05/21/2026
Kids Finding Answers in Your Story Hour Stories
By Julie Clayburn
I recently received an email from Kidzmatter, a children’s ministry that provides resources for churches such as Bible lessons, VBS programs, and conferences for children’s ministry leaders.
One line in the email especially stood out: “As you know, kids ages 10–12 are getting ready to ‘age out’ of kidmin [children’s ministry], which means they’re asking really big faith questions at a critical time when your church might not catch them transitioning from children’s ministry to youth ministry.”
It went on to ask an important question: If kids aren’t asking these big faith questions at church, where will they ask them? And if they aren’t finding answers in the Bible, where will they look?
The email listed some of the most common questions preteens are asking:
Is God really real?
Why does God allow bad things to happen?
Can I trust the Bible?
Does my faith actually matter in my everyday life?
As I read this, I immediately thought of Your Story Hour. Our stories are designed especially for children ages 9–12 (although we know many younger and older listeners enjoy them as well), and they speak directly to these kinds of questions.
Is God really real?
Many of our stories share real-life experiences of angel intervention, God’s protection, and answered prayer—helping children see that God is real, personal, and deeply caring. Some of the stories that readily come to my mind are: “The Sharpened Knife,” “Two Angels and a Fishing Boat,” “The Day the Wave Came,” “A Stalled Truck and Lost Goggles,” “Strangers in the Night,” “The Mysterious Midnight Ride.” There are many more to choose from!
Why does God allow bad things to happen?
In the story “The Hunted,” Sarah wrestles with this very question as her friend Barb faces cancer, offering a thoughtful and relatable exploration of faith during difficult times.
Can I trust the Bible?
Our Bible stories bring characters like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Daniel, Jesus, Peter, and Paul to life—showing not only their faith, but also their struggles and imperfections. This helps children see Scripture as authentic and trustworthy, not distant or idealized.
Does my faith actually matter in my everyday life?
Our library is full of everyday adventure stories that illustrate principles like faithfulness, honesty, obedience, compassion, self-control, and respect—helping children understand how faith applies to real life. Several of the scripts for our upcoming recording session will pair modern-day stories with Bible stories that will allow the listeners to see the connections between Bible stories and applications to daily living. Use keywords at yourstoryhour.org/shop to help you locate a story with a certain principle(s) or give us a call at 800-987-7879 and we’ll be happy to help you.
