For the Rev Matt Dodd, senior minister at Lakemba and one half of the duo behind the The Epistles for Kids, the journey of the books began with a simple yet challenging question: “How do I teach Colossians to kids?”
Mr Dodd was a children’s minister at the time and wanted to link the lessons at kids’ church with the current sermon series. However, he found existing children’s bibles overly simplified or ill-suited for younger readers. His solution? Create a primary-aged resource that faithfully translates and visually brings to life the riches of Paul and Peter’s letters.
Mr Dodd first attempted to adapt Colossians for his church’s kids ministry, producing a simple translation over a few weeks. The process opened his eyes to the unmet need for accessible, faithful and visually engaging resources that bridged the gap between dense scriptural texts and children’s comprehension. Over the next seven years, the idea grew into The Epistles for Kids.
By 2023, Mr Dodd had partnered with illustrator Thom Bransdon, and they had a simple yet ambitious goal: to provide a faithful translation of every epistle, paired with insightful illustrations that could act as windows into the historical and theological richness of the early church in the New Testament.
“We genuinely want to open up the Scriptures for kids,” Mr Dodd says. “I looked around, but a resource like this doesn’t exist.”
True to the text
The project’s guiding principle is faithfulness to the biblical text. Unlike many children’s Bibles that paraphrase extensively, Mr Dodd draws from the original Greek to produce a translation that both remains true to the epistles’ meaning and is accessible to young readers.
“We only use words that kids use in the schoolyard,” says Mr Dodd. “It’s a passion point for both of us that there are no generic images. Every illustration must help communicate the message on that page. We want to do everything we can to help kids gain access to the word of God.”
It’s a highlight of Mr Dodd’s week to sit with Mr Bransdon, brainstorming the best way to capture the depth of the epistles with timeless graphics that aren’t childish. “We want to show that although the epistles may seem academic, they are actually full of adventure,” Mr Dodd says. “It’s assumed that there is no drama or story here. But the epistles are windows into the most incredible church communities, full of brave apostles and church workers risking everything, and the joy of conversion for people of all backgrounds – all in the context of real ancient history.”
Expand access to Scripture
Ministering in multicultural Lakemba, Mr Dodd sees the potential for these resources to serve more than just children. “The Open Word Project, which is the ministry over the top of The Epistles for Kids, has a vision larger than just kids,” he says. “In our context in Lakemba, the pew Bible makes it difficult for low English readers to fellowship richly around the word of God.”
He and Mr Bransdon envision a future where their simplified translations not only support children’s ministries but are also adapted for a more multicultural and global church context. “We want to make this into a resource for the multicultural church in Australia, done by Australians. We also want to give it to the global church.”
Deep dive into Peter and Paul’s words
For Mr Dodd, translating the epistles into plain language has been an opportunity to slow down and deeply immerse himself in the text.
“I feel like I’m meeting Paul and Peter, getting into the way they think and the way they write,” he says. “I have the privilege of seeing just how real, personal, heartfelt and everyday normal these letters were in their time. I really want others to experience that too.
“I don’t think the epistles were meant to be as hard as we sometimes feel they are. If we can present them faithfully, but differently, our kids and multicultural church communities will discover truths that are at the very heart and foundation of the Protestant movement. These are the letters that sparked the Reformation! We should want our church communities thriving in them.”
Feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, with families and ministry workers eagerly anticipating the release of the books. Many are keen to have a resource that bridges the gap between paraphrased children’s books and a full biblical text. “What could be more important than the actual Bible for kids?” Mr Dodd asks.
As they prepare for publication, Mr Dodd is praying for the impact these illustrated epistles will have.
“We’ve spent enormous time and effort on these – we genuinely want this to serve the church globally,” he says. “But we’re just two guys in Sydney. Pray that we will be faithful, that this would be the word of God, and that God will send it out.”
The translations of Philippians, Colossians and 1 Peter are due to be released before the end of this year. To stay up to date with the project visit the Open Word website here.
