The Trinity: Three in One Sunday School Lesson for Kids

Use this free Sunday School Bible lesson for kids when teaching about the The Holy Trinity. Explain to kids the meaning of Three-in-one, God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Bible. Download the lesson plan below, watch our object lesson and craft examples, then gather your teaching supplies to share in your children’s ministry.

The Trinity is a challenging concept to understand, even for adults! Attempts to explain or analogize it often dissemble into accidental heresy, even with the best of comparison intentions. It is still important to introduce children to the Trinity, though, and to describe it in terms of how God loves and cares for us. If the “three in one” idea is tough for youngsters to comprehend, remind them that there are some things beyond our total understanding, and that’s okay! God is all the more powerful and amazing because He is mysterious.

Bible Lesson Focus: In this lesson, students will contemplate the meaning of the Trinity. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all at the same time and yet distinct in the three persons. Students will consider some common examples that describe the Trinity, as well as Scripture that verifies it. Children will also be encouraged to consider how, despite our efforts, the Trinity is a mystery that we might not fully understand this side of Heaven.

Scripture Passage: Bible Verses on the Trinity included in the lesson plan below.

Target Audience: Elementary School, but likely works best for older students (3^rd – 5^th grade)

Lesson Materials Needed: Construction paper, decorative materials, apples, eggs, ice, cotton balls, felt, popsicle sticks, Bible (all optional, depending which activities you choose to use—except for the Bible, you need that for sure).

More Teaching Ideas on the Trinity for Kids:

• Watch the Trinity Children’s sermon teaching example and Bible craft ideas for Sunday School
• Compare the Father’s Day Sermon based on the Trinity and John 16:12-22 Sunday School Lesson
• Compare another Sunday School Lesson on the Trinity and Bible Lesson on the Trinity for Kids

Children’s Sermon Lesson on the Trinity

Video for Kids Explaining What is the Trinity

Bible Games to Introduce the Lesson Plan

Lesson Opening: This lesson introduces the concept of the Trinity, sometimes challenging for students to fully understand. Object examples are never perfect, but can still be used to open the idea.

Here are some activities to get kids thinking…(select the best ones for your audience and age group): 

• It comes in threes…to kick off the discussion of the Trinity, brainstorm some basic items that come in trios (tricycles, triangles, stories with three, etc.). Explain that the term “tri” means “three.”
• (Imperfect) examples in nature: look at one of the less than ideal, but still helpful explanations for the trinity, such as water (water, ice, vapor), an apple (core, flesh, skin), or an egg (shell, yolk, white).
• It’s a mystery…discuss things that are challenging to comprehend, or questions about life that kids have. Are there things they don’t know how to do yet? One day they might. One day (maybe not until Heaven, but someday), we might comprehend the Trinity. Until then, we trust God’s love and care for us!

Explain that the topic of discussion today is challenging to understand, even for adults!  We are talking about how God is three persons in one…He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But He is always all of those! He’s not split up into parts, but does things that show us He loves and cares for us. Sometimes kids will say “God AND Jesus…” Well, today we’ll look at how those are one in the same, although not exactly the same. It can be tough to understand, but reminds us of how amazing and awesome God is! We’ll never completely understand Him, and that’s okay.

Ask: What does the Holy Spirit do? Do you know who He is?  
*Note: it’s easy to fall into the habit of referring to the Holy Spirit as “it.” However, it’s important to remember that the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity, and therefore is a “He”, just like the Father and Son.

Trinity Sunday School Lesson for Kids

Bible Lesson:  As always, how you choose to experience the passages will vary according to the ages and abilities of your children (and how many are participating). There are several different passages to look over in this lesson, and there are plenty of others not listed here that could be used, as well.  The following passages demonstrate the triune nature of God.

  Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. -Genesis 1:26-27

In the very beginning of the Bible, we see God refer to Himself as “us.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed together from the very beginning! The next passage views all three parts of the Trinity together at the same time. This took place when Jesus was baptized. God’s voice spoke, and the Holy Spirit came down from Heaven, all while Jesus was in the river being baptized.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  -Matthew 3:16-17

This is a significant, if still slightly perplexing episode. Jesus is present as He is baptized, and the Spirit appears as a dove. The voice of God the Father is also heard. All three are there, and yet we see them differently. The tricky part is recognizing that they are all the same, though different persons. Here we see the distinctive elements, but the Bible also tells us the three parts have always been together… 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5

These verses remind us that the Word (son) was always with the Father, and always will be. Nothing can overcome the power of these three parts together.

For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.  -1 John 5:7

This verse can be a little more confusing, since it refers to the “water and blood” rather than Father and Son…But speaking of the three components, it’s worth discussing with students just what these three persons do. In general terms, we can describe them as:

-Father: Creator, provider, protector
-Son: The “human element”, God in the flesh; Jesus sacrificed His life to save us and He redeems us and saves us from sin, death, and the devil.
-Holy Spirit: helps us to believe and pray; provides us with God’s presence, comfort, and peace.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from[c] faith for his name’s sake. -Romans 1:1-5

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. -Romans 8:26-27

It’s also worth pointing out that the three persons are equal. We might talk about one more than another, but they have the same value and importance. Above all, we see in the Trinity that God loves us and cares for us. He wants the best for us and helps us to come to Him, live in Him, and serve Him. We trust God’s will for our lives, and we trust His care through the persons of the Trinity.

Ask: How would you explain the Trinity to someone who was confused? How can you ask God to help you understand things that are challenging like this? 

Close with a prayer thanking God for His Son and Spirit. Ask for trust and help as we continue to comprehend His awesome mysterious ways and love Him. Ask for strength as we tell others of His work and His amazing love. 

Sunday School Crafts on the Trinity

Crafts: Lots of fun crafts involve elements of three that would coincide with a study of the Trinity. Consider one of these options:

• Make a triangle model out of large popsicle sticks, gluing them together in a triangle shape and adding decorations and labels.
• Use one of the common (if not perfect) descriptions of the Trinity as a basis for a fun decorative craft. Options include the Shamrock, apple, egg, or even candy corn!
• Make a decorative S’mores-themed magnet or hanging decoration to show the three parts of the Trinity as three parts of the campfire treat.