Twelve Disciples

Matthew 4:18-22, 9:9-10, 10:2-4; John 1:43-49

Our true story comes from parts of the Bible called the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of John. Matthew and John were disciples of Jesus. That means Jesus was their teacher. And the word gospel means “good news!”

One day, Jesus was walking by a big lake. He saw two brothers, Simon (also called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishermen, throwing their nets into the water to catch fish. Jesus called out to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men!” Simon and Andrew left their nets right away and followed Jesus.


As Jesus walked farther, He saw two more brothers, James and John, sitting in their boat with their father, Zebedee. They were fixing their fishing nets. Jesus called out to them, too, “Follow Me!” James and John left their boat and their father to follow Jesus.


Another day, Jesus met a man named Matthew. Matthew was sitting at a table because he was a tax collector. His job was to collect money from people for the rulers. Not many people liked tax collectors, but Jesus loved Matthew. Jesus said, “Follow Me!” Matthew got up right away, left his table, and followed Jesus.


Later, Jesus found a man named Philip. Jesus said to Philip, “Follow Me!”


Philip was so happy that he told his friend Nathanael, “We found Jesus, the one God promised to send!”


At first, Nathanael wasn’t sure, but when he met Jesus, he believed. Nathanael said, “You are the Son of God!” Nathanael decided to follow Jesus, too.


Jesus called twelve special helpers to be His disciples. Their names were: Simon (Peter), Andrew, James (the son of Zebedee), John, Philip, Nathanael (also called Bartholomew), Matthew, Thomas, Another James (the son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot.


These disciples followed Jesus everywhere. They listened to His teachings, watched His miracles, and helped Him tell people about God’s love.


Jesus called twelve special helpers, His disciples, to follow Him and share God’s love. Jesus calls us to follow Him, too, and to help others learn about Him.


Dear God,

Thank You for calling Simon, Andrew, James, John, and all the other disciples to follow Jesus and share Your love. Thank You for calling us to follow Jesus, too. Please help us to listen to You, love others, and tell them about Jesus. We love You, God. 

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.





Bible Verse: “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” — Matthew 4:19, BSB

Paraphrase: “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said.



Activities

These activities will help preschoolers engage with the story of Jesus Calling His Twelve Disciples, reinforcing the themes of following Jesus, helping others, and sharing God’s love.

1. Name the Disciples Game

Objective: Help children learn about Jesus’ twelve special helpers.

Materials: Paper circles (or fish shapes) with the disciples’ names written on them.

Activity: Scatter the circles around the room. Encourage the children to “fish” for the disciples by finding the names. As they collect each one, say the name aloud and talk briefly about the disciples following Jesus. This activity helps familiarize them with the names and the idea that Jesus called people to follow Him.

2. Musical “Follow Me” Parade

Objective: Reinforce the concept of following Jesus through a fun, music-based activity.

Materials: Music (a children’s worship song or instrumental music) and rhythm instruments (optional).

Activity: Play music and lead the children in a “Follow Me” parade around the room. The teacher or a child acts as Jesus, and the others follow while marching, clapping, or playing instruments. Pause occasionally to say, “Who are we following?” and encourage them to answer, “Jesus!” This fun and active game reinforces the joy of following Jesus.

3. Disciple Picture Matching

Objective: Help children connect names to images or roles of the disciples.

Materials: Printable images of boats, fishing nets, a tax collector’s table, and other items related to the disciples’ lives.

Activity: Show the images and ask the children to match them with what the disciples were doing when Jesus called them (e.g., boats and nets for Peter, Andrew, James, and John; table for Matthew). Discuss how each disciple left what they were doing to follow Jesus.
 
4. Helping Hands Craft

Objective: Teach that Jesus’ disciples helped Him share God’s love, and we can help, too.

Materials: Paper, crayons, markers, and child-safe scissors.

Activity: Have each child trace their hands onto paper and cut them out (with help, if needed). On one hand, write, “Follow Jesus.” On the other, write, “Help Others.” Let the children decorate their hands with bright colors. Talk about how the disciples followed Jesus and helped others, and we can do the same.

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Story illustrations are made possible by a joint venture of Good News Productions, International and College Press Publishing Co. Artist. Paula Nash Giltner (http://www.theglobalgospel.org).  FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) have been granted permission to make these images freely available for personal, teaching and ministry use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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