Illustrated Bible Stories: A Project Born in Times of Pandemic

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministerio Cristiano de las Catacumbas in Puerto Rico launched a beautiful initiative: to create Bible stories that would accompany children who could no longer attend Sunday school. From that seed grew a collection of simple stories, designed to help us reflect and marvel at what God did… on that day.

The creative team, led by pastors Juan M. Frontera and Angelita Vargas, brought together talented collaborators: Pastor Luis Ramos (graphic designer), Raquel Álamo (writer), missionary Delma Ruíz (consultant), and myself, Rick Lipsett, as illustrator. Together we developed 52 Bible stories, which for an entire year served as a teaching tool for the Catacumbas church teachers across Puerto Rico.

Each week, teachers received a package that included:

• Original illustrations (created by me).

• Bible verses and teaching guides.

• Videos available on YouTube.

• Activities for children to do at home.

The experience was so enriching that, with the approval of the original creators, a new challenge emerged: to transform some of these teachings into illustrated books  as well as new ones using this project's unique way of storytelling.

These books were carefully edited by Haydée Zayas-Ramos under Milina Editores, giving the series a professional finish and editorial polish.

Two Stories That Are Already Part of the Series

1. The Day God Stopped the Sun and the Moon
Joshua seeks justice for Israel’s allies and trusts God for every victory. In his favor, the Lord works great miracles—even stopping the sun and the moon—to give His people victory.

2. The Day Simeon’s Waiting Came to an End
Simeon receives a revelation: God would once again speak to His people, not through a prophet, but through someone much greater. His long wait comes to an end as he witnesses the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Illustrating to Inspire

In each book, I set out to create images that would capture children’s imagination, giving parents, grandparents, and Sunday school teachers a visual tool to share the Word in a close and memorable way.

Today, these books are part of a growing collection and are now available on Amazon.