Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.  Matthew 17: 2 This is a really easy illusion, using a little bit of water science, that actually turns the Jesus figure dazzling white. Take a look :-) You will need: a colour picture of Jesus ( click here to download my picture), permanent marker pens (e.g. Sharpies), a plastic food bag, a long glass or jug of water. Put the picture inside the food bag. Use a pen to draw the outline of the picture on the outside of the food bag. Slowly drop the picture bag into the water and watch what happens!

This is a striking way to think about God being with us in our worry and whatever we are facing in life and is a useful activity if you are looking at 'do not be afraid' passages or the 'do not worry' passage in Matthew 6. Here is a short video (1 minute 20 seconds) to show you the simple art activity: For those who prefer written instructions: You will need : small pieces of paper (I used A7 size), wax crayons, watercolour paints, paint brush, water. Cover the whole of the paper with wax crayon. Screw the paper up tight and then unscrew it and flatten it out. Paint over the wax with a contrasting colour of watercolour paint. The paint will get into the creases you created when screwing up the paper. Let the paint dry and it will become more pronounced. Scrunching up the paper is symbolic of the feeling of worry and anxiety we often get inside us. Filling the creases with paint is symbolic of God being with us in those worries. Talk about How does worry make you feel? ...

 As part of our summer all age series we are looking at big questions about God. The first question we asked was- Why did God create the world? In the craft zone we made tree weavings and people of all ages joined in!  The time spent weaving gave a great opportunity to chat about the creation story from Genesis 1 that we had just heard. You will need: Paper plates, scissors, wool (we used brown and green). 1. Cut 7 or 6 slits in the top of a paper plate and 1 slit at the bottom. Thread wool through the slits so that it looks like the picture below. 2. Use the end of your wool to gather the strands together from the bottom... 3. ...tie the wool off to finish making the trunk and branches. 4. Now use another colour of wool to weave between the branches as 'leaves'

Yesterday we were thinking about the theme of 'love your neighbour', and made these paper people circles as a symbol of all being joined together in the community. You will need: print out of the 'love your neighbour' sheet or paper, pencil and scissors Option 1-Download the printable sheet and cut the circle of people out Option 2-Download the printable and fold it into eighths.  Cut along the marked edges of the front eighth and open up to show your circle Option 3-Cut out a paper circle and fold it into eighths.  Draw the half people shapes on the front eighth (as shown below) and cut!

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.

Worry is something that affects us all- no matter how old we are! In Matthew 6, Jesus talks about God’s care and provision for us, comparing it to the provision he makes for the birds and the flowers of the field. He tells us not to worry. If God can provide for the birds, he will give us everything we need too.   This craft is something that children can take home (or do at home) and hang outside. Every time they see a bird feeding from it it will hopefully remind them that God has got them covered. Be warned- it can get a bit messy and, if you are using peanut butter, you will need to be aware of any allergies!  You will need: pipe cleaners or string, Cheerios (or hoop shaped cereal), Toilet roll or paper towel tubes, peanut butter, knives, bird seed, a plate With a knife, carefully coat the outside of the toilet roll tube with peanut butter. Cover a plate with birdseed and then roll the tube over the plate so that the seed sticks a...

I came across this way of creating a piece of artwork the other day and I absolutely loved it!  Although not intended for that purpose, this activity really lends itself to thinking about protection and how God can look after us. It could be used with any story that involves a theme of protection and here is a way of using the art idea as a prayer activity... You will need: Bubble wrap with giant bubbles, fabric, felt, tissue paper, ribbon, wool, scissors or a craft knife. Unroll and spread out the bubble wrap so that a whole group of children can gather around it.  Before you start the craft, get an adult to cut a slit in the middle of each of the giant bubbles in the bubble wrap using scissors or a craft knife. This can be a bit fiddly, but it is worth it! Make sure that you only cut the back of each bubble, creating a pocket for the fabric to sit in.   Ask the children to fill each bubble with fabric, wool or tissue paper, u...

We hold a monthly Ecumenical Messy Church in the local parish hall- the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the Church of Christ working together, pooling our resources and building relationships! Messy Church has proved to be really popular with our local non-church families and this month we explored the story of the Good Samaritan. Here's what we got up to... 'Plaster' biscuits (biscuits, fondant and strawberry jam!) Wool friendship bracelets Playing with a toy doctor's kit and lots of bandages! Pin the Good samaritan on the donkey Thinking about people we have helped and those who have helped us Colouring and acting out the story with stick puppets We then told the story with oranges and bananas  (check out the link here )... ...and then ended by thanking God for the people who help us and sticking plasters to ourselves to remind us to be people who help others :-)

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the  Lord  your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 This craft is a very visual way of helping children to explore the idea of the presence of God with t hem, even in the hardest of times.  You will need: sheets of paper, watered down ready mix paint,  paintbrushes, wax crayons or oil pastels. Screw the piece of paper up into a ball.  Open the paper out and look at all of the creases.   Rub a crayon or oil pastel over the creases and they will pick up the colour.   Think about times when life has seemed a bit like this creased up piece of paper; when things have gone wrong in life, or when things have been hard or painful. Let children choose a paint colour that most represents God to them and use it to paint over the top of the creases until all of the white paper has been covered. Even thou...