Christian Coloring Pages

Coloring is one of the oldest ways of teaching a story: while the hands are busy, the ears are free to listen. These Christian coloring pages bring together the best-loved Bible stories, the parables Jesus told and the simple signs of faith, drawn clearly enough for a Sunday school class and gently enough for a quiet moment at home.

Jesus is at the heart of the collection. He blesses a small child sitting on his lap, carries a lamb on his shoulders as the Good Shepherd, walks on the water toward a boat, calms the storm from a fishing boat, feeds the crowd with loaves and fish, kneels to wash a disciple's feet, holds a lily on a hillside and calls Zacchaeus down from his tree. On the Easter page he raises his arms at sunrise as a dove flies overhead.

The Old Testament heroes are here too: Noah welcoming two giraffes up the ramp into the ark, Moses raising his staff between the walls of the Red Sea, baby Moses asleep in his basket among the reeds, the young shepherd boy with his sling and five smooth stones, David playing the harp for his sheep, Daniel sitting calmly among sleeping lions, Jonah resting on the shore beside the whale and Ruth carrying a sheaf of wheat through a golden field.

The parables make lovely pages for talking with children: the Good Samaritan helping a wounded traveler onto his donkey, the prodigal son hugging his father in the doorway, a mustard tree full of birds, and a fisherman pulling in a net full of fish. The signs of faith are simpler: hands folded in prayer beside a candle, a dove with an olive branch, a wooden cross on a hill of daisies, the Christian fish symbol in the waves, a lighthouse shining over the sea, a small chapel with a bell tower and a shepherd's staff leaning on a well. Everyday faith closes the collection: a child kneeling to pray at bedtime, a family sharing bread at the table, children singing in a church choir, two children praying under a shining star, an angel playing a trumpet and a cross in a holly wreath above the Advent candles.

Using the pages in Sunday school

A coloring page works best as the second half of a lesson. Read or tell the story first, then hand out the page that goes with it and ask a question while the children color: why did the shepherd leave the other sheep, what did the Samaritan do that the others did not, how did Daniel feel in the lions' den. Younger children can simply retell the story from their picture. The pages also make a calm activity for the children's corner during a service, and a finished page taken home is a good way to start the conversation again at the dinner table.

Matching pages to the church year

• Advent and Christmas: the cross in the holly wreath with Advent candles, the two children praying under the star and the angel with the trumpet.
• Lent and Easter: Jesus washing the disciples' feet, the cross on the hill and the risen Jesus at sunrise.
• Pentecost: the dove.
• Harvest and Thanksgiving: Ruth in the wheat field, the loaves and fish and the family sharing bread.
• Any Sunday: the parables, the Old Testament stories and the bedtime prayer.

Colors with meaning

Many churches use colors through the year, and children enjoy knowing why: purple for Advent and Lent, white and gold for Christmas and Easter, red for Pentecost and green for the ordinary Sundays in between. Bible scenes look natural in earthy tones, with brown and cream robes, blue water, green hills and golden wheat, and a sky that can be as bright as the child likes.

Simple pages and story scenes

The praying hands, the dove, the cross and the lighthouse are simple enough for toddlers and preschoolers. Quick to color, above the grid, begins with:

• Christian Fish Symbol in the Waves
• Dove with an Olive Branch
• Lighthouse Shining Over the Sea

The ark, the parted sea, the net of fish and the busy family table are full of detail for older children. Lots of detail begins with:

• Jesus Feeding the Crowd with Loaves and Fish
• Noah Welcoming Giraffes onto the Ark
• Fisherman Pulling in a Net Full of Fish

Printing

Every page is a free A4 PDF drawn at 300 dpi. A4 prints at full size, and on US Letter "fit to page" shrinks the drawing by about six percent so nothing is cut off. The printing guide shows the setting. Add to pack prints a whole term of Sunday school lessons at once, and the sheets are free to copy for a class or a church group. More stories are in the Bible coloring pages and the Jesus coloring pages, and more symbols of faith in the angel coloring pages and the cross coloring pages.