Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

For anyone who is looking for something to do at home this coming week, here is a playdough mat that ties in with our Mothering Sunday readings. Just click here , print out and laminate for further use in the future!  Think about: What does being safe feel like? Who keeps me safe? Who do I help to feel safe? Have you ever asked God to help you feel safe? Pray: Use the play dough mat to think about people who keep you safe and say thank you to God for them.

Last week's Messy Church was based around the story of baby Moses being left in a basket in the river by his mother. What we focussed on was the theme of safety: thanking God for those who keep us safe and asking God to keep others safe.  Here is the prayer activity we ended with. It was so easy but felt so significant! You will need: cupcake cases, mini pom poms (it really helps if you put one pom pom in each cake case before you start), a long box filled with water (or several boxes if you have lots of people). Talk about people who keep us safe, just like Moses' mum tried to keep him safe from the Egyptians and then safe on the water. Are there any times when God has kept you safe? Who do you know who needs help to stay safe at the moment? (We had lots of suggestions e.g. homeless people, people who were going to have an operation, people who were going on a journey). Invite everyone to take cake case with a pom pom in it and think about someone who keeps them ...

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...

This is a fun way make flame pictures that gets quite messy!  This would work especially well with under 5s, but I really enjoyed it too! You will need: Tissue paper (yellow, orange, red) cut into flame shapes; water in a spray bottle; paper Arrange the tissue flames on a piece of paper but don't stick them down!  Spray the flames with water from the spray bottle until they are soaked.  Now pull the tissue paper off (this is where it gets messy!) and see how the colour has bled from the tissue onto the paper.  Wait for the art work to dry  Cut around the flames and admire the colour mixing! Things to talk about: In the story of Moses and the burning bush, God takes something ordinary and turns it into something extraordinary.  How did the tissue paper bleeding surprise you?  Did it turn out as you expected? Sometimes God does amazing, unexpected things in our lives and makes us think about things in new ways.  Has God ever don...

Here's a really visual way to tell the story of the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14. Print out the Storyteller sheet by clicking here . Cut out the large rectangle and then cut out the grey centre squares.  Fold along the middle and stick the two squares back to back.  Fold and stick the arrow squares on top of each other as the arrows indicate... Now stick the second set of arrow squares on top of each other When you have finished sticking, your storyteller will look like this. This picture shows the Israelites on their journey through the desert.  They have just heard that the Egyptian army is coming after them to capture them and take them back to Egypt.  The only way forward is through the sea.  They are scared and angry at Moses for bringing them here and they don't know what will happen to them... Open the storyteller up and fold back the flaps to reveal the next picture. Moses come to God to ask Him what to do. ...

Yesterday we were in school to do a SEALS assembly about new beginnings.  We decided to use the story of Moses and the burning bush to speak about God giving us new starts... We began with a game.  Two children came out the the front and each had a minute to build a tower with plastic cups like so: As expected, each tower fell down several times during the minute and the children had to start again.  This was great fun and led on to our story which was also about starting again. With more volunteers we acted out the story of Moses and the burning bush, focussing on the fact that Moses had messed up in Egypt and run away but God still had a job for him to do.  He could start again with his people!  We used ribbons on a stick to show the fire, waved about by the child pretending to be the bush.  Very effective, but next time we'll use a shorter stick.  Moses was in danger of losing an eye at one point! After the story we used an illusion to ma...

Today we were back at school for the first lunchtime club of the year.  We were looking at the idea of God having plans for us so we used the story of Moses and the burning bush... We told the story and acted out Moses' reactions, taking off our shoes and discussing the idea of a 'holy place'.  Then we moved on to talking about God giving Moses a job to do and that God had a job for all of us in his plan.  What did we like doing?  What did we feel drawn towards in the future? To help them think about their response, the children worked in groups to make a 'burning bush' collage, sticking 'flames' onto a background paper. When they had made the collage, we then asked the children to write the job they were thinking of onto one of the flames.  There were lots of ideas including dancer, doctor, Olympic swimmer, shop keeper and website creator. Next, everyone put a hand on the collage they had helped to make and we thanked God for the plans He ...