Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

I used this idea in an assembly yesterday, focussing on people we trust and what it means to trust God.   This would work really well if you are exploring miracle stories or stories about trust.  Suitable verses to use with it might be:  Joshua 1:9: Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the  Lord  your God will be with you wherever you go.” Psalm 56: 3  When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. John 14: 1  Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me  I have to admit that this trick is not an original idea.  I found the trick in this book:  Simple Science Object Talks by Heno Head Jnr  and would definitely recommend getting cold of a copy if you can! You will need: A glass of water (about half- 2/3 filled) and an index card. This is what you do: place the index card over the top of the glass, making sure that the whole of the rim is covered by it, and press...

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 week we've been looking again at being the salt of the earth and talking about how, as disciples, we can lead 'salty' lives of compassion for others and love of God.  I wanted to get across the idea of having to grow as disciples and that this will take time, so I had a little bit of an experiment with growing salt crystals! Here's what you do... Put some salt in the bottom of a jar (probably a bit less than shown in the picture!)  Pour in some water to fill about 1/4 of the jar and mix with the salt.  Not all of the salt will dissolve and you will be left with a thick salt layer at the bottom of the jar.  This is fine! Tie a string to a pen or pencil (as in the picture) and dangle the string in the water.  Let the pen rest over the top.  Put the jar/pen/string somewhere warm and wait!  Over time, evaporation will happen and salt crystals will start to form on the strings.  The picture below shows a few days growth only. U...

Here's a clever way to help children to think about nothing being impossible to God.  It's quite a good illustration for an assembly and, if you practise, you will be able to cut while talking!  It's especially good for times of transition when children are worried about going into a new situation. Ask some children to come out to the front give each of them a sheet of A5 sized paper and some scissors. Ask them to cut a hole in the paper that they will be able to fit their whole body through. Some of the children will immediately decide that this is not possible, while some may have an attempt! Sometimes we are faced with problems that really worry us and that we don't know how to solve! Now take a piece of the A5 paper and follow these instructions... 1. Fold the paper in half lengthways 2 Cut alternating 'up' and 'down' slits in the paper as shown 3.Cut through the fold of the paper, leaving the fold of the end slit pieces in tact 4....

I'm not the most scientific of people, so the idea of play dough being a conductor of electricity never really occurred to me.  However, I came across this video   on Pinterest recently and it really got me thinking! Play dough conducts electricity because it contains salt and the electric circuit lights up the light- how perfect for teaching salt and light! I picked up a kit (click here to see the one I got, though you can pick up the components separately!) that contained, amongst other things, a battery pack and some LED lights.  This is what you will need: Play dough (homemade is best as it has a high salt content) Dough made with sugar and flour (I put a green tint in mine to differentiate it) Battery pack (with batteries inside!) LED light Make 2 balls of the sugar dough and insert one wire into each.  Connect one leg of the LED to each ball (make sure that the longer leg goes to the red wire side).  Switch the battery pack on and nothi...

Today we went into school to do a SEALS assembly on the theme of 'Good to be me'.  We acted out the story of David and Goliath, focusing on the fact that, though others thought that David had no chance against Goliath, David trusted God and God was able to use him and the skills he had.  This led us to talk about how we all had things that we were good at (sometimes things that no one else but God and ourselves know about) and that we can all be used by God to help others.  We illustrated the point with this simple scientific trick... Before the children arrive, take a balloon and fill it with about a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. It's quite easy to make the balloon seem as though it is empty as long as the children don't get close enough to touch it! Fix it to the neck of a bottle containing some vinegar.  Talk about how it would seem impossible for me to inflate the balloon using just what is in the bottle.  You might think I was silly to even think it....

As part of our work on the life of Jesus, our 5-11s looked this week at the baptism of Jesus.  Here is the activity we gave them to do at home as a compliment to the lesson... Baptism is a sign of a new life with God, where we say sorry for the things we have done, put our old life behind us and start something new. Take some old, stained 2p and 1p coins. Put them in a plastic box with some vinegar and 2 teaspoons of salt.  Put the lid on the box and shake for 30- 60 seconds. Open the box, pour the salt and vinegar mixture away and rinse the coins in water.  They should now look sparkly and new! Just like the coins got a new, shiny start, if we say sorry to Him, God can help us to make a new start. Tell God about the things you are sorry for doing and think about an area in your life where you’d like to make a new start- it could be with a friend you have argued with for example. Ask God to help you make a new start....

Today we went into school to do a SEALS assembly about 'getting on and falling out'.  We decided to focus on the story of Saul and David in the cave, where David chooses not to kill Saul, but just to cut off a piece of his cloak to prove what he could have done but chose not to.  We then talked to the children about what it's like when people upset us and we get angry and want to fight back.  This is the illustration we used... You will need two jars or bottles with lids, white vinegar, water and bicarbonate of soda. Put neat vinegar in one jar and a mix of vinegar and water in another jar Talk about what it is like when people make you angry.  Add half a teaspoon of bicarb to the water/ vinegar jar.  The mixture will fizz a little but nothing more.  Put a lid on the jar.  Next, put a spoonful of bicarb in the vinegar jar and add another spoonful as well.  The mixture will fizz up and explode out  of the jar (best to keep t...

After telling the story of Matthew's call to be on Jesus' team of disciples, we discussed the wider issue of being on a team and linked this to the excellence you needed to be on an Olympic team.  This is the talk we gave and the prayer response we used... Before the talk, give everyone a card disc with a 'J' written on the back.  All of them should be silver except for 5 which should be gold.  Distribute the gold ones randomly but make sure they are given out! So who here is on a team? (discuss teams) We’ve picked some teams today already. Look at your medal.  Who’s got a gold one?  Well done.  You are the gold team!  Come up here to get your prize! Present medals- applause How does it feel to be chosen? How does it feel not to be chosen? When I was at school I never got chosen for teams.  I was really bad and always got picked last for PE.  I always felt like I was no good.  Has anyone else had that? In the...

Today in Sparks we told the story of the feeding of the 5000 using our story stones... It was very difficult to try and explain the concept of 5000 people to the 3-5 year olds so that they could then understand how amazing it was that Jesus could feed them with only 5 loaves and 2 fish so we tried something a little different to get the point across! I've recently bought myself a popcorn maker and it seemed perfect for an illustration. First I showed the children a small measure of popcorn kernels and all of them decided that there was certainly not enough there to feed everyone in the room.  It was less than a handful!!  We then put them in the popcorn maker and switched it on.  They were fascinated to see the popcorn start to fluff up and pour out of the chute.  Eventually we had a massive bowlful that fed all of us with loads left over!  It really helped them to understand the idea of Jesus making such a little provide for so many.  We then...

Today we are looking at salt and light in Beacon club and Powersource (Mattthew 5: 13-16). Here are some creative ideas to open up discussion and put the point across... Being Salt: Salt and shake crisps This idea came from an  Urban Saints Energise  lesson plan and it was an amazingly simple and effective illustration.  The only problem is finding salt and shake crisps nowadays (big supermarket needed!) Open an bag of crisps and let the children taste them plain.  A lot of the children at this point said 'Yuk'!  Then open another packet and do the salt and shake routine.  Get the children to taste them now- much better!  This really put across the point of 'being salt' being about making things better for people somehow and putting some flavour into life. Being Light: Glow in the dark stones The object of choice to talk about light seems always to be candles, but it struck me that something glow in the dark was more to the point! ...

This Easter Sunday we had a fantastic visual symbol of the new life Jesus brings to us.  It's a great all-age idea because everyone can join in! We have a wooden cross which has been covered in chicken wire.  All day on Good Friday, the cross stood outside church in its bare wooden state.  On Easter Sunday morning we put it outside church again but this time, as people came into the church they were invited to put a flower into the chicken wire.  The flowers soon covered the cross as a witness to the new life of Easter Sunday.  This was a brilliant object lesson for the children because it was so visually accessible and they could easily take part! Starting to fill the flower cross!

I've seen talks about Easter on the Internet that use a pinata as an object lesson.  We adapted the ideas we came across and this is the little talk we gave at our Easter Messy Church to try and get over the concept of something amazing (forgiveness) coming out of something sad and upsetting (Good Friday) in a way that would speak even to the younger children. First of all, make a pinata or buy one!  If you fancy making one, there is a link to some instructions  here . Fill the pinata with sweets so that there will hopefully be enough for everyone there.  This is important!! Suspend the pinata from the ceiling (we suspended from the balcony with someone holding a big stick and dangling it down!) Get the children to hit the pinata (we used wooden spoons) until it breaks and the sweets pour out.  Get the children to collect the sweets and bring them to the front. Kylé stringing our pinata! Talk (after having previously told the Easter story) I fee...

As part of holiday club we told the story of the transfiguration and then talked about Jesus wanting to help us change our lives to be more like him. The children really loved the effect of this object lesson! You will need : old, dirty coins (preferably one each per child), a plastic container with a lid, 1 heaped tablespoon of salt and half a cup of vinegar (mixed and put into the lidded container), a container holding water, a container to hold the used salt/ vinegar mix. What we did We gave everyone a dirty 1p coin and talked about our lives sometimes being a bit like the coin, dirtied up by the wrong things we do that we wish we hadn't.  We said that, if we asked Jesus to help us, he could help us to become more like him and take away the dirt.  He could change our lives. We then asked the children to put all of their coins into the vinegar and salt mixture, closed the lid and shook the box.  Even as the children put the coins into the mix they started to ...

We did this as an All Age talk during the summer and it really stuck in the mind! We were looking at the story of David and thinking about who our real friends were- who could we trust? I poured some hot milk out of a thermos into a clear glass bowl.  The milk shows us what our friends appear to be, warm and comforting.  However, I then added some vinegar to the milk and it started to separate into curds and whey.  The vinegar represents difficult things that happen in life.  The friends may start to separate, as the milk does, into those who are solid and dependable and those who are watery and insubstantial.  We drained the whey away so that only the curds were left.  God is solid like these curds.  He is a friend who will never drain away when things get difficult.  When everyone else has drained away, he will always be close ro us.  We then introduced the verse below as something to remember. A man of many companions may come to rui...