The Good Shepherd

Joey comes home ready to drop out of school and chase a romantic idea: shepherd life. Mom and Dad don’t lecture; they walk him through what real shepherds face—wolves, cold nights, responsibility. Along the way, Joey discovers why Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd and what it meant for Him to lay down His life. It’s warm, funny, and lands with a clear invitation to trust the One who protects, pursues, and saves.

Run-Time: 7–8 minutes
Cast Number: 3 (2 adults, 1 child)
Biblical Reference: John 10:11 (“The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”)
Setting: Contemporary family living room; simple “standard” set, costumes, and lighting.
Props: None.
Category: Salvation / Children’s Ministry (Key Concept & Spiritual Formation).

Sample Script

actor comes onstage, yawning

Joey: Hi Mom, I’m home from school.

Mom: Hi Joey, had a good day at school today?

Joey: It wasn’t quite the very best ever, no.

Mom: Sorry to hear that dear, want to talk about it?

Joey: Not really, I just want to quit school.

Mom: Well, I really don’t think that’s such a great idea Joey. Think you would
have some resistance on that one.

Joey: Like from who?

Mom: Oh, I don’t know, try your dad, your teachers, your principal, your
grandparents, me . . .should I go on?

Joey: I can’t figure. Why is everyone so uptight about me going to school?

Mom: Likely cause it is very important that you have a good education.

Joey: Why?

Mom: Well, without a decent education you couldn’t get a job, so you couldn’t
get married, have a family.

Joey: Not a problem, I don’t want to have a family, and I sure don’t want to get
married! Girls are yuck!

Mom: Really now? It just so happens that I am a girl, does that mean I am yuck
too?

Joey: No, you are a mom, you’re not a girl.

Mom: Thanks, I think.

Joey: I think I will be a shepherd.

Mom: What makes you think you want to be a shepherd, Joey?

Joey: Seems like it would be an easy thing to do. And besides, I wouldn’t have
to go to school to learn how.

Dad comes on stage

Dad: Hi honey, how are you Joey, my boy?

Mom: Better have a good look at your son, we are going to be losing him soon.

Dad: Losing Joey, what do you mean by that? I could never do without my boy!

Joey: I will try to come and visit you guys sometimes.

Dad: Visit? From where? Just where are you going Joey?

Mom: Joey has decided to quit school and be a shepherd.

Dad: Quit school? To be a . . .shepherd? Kind of a major decision to make in your young life, don’t you think, Joey?

Joey: I’ve thought about it a lot. It’s what I want to do Dad, I have my mind
made up.

Mom: Joey, this is going too far. Now there is no way that you will be quiting school and as far as being a shepherd, you can just . . .

Dad, winks at Mom behind Joey’s back: Now just a minute Rebecca, perhaps the boy
is right, maybe leaving school, getting a home of his own, even being a shepherd, perhaps that is the best thing.

Joey: You do think so, really Dad?

Dad: Well I think we should at least talk about it. It does seem to me that you
might still be a little young to be leaving home and becoming a shepherd
Joey.

Joey: No way, Mrs. Carr, my Sunday School teacher, she told us that when King
David was even younger than me when he was a shepherd. So if David
could do it I don’t see why I can’t.

Dad: Guess you have a good point there, Joey. I just hope that the wild animals
don’t bother you when you are sleeping out on the ground late at night.

Joey: Wild animals? Sleeping on the ground? At night?

Mom: Well, yes, Joey, the sheep can’t be left alone at night.

Joey: Maybe I could get the kind of sheep that don’t get lonesome when they are
alone at night.

Dad: Can’t do that Joey, the wolves and bears would come in the night and kill
the sheep.

Joey: There are wolves? And bears?

Dad: Of course. I am sure that Mrs. Carr told you about that in Sunday School.

Joey: Well, yes, she did, but I kinda thought all the wolves and bears were from
long ago, in Bible times.

Mom: No, you have seen the wolves and bears at the zoo. There still are wild
animals out on the range, and they attack the sheep if the shepherd isn’t
around.

Joey: Wow! What else does the shepherd do?

Dad: Well, the sheep always seem to want to wander away, often getting
themselves lost, or caught in thorn bushes, or in the rocks. So the
shepherd has to go and find the lost sheep, and get them free from the
thorns and stuff.

Joey: Isn’t the shepherd afraid of getting hurt?

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