Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

If you want to offer an absorbing and challenging way for children to explore the story of Zacchaeus, then look no further.  This is a great way of helping them to think about the determination of Zacchaeus to see Jesus, because it will take some determination to complete the task!! You will need: Dried spaghetti, mini marshmallows and a plastic Easter Egg Challenge the children to build a 'tree' with the spaghetti and marshmallows, that will support and hold a plastic Easter egg (real eggs are way too heavy for what they are likely to build!) Talk about: How easy was it to build the tree? What difficulties did you encounter? What difficulties do you think Zacchaeus encountered in the story? What lengths would you go to to see one of your heroes? What lengths do others go to in order to be Christians?- think about the persecuted church When do you sometimes have to be determined? Do you ever have to use your determination in order to live as a Chris...

The  Lord  doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the  Lord  looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) This verse is a really useful one to use with children when you are helping them to think about who they are as children of God.  In times of peer pressure and social expectations, it can be really helpful to know that God looks at us through different eyes and sees our value and gifts even when others don't seem to. This craft is deigned to help children explore ideas around the difference between what people might see on the surface and what God knows about us and uses something that takes me back to my school science days! You will need : A book of Litmus paper  strips (1 bought a book of 80 for less than £1 online), heart shapes drawn on paper, glue, various liquids (safe ones for children to touch! e.g. hand soap, washing up liquid, lemon juice, water, milk, different drinks. ...

This weekend I am off at a gathering of churches from our diocese and beyond and will be running a workshop for parents about how they can help children to engage with faith at home.  To give them some ideas for praying together, I've made up some bags which we will work our way through during the session! Here's one of the bags laid out... I've included: some bubble wrap, felt tip pens, spotty paper, play dough, play coins, plastic teaspoons, bubbles, pipe cleaners, playing cards, skittles sweets and lego. Here's how I will suggest we might use each item (after getting some ideas from the parents themselves which will probably be even better than these ideas!!) Family Prayer Bag 1.  God Venture Skittles Prayers:   (Found at http://godventure.co.uk/prayer-activities/sweets-prayer/ - thanks Victoria for this amazing idea! ) Choose a skittle at random, say the appropriate prayer and then eat it! Red: family Purple: friends Green: the...

As part of our series looking at Holy Communion we spent some time thinking about community, the sign of peace and what it means to make peace with others.  Here's what we did! Game: stand a stick of spaghetti into a bit of play dough and then thread cheerios onto it.  How many cheerios can you get on the stick in 1 minute? Eat the cheerios and then start again.  This game then leads on to talking about bringing people together as a community, which is what we do in the church family. Talk about:  belonging to our own families and to God’s family   How do you show that you belong to a group? Everyone is welcome in God’s family and it doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done or if you get on with that person! Think about  the part in the liturgy where we say “peace be with you’ and then we reply ‘and also with you’ What does peace mean? How does it feel if peace is ‘with you’? What does it mean to make peace? Why do you...