Old Testament or New Testament: Where Should You Start with Young Children?

If you're starting to introduce your young child to the Bible, you'll hit this question almost immediately: do you begin at the beginning, with Genesis and the Old Testament? Or jump straight to Jesus and the New Testament?

There are thoughtful Christian parents on both sides of this debate. Here's a look at the case for each — and some practical guidance for families with children ages 3–8.

The Case for Starting with the Old Testament

The Bible is a unified story, and the Old Testament is its first two-thirds. Starting at the beginning means your child builds the narrative from the ground up: God creates the world, humanity falls, and God begins a long, faithful plan to restore what was broken. By the time they reach Jesus in the New Testament, they understand why He matters.

There's also a practical argument: many of the most engaging, action-packed stories for young children are in the Old Testament. Creation, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, Abraham's journey, Moses and the plagues — these are narratively gripping stories that hold a young child's attention beautifully.

The risk of starting here: if you spend too long in the Old Testament without connecting it to Jesus, your child may develop a picture of God that's more distant and demanding than the full picture warrants. The Old Testament needs the New Testament to complete it.

The Case for Starting with the New Testament

Jesus is the centre of the Christian faith, and young children connect to Him naturally. The Christmas story, the miracles, the parables, the Easter story — these are accessible, emotionally resonant narratives that introduce children directly to the person their faith is about.

There's also a theological argument: the New Testament reveals most clearly who God is — loving, sacrificial, close. Starting here means your child's earliest picture of God is one of warmth and nearness, which creates a secure emotional foundation for everything else.

The risk: without the Old Testament background, some New Testament stories can feel disconnected. Why is it significant that Jesus came from Abraham's line? Why does the Temple matter? What's the Passover? These questions have answers — but children who haven't encountered the Old Testament will need extra explanation.

What Most Christian Educators Recommend

The most widely-used approach in children's ministry is an integrated one: start with key Old Testament stories, then move to Jesus, then weave back and forth. This mirrors how the best children's Bibles are structured — they don't go straight through from Genesis to Revelation, but instead select the stories that illuminate the overarching narrative most clearly.

For ages 3–5, a good starting lineup might be: God Creates the World → Adam and Eve → Noah's Ark → The Birth of Jesus → The Miracles of Jesus → Easter. This gives children the creation-fall framework and takes them directly to Jesus, with the connection between them made explicit: "God always had a plan to fix what was broken."

For ages 6–8, you can go deeper into the Old Testament — Abraham, Moses, David — and begin connecting those stories to Jesus more explicitly. This is the age when "Jesus is the better Moses" and "Abraham's faith pointing to ours" start to become meaningful.

The Stories That Bridge Both Testaments

Some stories do exceptional work in connecting the Old and New Testaments for young children:

• The Call of Abraham — God's promise that all nations will be blessed through Abraham sets up everything that follows, including Jesus.
• The Birth of Moses — Moses as a deliverer foreshadows Jesus's role in ways even young children can grasp with gentle guidance.
• The Birth of Jesus — Coming back to this story after Old Testament content makes it richer: "Remember when God promised Abraham? This is how He kept that promise."

At Tiny Testaments, we've built a library that covers both Testaments — starting from Creation and building toward the New Testament stories. Each story is designed to work independently or as part of a larger sequence, so you can follow the order that works for your family.

Browse Old Testament stories →  |  Browse New Testament stories →