Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

In the Bible, clouds are often a sign of God's Presence. When the people of God find themselves on their Exodus journey, they are led by a pillar of cloud during the day and Moses goes up the mountain and disappears into the clouds where God is.  This activity is an active way of exploring this story and thinking about how we each experience God's presence with us. Download and print the cloud spotting sheet here. Go outside to spot cloud types, maybe after hearing one of the stories about clouds in Exodus, and have a think about the discussion questions on your walk: What shapes and pictures can you see in the clouds Where do you feel that God is with you? What can you see that reminds you of God? On our walk the clouds were fairly dramatic and rainy and we cut a viewing window out of the centre of the sheet. Fortunately, we didn't get too wet! This activity could be adapted for the Ascension story or for any story that contains clouds!

Next week our younger children will be exploring Psalm 121 and thinking about God's help and protection.  They really enjoy doing anything related to food, so here is an activity I have planned for them.  As it's about God's protection it would work equally well with any story that has that theme: Daniel in the Lion's Den, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Jesus calms the storm...  You will need: undecorated cupcakes, a knife or spoon, small sweets e.g. Skittles, fondant icing, rolling pin, circular cookie cutters. Cut a hole in the top of a cupcake with a spoon or a knife. Fill the hole with sweets. Roll out some fondant icing and cut out a circle of it that is big enough to cover the top of your cupcake. Cover the cupcake with the fondant and decorate it (maybe with the initial letter of your name). The sweets will be hidden under the icing and protected by it. Bite into the cake to reveal the protected sweets! Talk about:  Link the ...

This is a craft that will be as individual as the child who makes it and would work well either in a small group or family situation.  I'm using it here to help explore the Exodus story but it would work just as well when you are looking at creation. You will need: Sticks, wool (or I have also seen cardboard strips covered in double sided tape used for this activity- see this inspirational post ), nature! Go for a walk outside and encourage children to pick up interesting leaves, flowers etc that they find on their journey (make sure that children don't pick wild flowers though!!).  Fasten the objects to the stick by wrapping wool around them (or sticking them to the tape). These are memories of their journey. When you get home, talk about what you have collected and where on the journey you found it. Talk about: Moses led the Israelites on a journey through the desert where they learned many things about themselves and about God.   Did you learn anythin...

This is an easy but inventive way of exploring the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness... You will need:  Watercolour paints, a white crayon, white paper or card, water Get children to draw a thick line on the paper with their white crayon.  The line should start at one point on the paper and finish at another but can go in any direction and any wandering that the child wants to take!  The more wandering the better. Swap papers with another child and paint over the paper, covering the whole page and revealing the full journey of the line. The full journey of the line will only be seen when the paper has been covered in paint.  God knows where we are going, even if we sometimes don't! Talk about:   The Exodus story and the journey through the wilderness.   How would you have felt to be journeying for so long? What is the longest journey you have been on?  Have you ever been on a mystery journey? Have you ever start...

Finger labyrinths have been really popular on Flame for a while, so I thought I'd post another way of making them. This is a very tactile version, very easy to make, and allows children the chance to make their own wandering line!  The labyrinths would work really well as a craft activity for any Bible story that involves a journey e.g. The Exodus, Joshua. You will need: Paper plates, pencils, foil, glue (PVA works best) Get children to draw a spiral on the paper plate- start in the middle and work outwards but take the line on a wander if you want to!  Next, cut pieces of tin foil and roll them into thin sausage shapes. Glue the foil sausages to the spiral on the plate.  If using PVA you will need to wait a while for the glue to dry! Children can now use the labyrinths as prayer tools, either as a way of using something tactile as they reflect or, more specifically to think and pray about life journeys (see below) Talk about: How does it fee...