Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

This Sunday the lectionary leads us to the story where Thomas meets Jesus after the resurrection. It's hard in times such as this not to be sympathetic towards Thomas. It's hard, sometimes to see where Jesus is when there is pain and sadness all around. That is why I've chosen to focus on Hope this Sunday. How do we find God and have faith in all of this when we can't see him face to face as Thomas does? We can look for the people bringing hope and compassion and love and light in the darkness and that is where we will see God at work. This play dough mat will help children to explore this idea of hope as a sign of God. As usual, print it out ( click here ), laminate for future repeated uses and have fun! 

Celebrate the new life of resurrection with this butterfly craft. You will need: two squares of coloured paper (one smaller than the other), string. Easter Egg Prayers Easter Day colouring sheet Easter Day Play Dough Mats

We are holding a special Easter activities event this year aimed at families. Most, if not all, of the families do not attend church, so I wanted to produce something they could take away and do that would carry the message of Easter in a easy to approach way. This is what I came up with and there will hopefully be enough for each person to take a bag away with them. The activity involves planting the seed paper and linking the growth of the flowers to the hope and new life Jesus brings at Easter. You will need : Little drawstring bags or envelopes, enough printed strips for each bag, a piece of plantable seed paper for each bag (it is cheaper to buy A4 seed paper sheets and cut them up than buy pre-cut shapes!) Print out the 'Planting New Life' Strips and cut them out. Fold and put into a bag with a rectangle or square of seed paper that will also fit the bag.  Give out and watch prayers and hope grow in the community!

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.  Revelation 21:4 Sometimes the life can be sad and worrying. It is important to acknowledge that children feel these emotions and I strongly feel that it is part of our ministry to help them to express to God what makes them feel sad.  I love Revelation 21 because it really paints a picture of a place where God is and where all that makes this world sad is washed away forever. This prayer activity is based on that hope. You will need: paper (watercolour paper is especially good), small spray bottles, water, paint, stiff cardboard (I used an Amazon box), scissors Before you start the activity put a small amount of paint in the spray bottles and water it down so that it will easily spray onto the paper. Ask children to think about People who are going through difficult times or situations that are hard, or of something that ma...

This is a lovely idea that Dave J used this week in our all age service.  It was something that all ages could do and was a very active way of blessing people! You will need: thin purple ribbons, long enough to tie round wrists. Talk about purple being the colour that a lot of people use to decorate churches with in Advent. Talk about what hope means (this could be linked to the first candle on the Advent wreath!). Discuss the idea that Advent is a time of hope and waiting for Jesus to come again- waiting for a better time when there will be no more death or sickness or crying.  Give everyone a purple ribbon and ask them to tie it round the wrist of someone else in the group, praying as they do so that that person will have hope in Jesus in the coming weeks.   This worked really well for a group that covered ages from 0 to adult, though children needed a little help with tying!