Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

Pentecost is full of amazing imagery- fire, colour, wind, words- and it really lends itself to a treasure hunt outside. Where can you spot the things that remind you of the story? As usual this is a tried and tested idea, so take a look at some of the Pentecost related treasure we found! Click here to download and print the Hunt Sheet Flame shaped leaves Red leaves Red Yellow We even heard and saw the wind in action

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!

This Sunday we are celebrating Candlemas or the presentation of Jesus in the temple. The story of Simeon and Anna is one of my absolute favourites and I love how this simple craft gives the impression of a person holding the light that Jesus represents, just as Simeon takes Jesus in his arms in the story.  You will need: A copy of the templates , glue, scissors, paper (if patterned make sure the pattern is on both sides). Use the templates to cut out a person shape. Glue along edge B and create a circle with edge A. You can colour the shape in as desired or even write the words of the Nunc Dimitis on it: “Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant, die in peace as you said. 30  I have seen with my own eyes how you will save your people. 31       Now all people can see your plan. 32  He is a light to show your way to the other nations.      And he will bring honor to your people Israel.” (Luke 2: 29-32). You can also use the wings ...

  This is a fairly easy and impressive looking paper cutting activity that can be used to explore any passage or story focussing on God's love. I especially love the fact that the hearts form both a circle and a star because those ideas lend themselves to thinking about God's love being all encompassing and never ending, and also draw attention to the star that leads to the baby who is the ultimate expression of God's love. You will need: Scissors, a square of paper (mine was patterned on one side and blank on the other), a pen or pencil, a flat, hard surface. Lay your paper square flat on a hard surface. Fold the square in half... ...and in half again. Open out the last fold you made. There will now be a line down the centre of the triangle. Fold one side of the triangle to line up with the centre line. Now fold the other side of the triangle over the top of that. Be aware that the folded sides will not be of an equal size, but don't worry! This is what will lead the ...

This Sunday is Bible Sunday in the Church of England Lectionary and we get one of my favourite epistle readings. Seeing the words in a visual way really helps to keep the message in mind. I usually do something with labelled pieces of clothing and then cover all of them with a coat marked love. We have the chance to talk about the pieces of 'clothing' we find hardest to put on and the examples we see in the lives of other people we know. Here's a printable reflective colouring sheet if you'd like to use it. Talk about:   What do these words mean? Kindness, humility, meekness, patience? Which are you good at? which would you like to be better at? what does it mean to 'wear' these things? Who shows these things to you? Why is love over everything? How does love bring everything together? Pray:  Choose one of the virtues mentioned in the verses. Choose something that you wear every day e.g. socks, shoes, hair bobble. Every time you put that thing on over the next ...

Over the past year or so, we have been holding a monthly Muddy Church session for all ages. Muddy Church is an amazing idea and you can find out more (with all sorts of brilliant resources) here. We have adapted the format to suit our congregation and the session is usually a wander through the park with a focus for wondering and exploring, linked to a Bible verse or story. We then finish, after 45 mins- 1 hour, at the cafe for a drink or an ice-cream! We have all ages participating and our usual crowd varies in age from 3-70s. It's great if you want to do something intergenerational! Our most recent session used a verse from Psalm 91 and looked at the theme of God's protection, or what we could find that was 'safe and sound.' Here is a printable version of the sheet we used on our wander: And here are some of the things we found! A Conker hidden in the cleft of a tree Something 'strong' supporting a tree and keeping the branch upright A snail's hiding pl...

As part of our new church vision, we've been talking a lot about how we share God's love with each other and with the community. As part of our exploration, we looked at Romans 12: 9-21 during a cafe church service and this was one of our intergenerational activities.  We talked about how badges often show that we belong to a group or a team and we wanted to make and wear a badge that reflected our team or church family. After thinking about the different ways of showing love that the Romans passage talks about, we made 'love with arms' badges to show that we were people who wanted to share love by living it out. Click here to print out the instruction sheet.