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Valentine’s Day Object Lesson for Loving God’s Family

Mimi Bullock — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:08:02 +0000

“Love one another,” is the command Jesus gave to us in John 13. He also said that the world would recognize us as his disciples because of this love for one another. Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion for presenting kids with this loving command. Teach kids what this kind of love is and how kids should show this love. Valentine’s Day need not be about candy hearts and falling “in love.” What a great opportunity for building important truths in the hearts of your kids!

Introduce the concept of loving God’s family by reading this to kids: “Love has many faces. You love your parents one way. When you become a husband or wife, you will love your spouse too. Then one day, you will love your children and grandchildren. Right now, you probably love your teachers, friends and family. Right?” (Allow kids to respond but stay on track.)

“Did you know that Jesus commands us to love God’s family? He says we must, ‘Love one another.” Arrange framed pictures on a table or tack up a few pictures of smiling people on a bulletin board.

Say to kids, “See this family? It’s a big one!” (Add more pictures to the table or board.) “As this family grows, we don’t take love from one person to give to another. God gives us all the love we need to love everyone in His family. We always make room for one more.” (Add another picture to the group, preferably a picture of someone the kids know.) “This is like God’s family!”

Place a picture of one of the kids with the group. Always get permission from parents before doing this. Say, “When James became a member of God’s family we didn’t take some love away from these people to give James. God gave us more love to love His new family members. So how do we show God’s family love?”

Allow kids to talk about how they can show God’s family members, like James, love. Add suggestions to the conversation like, show him forgiveness, teach the Bible, be friendly, pray with him and remind him that God loves.

Send your kids home with a Valentine’s Day card. Remind them of the object lesson by writing, “Love one another,” inside each one. Don’t forget the best lessons are shown by example. Let kids catch you showing Christian love to other believers!

Read Mimi’s latest children’s ministry book The Prophet’s Code or visit her blog at Encouragement for Christians.

2 Valentine’s Day Games for Kids

Mimi Bullock — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:50:30 +0000

Sweet and special, Valentine’s Day offers the prepared teacher the ideal opportunity for teaching kids about God’s love and loving others. From television shows to poor in-home examples, kids see many wrong or, at best, shallow ideas about what love truly is. Bring kids back to the truth by presenting easy to remember love-related scriptures they will treasure all their lives.

It’s okay for kids to have some fun while learning so I’ve provided you with two Valentine’s Day games and activities for the kids in your class or ministry. As always, you can “tweak” them to suit your specific needs just by replacing the verse I’ve suggested. Show your kids how much you love them by pointing them toward a big God of Love.

Musical Hearts: Before class begins cut out a large heart from red poster board. The ideal paper heart for this game is large enough to be held with both hands. In big letters, write John 3:16 on one side of the heart, and write the verse out on the other side. This way, kids will see the verse and John 3:16 as the heart is passed around. Like musical chairs, the group stands in a circle, only facing one another. Once the music begins, the heart is passed, with both hands to the person to the right who accepts it with both hands. The heart continues around the circle stopping when the music stops. When the music stops the person to the left of the one holding the heart is out. Continue to play this Valentine’s Day game until you have one person left.

Hide the Hearts: Cut out 10 or more paper hearts, at least 3-inches wide before the class. It’s good to have one heart per child. Hide them around the room then begin your regular lesson. Throughout the lesson, stop and send a child to search for a heart. You can give clues by saying “You’re hot,” when the child is close to a heart or “You’re cold,” when a child is far away from one. Place a verse of scripture on each heart to make them a special, personal valentine to take home. Another good idea is to put one word on each heart, kind of like a puzzle. When all the hearts are found, the class can assemble them together to read the message.

The most important mission of the day is to show kids unconditional love and loving guidance. Anyone can have fun with a class but it takes a special teacher to bring kids closer to understanding the true nature of God.

Read Mimi’s latest book, “The Prophet’s Code,” a resource for children and teens interested in Biblical prophecy.

Valentine’s Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Mimi Bullock — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:03:43 +0000

Special holidays, like St. Valentine’s Day, provide teachers with terrific opportunities to further the gospel message. What better subject to teach children about than God’s love? To help you bring the message home to kids, use a fun activity like a Valentine Scavenger Hunt. This simple idea requires some pre planning and prizes but it will be an event kids will remember. Start by finding verses that you’ll use as a basis for you St. Valentine’s Day lesson or pick love scriptures you want to reinforce. Here’s how to do the first one.

Scavenger Hunt #1

What you need: 5 Bibles (ask kids to bring theirs or use extras), construction paper hearts, markers and a treasure box of goodies

First decide where you will hide the treasure box. If possible, think about hiding the box somewhere outside the normal environment like in another Sunday School room or a closet. Hide it so anyone who stumbles upon it won’t find it.

Cut out the construction paper hearts making them large enough to write a book, chapter and verse on. You’ll need one heart for each Bible.

Write one heart clue on one side of the heart to help kids find the next Bible. For example, “Look up high, I’m close to a light.” On the other side of the heart, write a book, chapter and verse of a love scripture. When the kids find the Bible, they must look up on the scripture using the heart clue. They read the scripture and take the next clue hidden in the Bible.

Continue to lead children with clues, making sure they read the scripture listed on each clue. When all the clues are found, sit together and share the treasure. Re-read the clues, talking about the verses and what they mean.

Scavenger Hunt #2

What you need: 1 large silk tree or artificial Christmas tree, red lights, red construction paper hearts with holes punched at the tops, yarn, Bibles

This idea is a sort of stand still scavenger hunt.

Decorate the tree with red lights to make it more festive.

Cut out small hearts, about 3 inches wide. Use red construction paper and punch a hole at the top of each. You’ll need dozens of hearts. If you like, use a printer and red paper to make easy hearts.

Pick three different, one sentence love scriptures from the Bible. Write the scripture, word by word on the hearts. You should two or three complete sets of scriptures.

Tie a string through the heart’s holes. Hang the hearts all over the tree, hiding the words.

Write the three scripture verses plainly on a poster board and hang them up so everyone can see them.

Divide your class into two teams. Ask them Bible trivia questions, according to their age groups. For each right answer, allow the player to pick a heart. Once the team collects enough hearts to make the scripture they win one of the the prizes.

Keep playing until all the hearts are collected and the scriptures are spelled correctly.

Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog, “Encouragement for Christians,” or purchase her short parable for kids, “The Young Boy and the Great Mountain.”

God’s Big Love Object Lessons

Mimi Bullock — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:56:26 +0000

I love God and I want the kids I teach to love Him too. One aspect of God that brings me comfort is His bigness. Yes, He is small enough to fit inside a child’s heart, but large enough to love the entire world. Like many of God’s attributes, grasping this one is challenging to anyone — especially a child. Convey the truth about God’s ability to love “big” with these three, easy-to-use object lessons. Visual aids make demonstrating these special attributes easier than ever. Tie each object lesson to loving scriptures like John 3:16 or Romans 5:5.

Daddy Shoes and Baby Shoes: You’ll need two pairs of shoes for this object lesson. Show God’s bigness by showing first the baby shoes, keep the big ones hidden. Talk about small the shoes are and compare them to our hearts. Say, “When we love someone, we think that love is really big. But compared to God’s love, our love is very small.” Show the second pair of shoes, and say, “These shoes are like God’s big love.” Place them next to the small shoes, then say, “See how small our love is compared to God’s? God’s love is so big He can love everyone at one time. Can you do that?”

Seeds and trees: You’ll need a pack of small seeds and a potted tree for this object lesson. A silk tree is okay but kids are pretty sharp so bring a live tree if you can. Talk about the tree and how tall it will become. Let the children stand next to the tree one at a time. Compare the height of the tree and the height of the children. Sprinkle seeds in the children’s hands. Tell kids that these little seeds are like God’s love. When we accept Jesus, God’s love is like this little seed. Planted in our hearts, the seeds grow into large trees. Explain to the children that we love like the tiny seeds before God lives in us. After we invite Him into our heart, we love big, just like God.

Ping pong and a giant beach ball: Show kids the difference between man’s love and God’s love in a playful way. Bring out the ping pong ball but keep the beach ball hidden. Taking the beach ball out will get everyone excited and not focused on the lesson. Bounce the ping pong ball on the table and show it to the kids. Tell children, “You know, I love all you kids so much! So do your friends. But as much as we love, God’s love is so much bigger. Let’s take a look at this.“ Uncover the ball and bounce it up and down. Tell the kids that God’s love is like this big beach ball, huge and goes everywhere. Spend some time bouncing the ball back and forth with the kids.

I love these fun object lessons. I’ve used them and they really do work.

Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog, Encouragement for Christians or check out her latest prophetic book for children called, “The Prophet’s Code.”

“Wild” Object Lessons That Kids Will Love

Mimi Bullock — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:52:43 +0000

Have you ever presented an object lesson to a class and had as much fun as the kids? I have and what an experience! There is nothing like seeing the “light bulbs” come on and hearing kids say, “Now I get it.” When I have success delivering God-moments to my children’s ministry, I write it down, including details about the lesson. Over the years, I have gathered my favorite wild object lessons into a binder but these object lessons are my absolute favorite.

If you need an unforgettable idea for your ministry, feel free to try these. It’s easy to find jungle or safari decorations for a cool backdrop for either.

The Wild Thing

The book of James has some great teaching on the importance of controlling your tongue—a lesson we can all use. Before the object lesson, I placed fresh batteries in a Bumble Ball, a shaky toy for toddlers. I placed the toy in a lidded, brown gift box. For this object lesson, I used the box to draw kids’ interest. I told the children that inside the box I had captured the wildest creature they had ever seen. I slipped my hand in the box, acted as if the creature attacked me, (nicely, of course) turning the toy on.

Holding the lid in place, I let kids hold the box and guess what was inside. After everyone held the box, I turned off the toy discreetly and began to teach from James.

I asked kids what animals they had seen in the zoo. What animals have people tamed? The list was long, lions, tigers, a whale even dinosaurs. Then we read from the passage and kids discovered the answer.

We talked about tongues and how difficult it was to control our mouths.

Crazy Lab

Donning a lab coat and plastic goggles, I spent an exciting morning smashing things. I based my lesson on Jeremiah 29:32 focusing on the Word of God as a hammer. We took kids church outside for the day and lay tarps down to make clean up easy. I had a variety of foods, a balloon and other items to use as smashing subjects. I told kids that my rubber mallet was like the Word of God. It smashes the enemies’ lies and keeps us free. I made a negative statement, applying it to myself, then gave the kids the truth about what the Word of God says. For example, I said, “I’m so dumb — I can’t remember anything.” I placed a banana on the covered table and quoted a scripture that refuted that false statement. I tried to choose relatable quotes that kids might say themselves.

After a smashing day, kids felt empowered and excited about learning scriptures.

Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog, “Encouragement for Christians.”

Guidelines for Discipline in Christian Bus Ministry

Mimi Bullock — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:39:27 +0000

If your picture of Christian bus ministry is full of positive attitudes and well-behaved children–you must be new! Don’t feel bad; bus ministry, while vital and exciting, is challenging for many, even the experienced volunteer. Prepare for explosive growth in your ministry by establishing discipline guidelines. When parents, teachers and children know what to expect, there’s less chance for confusion and frustration. Create a safe environment for kids with simple, structural rules.

Also, do expect to troubleshoot problems but temper everything you do with kindness. Pray regularly for the bus ministry and your personal involvement. Ask God to help you be patient, but firm in a manner that pleases Him. The key is to spend more time discipling and less time disciplining, right? Remember to avoid making complicated rules that won’t easily be remembered.

Basic Guidelines

Head, shoulders, knees and toes: Remember that old song? Use it! Introduce it to your bus families and explain that heads should face forward and shoulders rest back on the seat. We should keep our knees and toes on the ground and not kicking others. Explain that heads and hands that hang out the window can get injured.
No standing or squatting on the seats or in the aisles. Everyone must be seated throughout the trip.
Swearing and shouting are not tolerated on the bus.
Everyone must participate in the bus service. No bad attitudes are allowed.
No drinks, food or backpacks are to be brought on to the bus—Bibles only.

How to Enforce the Rules

Don’t scold or reprimand children in front of their peers unless the situation calls for immediate action.
Speak in low tones when you want to bring the volume down. Speak loudly to get attention but use this “power” sparingly.
Stoop down to eye level to speak to children. Never stand over them in a manner that could be interpreted as intimidating.
Involve supportive parents when their child misbehaves.
Don’t argue with bus riders. Move the rider your seat on one by you and discuss the matter once you’ve arrived at your destination.
Provide children with the opportunity to do the right thing. Don’t back kids into a corner.
Don’t make threats about discipline unless you are prepared to follow through.

Don’t Forget These Details

Give every bus rider a copy of the bus rules when they first attend. Review it with them and don’t assume that they’ve read it independently.
Go over the rules regularly.
Have a bus ministry program prepared. As bus ministry pioneer Bill Wilson says, “If you don’t put on a program for kids, they’ll put one on for you.”

Stick to your guidelines and you’ll have a friendly, exciting ministry that everyone will want to be a part of.

Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog, “Encouragement for Christians.“

Game Ideas for Your Church Bus Ministry

Mimi Bullock — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:19:36 +0000

The church bus ministry entails much more than finding new kids and loading them on the bus for Sunday. Transit time is valuable and perfect for ministering to kids with fun games. Bus games give kids a chance to get to know one another and you. An exciting game also engages the child’s attention and keeps busy hands out of trouble. Before you and your team roll out of the parking lot gather a few supplies and choose one of these bus games.

Always explain the rules and the object of the game.

Raise It Up: Sit or stand at the front of the bus. Call out the name of an object like a Bible, peppermint or a tissue. Tell the kids to raise up the object over their head. Whoever raises it first, wins. Give candies or small prizes to the child who gets their object up first.

The Grocery Store: This talking game is more fun when you have many children to participate. Start the game by saying, “My father owns a grocery store and he sells apples, bananas and…” Each child repeats the phrase, adding a grocery item that matches the letter. If someone misses an item, you must start over.

Guess the Pennies: Count a pile of pennies and add them to a large plastic pickle jar. Shake the pennies and ask kids to guess how many are in the jar. Write down each guess on a piece of paper. Do this for a few weeks and then award the child who comes the closest to the actual number with a prize.

Simon Says: Simon Says isn’t just a standing game, it makes a good sitting game too. Lead the game by instructing children to only perform the actions proceeded by “Simon Says.” Give kids some silly instructions like “clap your hands” or “wiggle in your seat.”

Toilet Paper Race: You’ll need two rolls of toilet paper for this game. Give one roll to two volunteers at the back of the bus. When you give the signal, children must roll the paper to the front of the bus. The goal is to make one long, unbroken roll from back to front. Kids must stay in their seats and the if paper breaks, they must start over. Kids can roll under the seats or pass it over the seats.

Sleeping Game: The sleeping game is great fun for bus riders. Tell the kids to pretend they are asleep from bus stop to bus stop. They can’t move, make a sound or talk or they’ll lose. Reward winners with a round of applause or a treat.

Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog, Encouragement for Christians.

Learning Stations for Children’s Ministry

Mimi Bullock — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:11:30 +0000

Herding children in and out of classes becomes a bit tedious week after week but cool stations will have kids wanting to stay. Developing special points of interest in the class will help you direct kids into prayer and worship. Stations are also useful for directing volunteer assignments and giving workers a chance to lead in new areas. Use stations to reinforce a Bible lesson or a special verse of scripture. Put your creative team to work customizing these center ideas.

Meet the Missionaries: Place a large globe at the station along with pictures of missionaries associated with your church. Kids especially like seeing pictures of children from other nations and cultures. Have dried food samples and other artifacts that are relative to the mission for kids to touch and feel.

Prayer Station: It’s good to teach kids the importance of prayer while they are young. Place a picture of the president and local leaders at this station. Ask kids to pray for their leaders, pastoral staff, friends and family. Post easy to read prayers or the Lord’s prayer above the area, at kid eye level, of course.

Bible Art: Keep this spot stocked with Bible arts and crafts supplies. Leave one example of the craft on the table so kids can work independently if you’re short on volunteers. Only place supplies out that will be used with the current craft. Remember to choose age appropriate activities.

Worship Station: This is a good station idea if you want to focus teaching on the importance of worship. Place a CD player at this table and play worship music softly. Have ribbons, streamers and musical instruments on hand for kids. Also, encourage aspiring singers by providing printed lyrics so they can sing along.

Puppet Players: Puppet play allows children to act out what they’ve learned. Provide a cardboard box puppet stage along with puppets. Decorate the stage colorfully and a few Bible props. Encourage children at this station to put on plays about their Bible lessons or their favorite characters.

Dress Up Center: A dress up center is exciting for kids of all ages. Shop second hand stores and buy clothing like robes, tunics and costumes. Wash the materials then place them in a large tub at this station. Hang a mirror so kids can see themselves dressed as the characters from the Bible.

Friendship Table: Fellowship and friendship are important for growing a church. Kids love making new friends but sometimes they need encouragement to do so. Place two or multiple player games at the friendship table. Hang a bulletin board with pictures of each child and his favorite things.

Stations are fun for teachers and for children. Mix up stations seasonally and add stations as you need them.

Read more from Mimi by following her blog, “Encouragement for Christians.”

10 Christmas Gifts that Teachers Actually Want

Mimi Bullock — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:40:56 +0000

Teachers often face a number of obstacles when attempting to deliver life-changing Bible messages to their students. Some things teachers face regularly are limited budgets, difficult children and the ever-present, surprise element. (Surprise! I need you to teach this week!)

A few times a year, students, parents and fellow teachers have the opportunity to shower these tireless workers with gifts of appreciation. In the spirit of the season, let’s offer Christmas gifts that teachers actually want, not just what’s on sale.

I’ve got a few teachers on my list too and I’m determined not to give a coffee mug or reindeer hat this year. Let my list give you a head start or at least some inspiration on good teacher gifts for Christmas.

Gift Certificates: It’s hard to know every teacher’s likes and dislikes and once you start asking questions—there goes the surprise. Some teachers won’t tell you what they like and don’t feel they need anything. When I’m unsure, I go with a gift certificate from Amazon or eBay. Other cool sites to get gifts certificates from are Walmart, Kohl’s and Macy’s. Print the certificates right at home and tuck them inside a Christmas card.

Concert Tickets: What teacher would object to two tickets to a Christian concert? Consider selecting tickets to a Christmas symphony, play, a teacher’s retreat or a pair of movie tickets this holiday. (And all the teachers said, “Thank you!”)

Candles: You can never have enough candles. Candlelight adds beauty to home holiday celebrations. Try a new spin on candles by surprising the teacher with a Yankee Candles 6 pack of Balsam and Cedar Christmas Icicles. These scented icicles make even a fake tree smell fabulous. You can find these inexpensive gifts right on the Yankee Candle website.

Study Supplies: As teachers, we know nothing is more important than staying in the Word. To give, we have to receive! Try offering study supplies like e-Sword for digital study or the latest devotional book by an author teachers like. A set of highlighting pens, a stylish, refillable ink pen and new journals are always welcome gifts.

Spa Time: Yes, even teacher like some TLC. Buy her a gift certificate for a pedicure, manicure or a special spa treatment. Select a set of Bath and Body Works lotions and place them inside a Christmas stocking. She’ll love it! (By the way, Marshmallow Fireside is the most delicious scent ever!)

Comforting Gifts: Keep your favorite teacher’s nose and toes warm with a pair of fleece socks, a warm hat and gloves. Even Coach will like a wide scarf that could double as a head wrap. RedEnvelope has beautiful Cashmere Scarves that you can have monogrammed. They are a little pricey but make the perfect gift for a large class or group to chip in on.

Family Games: Remind teacher that home is where the heart is with Christmas gifts that will bring his or her family together. Classic games like Scrabble, Yahtzee and Clue are excellent choices. Surprise him with a Trivial Pursuit board or the digital version.

Cookie Goodies: Your teacher may not want to load up on cookies right now, but nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a set of cookie cutters. Buy long-lasting metal cookie cutters with angels, wreaths and star shapes. A book of cookie recipes will inspire your favorite teacher to bake–and share.

Photo Albums and Scrapbooks: Once the holidays are over, teachers will have loads of photos that need storing. Buy cool photo albums or a digital photo album to display photos at home or in the classroom.

Volunteers: Give the gift every teacher needs, help! Gather some volunteers and work out a schedule to help teacher during the month of January. If everyone took one day, or a week, so much could be accomplished. Just being there with an open hand and heart is a gift every hardworking teacher will treasure. (Don’t make this an extra project that Teacher has to manage. Do it yourself!)

Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog, “Encouragement for Christians.”

Christmas Decor Ideas for Kids Church

Mimi Bullock — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:29:23 +0000

Children look forward to visiting our children’s church year round because they never know what to expect—especially during Christmas. I’ll admit it, I have a love/need to display creative decorations and I’m always looking for new ideas to incorporate into our facility’s décor. One week, my team and I hung giant paper flowers from the ceiling because we were all “Growing in God’s Garden.” Another time, during a one-night kids’ blowout, we recreated Jurassic Park, compete with a 9-foot paper mache dinosaur for a “Stomping Good Time.”

This year, when decorating your kids’ church for Christmas, think outside the box. Throw away the red and green standard and take some time to present the “good news” in a new way. Get kids thinking about the true meaning for the holiday and show them how this special time should be celebrated.

Giant Stocking

Jesus is the best gift ever, but that message gets lost when kids are focused on receiving other kinds of presents. One year, I found a jumbo, red Christmas stocking at a flea market. I found a box that fit perfectly inside the stocking, then placed baby blankets and a baby doll inside. We hung the stocking on a wall at eye level for kids to see. Next, we filled the base of the stocking with wads of newspaper. We wrapped the box and box lid, then placed it just inside the top. Lastly we created a giant gift tag that read, “To: You, From: God.” Kids loved the display and really began to talk about the gift that God sent us. You could make a giant stocking with red flannel or felt and some hot glue!

Around the edge of the giant stocking, we placed the kids gifts and as each came to receive their presents, we allowed each to look inside the box. They had to promise to keep what they saw a secret until everyone saw baby Jesus.

God’s Candy Kingdom

For this one, we went with a Candyland theme, sort of. Since candy is such a big part of the Christmas holidays we found this idea to be easy to implement. We bought large plastic flower pots and filled the bottom with rocks. After placing a foam disc on top of the rocks, we made giant lollipops to display. We bought 10-inch wide foam discs from a hardware store and poked a wooden dowel into the base of each one. Lastly, I wrapped the foam with colored cellophane and cinched the cellophane with ribbon around the neck. I stuck three suckers in each bucket and placed them at the entrance of children’s church.

Next, we salvaged some plain, brown cardboard to make gingerbread men and women. Since the cardboard was already brown, we only had to paint on buttons and a face. We hung the gingerbread people all over the walls of the children’s church.

Our Christmas tree was covered with gumdrop Christmas lights and tons of fake candy. Lighted peppermint candy canes were arranged all over our central stage. It was an exciting time!

Read from Mimi by visiting her blog, “Encouragement for Christians.”