Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

A lot of children suffer from some degree of negative self image and one of the things we'd really like them to do is learn to see themselves as God sees them- loved and precious. This is an activity we did both in our school lunchtime club and (with a bit more elaboration) at our church mid week club for 8-11s.  Once we'd established the rule that only 'good'  words could be used about ourselves and others this turned into quite a joyful and encouraging session, though one or two children struggled to begin with! First we told the story of Gideon hiding in the winepress (click  here  for details of how to tell the story with a folding picture).  Out of the story we drew the idea that, even though we feel small, weak and useless sometimes, that's not how God sees us!  He sees how great we can be with His help! Next we drew round our head and shoulders on A3 paper.  We sat silently for a short while and asked God to give us encouraging word...

This week in our mid week group we're going to look at the story of Gideon in the wine press, trying to bring out the point that even if you feel small and that you can't do much, God sees you for who you really are and what you can really do with His help.  Here's how we will tell the story... I'm using an A4 sheet with simple drawings on it.  Before folding, the sheet looks like this:  Side 1 Side 2 The first picture is of a small sized Gideon (you will see how the folding works as the story progresses! Gideon was an Israelite.  The Israelites lived in a land that was invaded by people from another land who came and stole their food and everything they had.  The Israelites cried out to God for help. (Fold the paper over to hide Gideon inside the wine press) One day, Gideon was in the wine press, threshing corn so that his family could have something to eat.  He was doing it in the wine press so he could be hidden and the inva...