When I was visiting The Grove Community Church in Riverside, California, I saw a kids church reward system that they used to help motivate kids to listen & participate. They...
Kingdom Culture Church
We are proud to have partnered with churches across the U.S. These are projects we're currently working on.
Yesterday I was working with one of our children on communion preparation. Part of what we talked about was discipleship of Jesus. If we wanted to follow him, how could we show that in our everyday lives? I wanted to get across the idea of following being an active thing so we made a sandal (or flip flop!) of ideas! I found this craft on Pinterest here, but we put a discipleship slant on it! Cut out a flip flip shape from card and make 3 holes like so... Put a pipe cleaner underneath the flip flop shape and thread one end through hole A and one end through hole B. We chose people we would try to remember to pray for and then chose a button to represent each person, threading the buttons onto the pipe cleaner ends. We then threaded both ends through hole C to make the flip flop strap and secured them underneath. Now we discussed things we could do (achievable things!) that would reflect the fact that we were trying to live out what Jesus taught and write them on the flip flop as a reminder. These included... Think about God at school, respect my friends listen to my dad read a bible story once a week pray
On this page you will find my most popular printables, but I have a growing portfolio that can be easier seen on my Pinterest page...
The Blessing Wall! Walking into the room and seeing all the kid's blessings just makes you smile. Isn't it a WONDERFUL thing to co...
Ministry Appreciaiton: Here are 6 ministry appreciation gift ideas for when you want to honor ministry volunteers or leaders.
It can be very overwhelming to plan a large event. So, I have made an event checklist just for KidMin! On it, I have laid everything out by time, and I have also kept a couple of blank spaces that you can fill in if you need it. What do you think? Should something else [...]
This prayer activity is fun and interactive and can be used with children from 3 upwards. We gathered together some laminated maps of the world, the UK and the local area. Then we stuck them on the wall, but you could do this on the floor if you wanted to! We put a blind fold on a child and turned them round and then got them to stick a hand sticker onto one of the maps. The child them took the blind fold off to see where the sticker had landed. We then asked God to put his hand over that place and to bless it.
This is such a special station. The Great (Com)Mission Station is all about stirring up a desire in the hearts of the next generation to make Jesus known all over the world. There are two giving buckets for the kids to collect offerings for children in need. These were simply recycled coffee cans covered with brown packing paper and finished with a homemade "label". One can is for kids to give to World Vision: to purchase farm animals for children in third-world countries. The other can is for Foursquare Gospel Boxes: A box filled with Sunday School supplies for missionaries to share the story of Jesus with children all over the world. I printed the instructions for using this station on plain printer paper and displayed it in a cheap dollar store black frame. The instructions simply say to take a green dot sticker and find a place on the map they would like to pray for. As they touch that place, placing their sticker there, they cover that ground in prayer. May God touch this place. May Jesus be known there. We love this station! Our Children's Ministry Mission Statement is: "To cultivate a harvest of world-changers, growing up in the presence of God." We are asking God to give these kids a heart for changing the world. And for those who are interested in the details of how this station was put together... The map is from a local school supply shop (for $5!) that we just stapled up with a staple gun. The stickers are small transparent dot stickers just like these. It is very simple to do!
Paul's Shipwreck Activity Book & Lesson Plans for Kids | Printable Paul the Apostle Bible activities for Homeschooling, Sunday and Sabbath School lessons.
I was recently reminded of this prayer activity and it was great to try it out again. I'd forgotten how peaceful and reflective an activity it could be! This is suitable for use with all ages but certainly has a 'wow' factor that children will appreciate. What's great is that you can go as big or small scale as you want. I've seen it done in paddling pools with larger groups but it works equally as well in a small container. You will need: Thin paper, pens, scissors, a container filled with water. Ask children to think of people or things they would like to bring to God and then ask them to cut out a shape from the paper. This shape could correspond to their prayer topic or, in a more guided session, each child could use the same shape and pray around the same topic. Options could include: Praying for others- flowers or stars, writing the name of a different person on each petal/ star arm Love/ forgiveness/ sorry- heart shapes Thanks- the shape of something you want to thank God for. Fold the corners, sides or petals of the shapes into the middle (as shown in the picture collage above). Place the bottom of the prayer shape on top of the water and watch as the petals or folded portions of the shapes gradually open out, symbolically opening out the prayer to God. The opened shape will then float on top of the water. This will take some time to happen fully so there is plenty of opportunity to watch and reflect on the prayers!
Children’s ministry areas naturally become one of the most important and strategic factors in designing a church building. The intentionality of creating a space to reach and raise the next generation is crucial in the planning. Safety and...
A continuation of Part 1. Part 2 covers Willow Creek’s signage, children areas and auditorium.
Here's a fun way to get children to engage in thanking God and asking for blessing while also symbolically releasing their prayers into his...
Games can be fun to teach about the purpose of prayer and how to pray. Games about prayer help teach kids and teens the purpose of prayer
I know it's a bit early to be thinking of Pentecost, but I like to be ahead of the game and there are so many stories where flames are useful! This is a really great idea for all ages. We ended up working on the kitchen floor and even the adults decided to join in. Some of the children got incredibly creative... It's quite a reflective activity and lends itself to silence if that's an option for you. Have fun! You will need: yellow, red and orange paint, foil (for easy clean-up afterwards!), plastic forks, card or paper (we used black for a great effect). Use a fork to blob some paint onto the paper and then swirl and pull or brush with the fork! Encourage colour mixing as the flames flicker together... Talk about: The power of fire reflecting the power of the Holy Spirit. What is fire like? What can it do? How might the disciples have felt seeing tongues of fire above their heads? How would you have felt? What do you know about the power of fire? What about the Holy Spirit? Get children to share their reflections on the story and their own experiences of the Holy Spirit Pray: Create a group flame painting. As you paint the flames pray for other people and for each other to be touched by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Whether you are volunteering for your church or serving as a church employee, we all need to be reminded of the Bible verses about serving.
Sample this Sunday School Lesson on Saul from our Missions: Kids Around the World 8-Week Children's Ministry Curriculum! Missions: Kids Around The World 8-Week Curriculum takes kids on a journey around the world to learn about Paul's Missionary Journeys and about kids in different countries as they they explore what it means to be a missionary for Jesus. This curriculum also includes an 8-week offering project guide for your Children's Ministry to support a missionary family serving kids in Haiti. Saul Sample Lesson Overview: Memory Verse: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19-20a Haiti: It's Possible for God to Change Lives. Acts 9:1-19, Saul's Conversion Looking for more free Sunday School Lessons? Check out our collection of over 150 FREE Sunday School Lessons for Kids. Or take a look at our chronological list of Bible Stories for Kids. Click HERE to see our Missions: Kids Around the World series.
Free Ten Commandment Bible Printables for K-5. Students learn their ten commandments with our free printable coloring pages, bookmakrs, crafts, flashcards and more.
Netcast Church, located near Boston, MA, decided to pursue a nontraditional route in regards to establishing their permanent church home.
Enjoy our free Bible Word Search: Paul's Shipwreck. Fun for kids to print and learn more about the Bible. Feel free to share with others, too! Shipwrecked!
Pastor Deepak Reju reminds us, "In addition to teaching children, Christians also have a fundamental responsibility to protect them. We learn this... from God, who throughout the Bible has a special burden for the young, weak, and oppressed in society." At my church, Sojourn Church M
Teaching your kids the stories of the Gospels is so important, and I always find that kids learn the best when I make it fun and relevant for them to reach them on their own
Explore these 21 outreach ideas for kids to help them learn to reach out to their friends and neighbors and grow their church community.
Pentecostes é uma celebração que tem muito a nos ensinar - leia aqui - a pomba branca e o fogo são uns dos símbolos mais conhecidos...
Zacchaeus is a real-life example of the power that Jesus has to change our hearts. The goal in this lesson is for the children to feel the darkness and ugliness of sin, and then experience the joy and miracle of forgiveness when Zacchaeus meets Jesus! Bible Truth: Jesus has the power to forgives my sin. Bible Story: Jesus changes Zacchaeus' heart. Bible Study: Luke 19:1-10; I Corinthians 5:7 teach cha-ching! To tell the story of Zacchaeus "hands-on" style gather up these items: children's picture Bible, or flannel graph scenery and characters a small bag or coin pouch loose change a cut-out of a black heart and a white heart Peak your class's interest in your lesson by shaking the bag, and letting them guess what is inside. They will probably easily guess that you have money in your bag! Pass out a coin for each child to hold throughout the lesson. (Remind them that they should never put coins in their mouths!) Read the story of Zacchaeus from a children's picture Bible, or tell it in your own words with visuals, such as flannel graph. Introduce Zacchaeus as a short man, who was a tax collector. His job was to collect money that people had to pay to the king. But Zacchaeus took more money from people than he was supposed to. If someone was supposed to pay one coin to the king, Zaccahaeus made them pay two coins, and he would keep one of the coins for himself. That is called stealing. Zacchaeus was rich and had lots of money, but nobody wanted to be his friend because he stole money from them. He had a dark sinful heart. Hold up the dark heart as you describe Zacchaeus' dark and sinful heart. Go on to tell the rest of the story of Zacchaeus meeting Jesus, as you show pictures from the children's Bible or manipulate flannel graph characters. At the conclusion of the story, talk about how amazing it is that Jesus changed Zacchaeus' heart! He used to be a man that stole people's money, but now he gives his money away to people! Jesus did a miracle! Only Jesus has the power to take a dirty, sinful heart and give us a new clean heart! Zacchaeus repented, he turned away from his sin, and followed Jesus! Hold up the white heart as you describe how Jesus changed Zacchaeus' heart. Lead the class in a prayer, asking Jesus to forgive their sin, and change their hearts so they can follow Jesus like Zacchaeus. After you pray, collect the coins from the children. Tell them that they are giving the money back just like Zacchaeus did after he repented. sing Zacchaeus (was a wee little man) is a Sunday School classic, and the perfect song to reinforce the story they just heard. Be sure to do some actions with the song! The Repent Song is the same song we learned along with the story of John the Baptist, so it's great review and repetition. Follow the link for the lyrics and actions. The Bath Song is a great song about how Jesus washes away our sin with "super soap." The "call back" format makes it really easy to sing along! craft color & paste Here is a coloring sheet from Sermons 4 Kids of Jesus talking to Zacchaeus in the tree. Cut pieces of green paper, or green tissue paper into leaves for the children to glue onto the tree. zacchaeus meets Jesus A good craft is one that helps children retell the story that they learned. This craft does exactly that! You will need: this print out in (black & white) or (color) card stock scissors hole punch yarn green tissue paper glue clear tape crayons (optional) To prepare, print the print out page onto card stock. Cut on the dotted line, and cut out Zacchaeus. Punch a hole at the top and bottom of the tree. Cut out approximately 1" x 1" squares of green tissue paper. Cut yarn into 16" lengths. In class, provide glue for the children to attach the squares of tissue paper to the tree as leaves. Lace the yarn throught the holes and tie it behind the tree. If using the black and white version, provide crayons for the children to color Jesus and Zacchaeus. Tip: Tie the yarn near the top of the page, and attach Zacchaeus to the bottom of the page. It is easier for the kids, if you let them glue on the leaves before you add the yarn. Use clear tape to attach Zacchaeus to the yarn. Tip: Set the clear tape under the yarn, sticky side up, and then press Zacchaeus onto the tape. Move Zacchaeus up and down the tree to retell the story! up and down the tree For this craft you will need: this tree pattern this Zacchaeus pattern green construction paper jumbo craft sticks yarn scissors hole punch crayons glue tape To prepare, cut out the top, leaf portion of the tree pattern, and use it to trace onto green construction paper. Cut out tree and Zacchaeus figures. Punch a hole near the top of the trees. Cut yarn into approximately 7" lengths. In class, provide crayons for the children to color Zacchaeus, and the jumbo craft stick. Help them attach the tree to the craft stick with glue. Tape Zacchaeus to the yarn, thread the yarn through the hole in the tree, and tie the yarn off in the back to move Zacchaeus up and down the tree. Find more ideas and for teaching your child at home about Zacchaeus and his encounter with Jesus, here!
Printable Bible coloring page: Paul's Shipwreck | Free Paul the Apostle coloring page for Homeschoolers, Sunday School and Sabbath School lessons.
Recruit the right volunteers for a Children's Ministry and keep them involved!
Children can absolutely glean lessons from Joseph's story about keeping a good attitude when they are treated unfairly, and forgiving those who don't deserve it, but the ultimate goal of every Biblical account of someone's life is to teach us something of God, and His character. Through the twists and turns of Joseph's life, we see God's goodness, God's faithfulness, and His ability to work all things out for our good (Romans 8:28). As you teach the story of Joseph, point your children towards God and His goodness. Here are some ways to help you do just that! Bible Truth: Joseph shared God's goodness. Bible Story: Joseph's brothers were mean to him, but God was good to him. Joseph forgave his brothers and helped his family. Bible Study: Genesis 37-45 teach show-and-tell As with most Bible stories, I will use a Children's Bible Storybook, or flannel graph for visuals, but I always try to add another tangible element to bring the story alive! There are a lot of details in the story of Joseph, but since we are teaching this lesson to young children in one service, I focus on the big picture of Joseph's life, emphasizing that God was watching over Joseph wherever he went. No matter where Joseph was, or how he felt, he trusted and obeyed God. These items help me stay on track, and illustrate each of these points in the story. colorful scarf / cloth - Joseph had eleven brothers. Can you count to eleven? Joseph was his father's favorite son. His father, Jacob, gave him a very special, beautiful, colorful coat. This made Joseph's brothers jealous, because they didn't get a special coat. Joseph also had special dreams like that the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to Joseph. The dreams seemed to mean that Joseph's father, mother and eleven brothers would bow down to him. Dreams like this made Joseph's brothers mad at him. rope - One day Joseph's brothers stole his coat and threw him into a pit, a dark hole in the ground. They were trying decide what to do with him, when some travelers who sold expensive spices and oils passed by. They sold Joseph to the travelers, so that they could sell Joseph as a slave. How do you think Joseph felt when his brothers treated him this way? hand towel and money - The travelers sold Joseph to the captain of the army in Egypt. Joseph took very good care of the captain's house. God was with Joseph, and He became the one in charge of everything in the captain' house, even all of his money. How do you think Joseph felt now? handcuffs - One day, the captain's wife told a lie about Joseph. She told her husband that Joseph tried to hurt her. The captain believed his wife's lie and threw Joseph into prison. How do you think Joseph felt in prison? Even in prison, God was with Joseph, and he became the one in charge of all the prisoners. Sometimes the prisoners had strange dreams, and God helped Joseph explain the meaning of their dreams. Egyptian headdress (Follow the link for a template. This could also be a craft for the kids to make!) - One day, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had a strange dream. He called Joseph out of prison, and God helped Joseph explain the meaning of Pharaoh's dream. Pharaoh listened to Joseph and made him ruler over the land of Egypt. How do you think Joseph felt now? bag of rice, oats or any other grain - After seven years there was a terrible famine. There was no food in all the land, and people were very hungry. But as the ruler of Egypt, Joseph had stored up lots of grain, so people all over the land came to Joseph to get grain to eat. One day, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to ask for grain. They came before Joseph and bowed down to him. Joseph recognized them, but they didn't know that it was Joseph. Joseph's dream came true! His brothers were bowing down to him! Joseph had lots of power. He could throw them into prison, or even kill them, if he wanted to get back at them for the horrible way that they treated him. But Joseph didn't do that. He started to cry, and said to them, "Brothers, it's me Joseph. You tried to hurt me, but God was taking care of me. He brought me here, and made me the ruler so that I can help you. I forgive you for the way that you treated me." He hugged them, gave them all the food that they needed. Then all of Joseph's family came to live with him Egypt. How do you think Joseph felt now? binoculars - God was watching Joseph everywhere that he went. He saw Joseph proudly wear his colorful, handsome coat. He saw Joseph when his brothers stole his coat, threw him in a pit, and sold him as a slave. He saw Joseph take good care of the captain's house, and he saw him get thrown into prison when he didn't deserve it. He saw him become the ruler of Egypt, and forgive his brothers. God was always watching Joseph. Joseph kept a happy heart, and kept believing and trusting God. God took care of Joseph. He made the bad things in his life turn out to be good things. God is always watching and taking care of you too! sing Watching Over You - God was watching over Joseph everywhere that he went, and God is watching over you too! Here is a video to see suggested actions for this song. When I'm Sad - God was with Joseph when he felt sad, hurt, scared and mad. Joseph believed that God was with him, and knew that God was helping him. Here's a great visual to go with this song! If you have ever attended one of my seminars, you've likely seen me do this song. I suggest printing on card stock for durability. Print page three on the back of page one. Print page four on the back of page two. Then cut each page lengthwise, fold and attach each pair of faces to a file folder as shown below. Add a small bandage to the hurt red face. Lift each flap as you sing each part of the song. I'm telling you, this song is anointed! The kids loooove it, and it has a very applicable message for their lives. play i spy Play the classic game of "I Spy" with your class to imagine all the beautiful colors that were on Joseph's coat! Use your binoculars to spy an object in the room. Say, "I spy with my little eye something that is ___________ (color of object)". Give the children three guesses to find your object. Let the children take turns to spy objects too. craft coat of many colors You will need: this activity page chenille stems in various colors wire cutters glue crayons To prepare, print the activity page, and use wire cutters to cut chenille stems the length of Joseph's coat. In class, provide crayons for the children to color. Help the children apply glue, and choose chenille stems to press onto Joseph's coat. God is watching binoculars If you use binoculars, as suggested to wrap up the story, your kids will want to look through the binoculars as well. They will love having their own pair to take home that will help them remember both the story of Joseph, and that God is always watching over them! You will need: this print out scissors cardboard (toilet paper) tubes colored tape crayons yarn or lacing hole punch clear tape To prepare, print and cut the binocular cover print out. Place two cardboard tubes side by side, and wrap colored tape around the top and the bottom to connect them, and give them a finished look. Cut yarn, or lacing, to approximately thirty inch lengths. In class, provide crayons for the children to color their binocular covers. Use clear tape to secure the covers around each pair of cardboard rolls. Punch a hole on either side of the binoculars. Tie yarn or lacing through each hole to complete the binoculars.
I haven't updated on our church kids ministry's VBS crafts ever since the first week, mainly because each subsequent week flew by, while I couldn't keep up with documenting either the process or the products. (Our VBS took place over the course of 5 consecutive Sundays of the summer). As is the case with any arts and crafts for a large group, preparation was the most challenging. But this year, we held a couple "Crafts Prep Parties" where summer teachers got together to prepare for 100 sets of crafts materials for each Sunday, and while doing so, got to know one another better as well through great conversations. God is good, because on a personal level, He taught me once again the beauty of more people coming together, delegating, cooperating, sharing, teaching one another and encouraging. Such things are not possible alone. It's clearly understood in the head that it's never one person's ministry work, but it's easy for it to become so with any ministry work I think. But with Jesus as the head and in the lead, when more hands and feet come together as a community to do any one thing, the blessings multiply tangibly and visibly, and we get to do life together even in that seemingly little type of experience. So I praise God for teaching and showing that He reveals Himself (yes through the individuals, but yes also) through togetherness and community of any type, even at a crafts prep party. I also praise God because He is the God who provides for our needs. He leads the hearts, brings together humble hands and feet that seek to serve God's children, and in doing so serve Jesus, and it all can start with cutting out 160 figures or 200 felt strips. And those "simple" cutting, glue-gunning, and folding, all work together toward message-driven crafts that sow God's truths into the hearts of these children. Our kids ministry followed the program of Standard Publishing's 2012 VBS, "Adventures on Promise Island- where kids discover God's lifesaving love!" Each week, we learned of a promise from God: 1. "I am with you" 2. "I care about you" 3. "I give you what you need" 4. "I will save you" 5. "I will answer you" These promises that kids were learning actually spoke volumes to me and reminded me of His truths in times of doubts throughout this summer. For kids and adults alike, for new-believers and old believers alike, these promises of God are the enduring truths that we can renew our minds with, and replace the lies that plague our hearts with. Thanks to God, for His promises. I have to say that the Standard Publishing's Crafts Guide was fantastic. There were many options to choose from for each week, and each one a thoughtfully-designed craft for kids. Most important aspect was that they were message-inspired and message-driven, not merely nice activities for the hands to produce things take-home worthy. They actually helped learning of the Biblical lessons in the making process, and the final products became reminders for them to remember the promises of God. I loved how each week, a handful options were service-driven, where kids made practical-use crafts as donations for those around them with certain needs, or as encouragement gifts. In the Guide, I followed some crafts line by line, and others I altered or spun off from, as seemed fit for our groups. All the inspirations and Biblical connections in these crafts came from the Standard Publishing's Guide. : ] I don't have photos of all the crafts yet, but here's the first round to get the update post started. : ] Please let me know if you might come across these and have any questions as you plan to do them with your kids! God's Promise: I care about you "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 The Bible story was from John 11:1-3, 17-44, in which Jesus cares about his friends Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Even though he had the authority and the power to raise Lazarus from death right then and there (which he eventually does, and the delay was so that God's glory would be revealed in this way), Jesus was aware that it wasn't the time yet, and overcome with sadness at Lazarus' death as well as how much pain his sisters and other friends were in mourning, Jesus also wept. This is tremendous, I think, to know that God deeply cares about us and connects with us. And then, the sadness was not the end; there's God's glory being revealed when Lazarus is raised from dead. Based on this lesson, our oldest age group (2nd-4th grades), made the above vases. The left one is what we made; the right one is just a spin-off. Like the way Lazarus' dead body was wrapped in linen inside the tomb, we wrapped empty Gatorade bottles with masking tapes. Using markers and paper flowers, we decorated them, put a tag with God's promise, "I care about you" on one side, and the corresponding Bible verse (1 Peter 5:7) on the other side. To remember that the sadness and death was not the end, and that the glory of God and restoration followed, we made tissue paper flowers to put in the vases. The Guide had an amazing pointer- what living thing can we put inside the vase? The vase itself reminds us of Lazarus story, and the flowers coming out of the vase reminds us of its significance-- the glory of God, and how His cares for all of us, and how we can hope and trust in Him because of that through any troubling times. We made this particular week's crafts service-oriented, extending the message of God's care for us towards those around us as well. So for every group, each kid made two sets: one to keep, one to give. The oldest group made the above vases; the middle group (K-1st Grade) made "healing balms" with petroleum jelly scented with flavorings and then cased in heart-shape tin cans; the youngest group (pre-k 3-4 year olds) decorated "caring tissue boxes." In all the crafts, we focused on God's care for us through happy times and sad times, and on how He heals and restores us. God's Promise: I give you what you need "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19 This "beach mat"was made with our youngest group (Pre-k 3-4 year olds), based on the Bible story from Mark 2:1-21, in which Jesus heals a paralytic man brought by his four friends. God as our Father and Provider, gives us what we need. For this paralytic man, his need was the ability to walk, and this need could be met because of God's provision of four great friends in the man's life as well. We talked about how the man would've left his first-ever, or first-in-a-LONG-time foot prints when Jesus healed him and he was finally able to get up, take up his mat and walk. Preparation included cutting out the rectangle mats from cardboard boxes (grocery store egg boxes to the rescue! ; ] ), making fringes on the sides, glueing on print-outs of Biblical "friend" figures (we got ours from the amazing kids ministry resource, www.daniellesplace.com), cutting out the footprints (we used smiley stickers for toes), and writing the message "Jesus gives (you) what you need. Phil 4:19" across the bottom. During the actual craft time, kids reviewed the story, colored the friends, put up the footprints, and decorated the fringes. For the same promise of that week, the older groups (kindergarten~4th grade) made pencil roll mats, reminding us of how Jesus healed the paralytic man, and he was able to roll up his mat and go. We made incisions in advance on 9"x12" felt sheets as instructed in the Guide, and kids weaved in 1"x12" cut-out felt strips to complete pencil roll mats. The ends of strips were secured with glue guns. Kids wrote the message on the bottom with Sharpies, and were each given 4~6 new color pencils to place in their mats and put to use in their upcoming school year. The roll mats were tightly tied with fun ribbons so that nothing falls out. (The extra grey strips on top and bottom came as an after-thought; I found that placing these helped fill in the space at the ends when the mat is rolled up with pencils inside, and help further prevent the contents from falling out. And the light shade strips, when using a darker shade background sheet, would help make the message more legible.) God's Promise: I will save you "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16 The Gospel message came from John 19~20, and I loved the inspiration from the Guide that Jesus is our "Life Saver," and loved seeing lifesaver shapes and even Lifesaver candies being incorporated. So cute! This one was made with the younger groups (pre-k~1st grade). We pre-cut out a blank person figure for each child. We also prepared O-shaped templates for the lifesavers from manila folders, so that kids can trace them on their choice of decorative paper and cut out to be their "Jesus Lifesaver." To make the process more dramatic, we had previously scattered the blank person figures on the floor on a sheet of table cloth as though these figures were "drowning," and after explaining the Gospel story, asked kids to come up and each pick up a figure, which they would decorate to represent themselves, and to place them on their lifesavers. In this way, we demonstrated that Jesus saves them. The background lifesaver with red marks, is the back of a paper plate, and kids wrote the message around the rim: "Jesus is my Life Saver - John 3:16." The oldest group made "Believe" signs to hang on the wall. On rectangle cork boards, they sketched the word "Believe," and pinned golden thumbtacks to spell out the word. The pinning act connected them to Jesus being nailed on the cross, and also to the doubting Thomas who said he cannot believe in the resurrected Jesus unless he sees where the nails pieced him and the spear wounded his side. How the golden thumbtacks subtly glistened against the tan cork board, spelling out the words "Believe," seemed beautiful. We also touched on Jesus' message following Thomas' belief in the risen Jesus only after seeing with his own eyes, that even more blessed are those who don't see and yet believe. God's Promise: I will answer you "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything in accordance to his will, he hears us." - 1 John 5:14 For this final week's promise, we made a lei with all five promises on it, like a souvenir from the "Promise Island" to take home and remind them of God's character as reflected in His promises, so that they would always remember whom they are praying to when they pray. The Bible story came from Acts 16, where Paul and Silas were in prison, but God hears their prayer and praises to Him, and answers them reveals His glory.
This fun, Jesus Calms the Storm Sunday School lesson includes creative ideas to teach kids this Bible story including games and cute craft.
Self-control is a valuable trait that children need to learn in order to make wise decisions and deal with difficult situations. As parents and teachers, it’s our responsibility to help them …
Use these 3 devotions to encourage your volunteers in a brief team meeting or full training.
