recite the verse perfectly. If kids can explain the concept of a verse, even if they don’t use the exact words, that’s a win. It might even be more meaningful because it means they understand the verse, rather than just being good at memorization. After all, understanding the meaning of the Scripture is what moves God’s Word from the head to the heart.

Krissy challenges us to think about our mission when it comes to Bible memory. She asks, “What’s the purpose of memorizing? Is it just to have the words, or is it to have the message behind the words?”

Recognize Learning Disabilities and Differences

Krissy is passionate about making sure that all kids have the same opportunity to hide God’s Word in their hearts. That means making sure that learning techniques are inclusive and adaptive.

Krissy says, “When we talk about adaptability…so many people want to change the supplies or the way the curriculum is, and the truth is you can get a whole lot further by changing your attitude and your baseline thinking first.”

So let’s explore what that attitude and baseline thinking can look like when it comes to Bible memory! First, it’s realizing that not everyone has the same ability to memorize. Kids with disabilities may have bigger barriers, but even kids considered “typically developing” have different skill levels. Making sure everyone can feel successful is important!

Krissy recognizes this about her attitude: “If I come at a kid wanting them to memorize Scripture and I get mad because none of my approaches have worked, I’m the problem—not the kid. Or my expectations are the problem.”

One adaptive technique Krissy uses is recordable buttons like these. She or one of her teachers records the verse into the button and leaves it accessible during open play time or in classrooms for children with disabilities. Kids love the tactile experience of pressing the button—and each time they do, they’re rewarded with the sweetness of God’s Word, spoken by an adult they trust and care about.

Plus, they’re playing the verse for the whole room to hear!

Bible memory should never feel burdensome or shaming to kids. We can treat kids as beloved children of God first and foremost. As Krissy puts it, “We want the easy fix but the fix is really more in how we approach each other as human beings.”

Looking for great Bible memory experiences? You can find them in Group’s Easy VBS in the Sticky Scripture rotation, and in Dig In’s Bible Memory activity block.

Krissy Richardson is the Children’s Ministry Director at Grace Baptist Church in Warren Oregon. Her favorite parts of ministry include dodgeball with her preteens, hands-on storytelling, and creating adaptive environments for children with disabilities. Krissy and her husband have three kids and live in a multi-generational home. In her free time, Krissy loves creative journaling, reading, and caring for her chinchilla.