Skit

Shepherds Puppet Skit: Free Nativity Skit Script for Church

A free 5-minute nativity skit script for puppets. A narrator reads Luke 2:8–20 from the KJV while shepherd, sheep and angel puppets act it out.

Preschool–Grade 6

Shepherds Puppet Skit: Free Nativity Skit Script for Church

Download

⬇ Puppet skit script (PDF) · 2 pages

Free to print and copy for your church, classroom, VBS and home. Please don't resell or re-post our files; link to the page instead.

Ages: Preschool (3–5), Early Elementary (K–2), Upper Elementary (3–5), Preteen (5–6)
Time: 5 minutes (one or two 20-minute rehearsals)
Scripture: Luke 2:8–20
Bible story: The Shepherds and the Angels The Birth of Jesus

What you need

A table turned on its side, or a sheet hung across a doorway, for a puppet stage
Two shepherd puppets, one or two sheep puppets and an angel puppet (sock, paper bag or stick puppets all work)
More angel puppets, or paper angels on sticks, for the heavenly host
Mary and Joseph puppets and a baby doll in a small box for the manger
A flashlight for the glory of the Lord (optional)

Steps

Choose a narrator and give each puppeteer one puppet. Mary and Joseph's puppets don't speak, so they suit the youngest puppeteers.
Puppeteers kneel behind the stage and raise their puppets only when it is their turn.
Rehearse once or twice. Practice popping up and ducking down more than the lines.
End with everyone, puppets and audience, saying Luke 2:10 together.

A nativity skit script for puppets: the night the angels told the shepherds. A narrator reads Luke 2:8–20 straight from the King James Bible while two shepherd puppets, a sheep, the angel and a whole heavenly host pop up behind a puppet stage. The angels speak the Bible's own words, so the youngest puppeteers learn Luke 2:10–14 just by rehearsing.

How it runs (about 5 minutes):

In the field by night: the shepherds keep watch over their flock (Luke 2:8).
The angel: the glory of the Lord shines, the shepherds are afraid, and the angel brings good tidings of great joy; then the heavenly host praises God (Luke 2:9–14).
To Bethlehem: the shepherds come with haste and find Mary, Joseph and the babe lying in a manger (Luke 2:15–16).
Tell everyone: they make it known abroad and return glorifying and praising God (Luke 2:17–20).
Finale: everyone says the memory verse, Luke 2:10.

Tips

Any puppets work. Socks with felt beards, paper bags or faces on craft sticks. Keep Mary's puppet modest: long hair and a long head covering.
The puppet stage can be a table turned on its side with a cloth over it. Puppeteers kneel behind it.
A flashlight under the angel makes "the glory of the Lord shone round about them" easy to see.
No puppets? The same script works with children acting the parts.

Luke 2:10 is the memory verse of our Shepherds and the Angels story set, so the skit, lesson, craft and puzzles all teach the same verse. For more Christmas skits, see our easy nativity play for preschoolers, Room for Jesus and the Christmas program for small churches.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this nativity puppet skit?

About 5 minutes. The narrator reads Luke 2:8–20 from the King James Bible, and the puppets say short lines or the Bible's own words.

How many puppeteers do we need?

Three is enough (two shepherds and the angel, with the narrator moving Mary and Joseph). Up to ten can join with more sheep and angel puppets.

Do the shepherds' lines come from the Bible?

The angels' words and the shepherds' "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem" are the King James text. The shepherds' other short lines only say what Luke 2 tells, and the narrator reads every event from the Bible.

Are the wise men in this skit?

No. This skit is Luke 2, the night Jesus was born. The wise men came later to the house where the young child was (Matthew 2:11), so they have their own scene in our nativity play.