Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

This is a lovely activity to help children to reflect on who Jesus is and to explore how they relate to him. We did it when we were exploring what praise was with 3 classes in our local infant school (ranging in age from 4-7) and each class added to the poster as we went along. I must add that this is a church school, so children do have some knowledge of Christianity as a starting point. Making the poster does involve finger paint. so have some wet wipes or hand washing facilities available! You will need: Felt tip pens, a large sheet of paper (e.g. wallpaper backing) with 'Jesus' written on it in big letters, post it notes, finger paints Ask children to think about what they would say if they were telling someone about their amazing friend Jesus and to write or draw it on a post it note. stick all of the post it notes onto the big poster When they have all added to the poster share the things that people have written or drawn and invite children t...

For those of you who are looking ahead and planning for Ascension day then this is for you- but even if you're not, this is a great activity to help children think about giving their prayers to God!   This appears as one of the crafts in last month's Premier Youth and Children's Work magazine, which is amazing always worth a read :-) You will need: A plastic bottle or glass jar, water, vegetable oil, food colouring, Alka seltzer tablets Fill a bottle or jar halfway full with water and mix in some food colouring.  Now fill the rest of the bottle with oil, leaving a small space at the top.  The oil will separate from the water into a separate layer.  Drop an Alka Seltzer tablet (or try a quarter or half at a time if they are large tablets) into the bottle and watch as bubbles of coloured water start to ascend into the oil layer in the style of a mini lava lamp!   Talk: Watch the bubbles rising and thin...

There comes a time when you just have to get messy in the pursuit of story telling.  I am usually an avoider of paint, but even I couldn't resist the messiness scale of this activity! This is a fantastic way of exploring the story of Jesus walking on water, but please be aware IT IS MESSY! You will need: Paint, wallpaper lining paper or a long strip of paper, feet, washing up bowls filled with warm water, towels (old ones that you don't mind getting a bit stained!) Read or tell the story of Jesus walking on water and then talk about Peter stepping out in faith.  Who he walked towards Jesus he stayed afloat, but when he payed attention to the wind and the waves, he began to sink.   Lay out the paper to make a long stretch of 'water' and make sure that it is fastened down! It is best to do this either outside, or somewhere easy to clean. Squirt some blobs of paint onto the paper.  Make sure they are small blobs because big blobs will cause a slipperiness ...

For those children who think logically and mathematically, here's a game that will exercise their brains, but also help them to explore and remember ideas about Jesus! I found an idea about colour sudoku for children  and it made me think about how I could adapt it for church.  I've started off with an easier version that works on 4 sets of 4 squares.  For ease of identification each block of squares is colour coded.  The pictures I have chosen (and ideas for discussion around them) are:  Crown- Jesus is king, our leader Cross- salvation, crucifixion/ resourrection, sacrifice, new life Heart- Jesus' love for us, loving others because he loves us bread and wine- Last supper/ communion and the meaning of each item Print out the puzzle sheet ( click here ) and cut out the grid and each individual picture square.  If you want to keep the puzzle more long term, it's probably a good idea to laminate it. Now arrange the pictures so that each one of...

The children in our 8-11s group have really enjoyed playing with the  Names of God dominoes  I made a while back so I thought I'd make a different set. These dominoes are suitable to help open up a conversation about Jesus and his life as the symbols used are all clues to part of his story.  I think they'll be particularly useful at our lunch time club at school where we spend a lot of time answering children's questions and the children are not necessarily Christian.  It will also be useful to see if the children can identify why we have used particular symbols! Symbols used:  Star- Jesus birth Dove- Jesus' baptism/ Holy spirit Sheep- represents the parables Jesus told Wave of water- miracles of Jesus such as the calming of the storm/ Jesus is the living water Loaves and fish- represent the miracles of Jesus Palm leaves- Palm Sunday Bread and wine- last supper Crosses on the hill- crucifixion Sunrise- Easter Sunday/ new life Crow...