Ministry-To-Children.com » Nicole VanderMeulen

Pinterest: A New Internet Tool for Children’s Ministry

Nicole VanderMeulen — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:31:44 +0000

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a visual pinboard that allows you to save, organize, and share all the inspirational things you find on the web. It’s like the bookmark tool on your browser, only WAY better!

Pinterest not only allows you to effortlessly save and organize ideas you love, but it makes it easy to share them, and provides the opportunity to be inspired by looking through the items “pinned” by other people who share your interests. You’ll find everything from recipes and home décor, to fashion inspiration, craft ideas, quotes, humor, photography tips, and travel information.

What does it have to do with my ministry?

If you’ve ever “Googled” to find an idea for a snack, game, lesson, event, craft, quote, or Bible verse, then Pinterest is for you. For example, if you were trying to plan a Trunk or Treat event, you could create a board especially for that event and add ideas for food, treats, decorations, costumes, games, and more (check out Tony Kummer’s version here after you join). These ideas could be things you “pin” when you stumble across them on a blog or website, but more likely it’s inspiration you have gained browsing or searching through the “pins” of others on Pinterest.

While you will find crafts, scripture, and ideas specific to the Bible, with a little imagination and creativity it’s easy to tweak “pinspiration” to apply to your ministry. I discovered this mod paper pumpkin craft by searching Pinterest and then modified and used the project to practice looking up Bible verses, by adding a label with a different scripture reference on each strip of orange paper.

Another way I have already found Pinterest extremely helpful is for dreaming up small gifts and tokens of appreciation for my volunteers. I have an entire board dedicated to “to give” ideas, like this adorable coffee inspired thank you card.

How do I get started?

Visit www.pinterest.com and request an invitation to join. Within a few days, you will receive an email message with log in directions. Any Pinterest member can invite others, so if you just can’t wait, leave your email below and I will invite you! Pinterest has a simple format and user friendly help section, which you may want to visit first. The best way to learn about Pinterest is to just join and play with it. You can’t mess it up! If you have a question, leave it in the comments below and we’ll try to help.

Pinterest allows you to customize your profile. You can choose who to “follow” and you can select to see everything they “pin” or just pick and choose certain “boards” that interest you. I would love for you to follow me at http://pinterest.com/nicole_vander You can check out my recipe file and home décor ideas, or just to choose to follow my kids’ crafts board. You can event browse pins from Ministry-To-Children on the site. It’s all up to you!

Now get “pinning”! And be careful, it’s definitely interesting AND addicting!

Reverse Evangelism: Reaching Families by Serving First

Nicole VanderMeulen — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:07:58 +0000

Are you finalizing your plans for the fall festival, harvest party, trunk or treat, pumpkin carving, or other Halloween related outreach event at your church? A key component of these type of events is always planning how we will connect with, minister to, evangelize with, and preach the gospel for all those in attendance, especially guests who are not part of our church community. It’s your big chance to reel them in, right!??! I am going to be so bold as to suggest that maybe this year your plan of attack to win new followers of Jesus would be to have no plan at all.

You read that right. What if you skipped handing out tracts, asking people to share their contact information, or attaching a Bible verse to each piece of candy? What if instead you just provided a free, family friendly, welcoming event with no strings attached or ulterior motive? You in fact would be ministering in much the same way Jesus did. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, befriended outcasts, and gave endless forgiveness and love, not to mention his life and asked for NOTHING in return. Imagine how Christianity could be transformed if we provided genuine hospitality. What if people wanted to come to your church because they wanted to care for others the way you do, not because they were enticed or guilted into it?

I am not arguing that Jesus didn’t ask us to go into the world to share the good news and make disciples. He certainly did, but his request didn’t come with an instruction manual and maybe, just maybe we don’t go about our evangelizing in the most helpful way sometimes. Though I myself have a very strong Christian faith and even work for a church, I RUN the other way when someone knocks at my door with their faith based literature or wants my phone number so they can call and invite me to their church. I actually find it quite rude. I have a faith and it may be different from yours. Please don’t try to persuade me about of my beliefs. Instead, be my friend, show me how you love and care for the world around you, and put sincerity into discovering who I am and what I am about, and you might just get my attention.

Don’t think that the first time you forgo the intricate evangelism tactics that you will have droves of new members flocking through the church doors. You won’t. But maybe the fifth or sixth or twentieth time somebody feels your sincere welcome, they just might stick around. Even if they don’t, you can consider yourself successful in that you are serving as Jesus served, expecting nothing in return.

Reverse evangelism has worked at my church in my community. Will you give it a try in yours?

Children’s Bible Lesson: Water is God’s Gift

Nicole VanderMeulen — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:11:03 +0000

This lesson is shared as Ministry-To-Children’s contribution to Blog Action Day 2010. The goal of the event is to encourage bloggers worldwide to post about the same issue on the same day on their blogs, sparking discussion about a topic of global importance. Today, we are participating in the discussion about the 2010 theme, Water, through the sharing of this lesson.

These lesson ideas would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church. It was written by Nicole VanderMeulen, Children’s Ministry Coordinator at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington.

Bible Passage: Genesis 1:6-10
Bible Story Title: God Creates Water
Target Age Group: children age 3-12
Target Time Frame:30 minutes
Original Teaching Context: Children’s Church or Sunday School
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please leave your feedback and suggestions for this lesson plan. Others will benefit from your ideas. Click here to respond

Learning Objectives:

Children will explore God’s gift of water (and how we might preserve and share it!) through Bible stories.

Explanation: Water is a key element found in many stories throughout the Bible, from Noah’s ark and the baptism of Jesus to the woman at the well and Moses parting the Red Sea. Many church denominations use water to celebrate the sacrament of baptism and many Christians see water as a symbol of cleansing, redemption, and forgiveness. It was a gift God gave us through his creation and it is crucial to the survival of every living thing, yet almost a billion people on our planet are without access to clean, safe water. Rather than provide one stand alone lesson in regard to water, below you will find many water related learning activities. Use all of them, or pick and choose what works for you!

Items You May Need:

Bible
Paper
Markers/Crayons/Pencils
Water
Non break-able containers
Reusable Water Bottles
Permanent Markers, Paints, Stickers, Decals, etc.
Bowls and Towels
Baby Doll
Rubber Duckies
Baptismal Font or Pool
You may also enjoy our coloring pages about creation.

Caring for and Sharing the Gift:

Share Genesis 1:6-10. Discuss: If God gave us the gift of water and said it was good, how would he want us to take care of that gift? Brainstorm ways to save water (like shutting off the water when you brush your teeth, only running the washing machine or dishwasher when they are really full, washing your car on top of the grass, watering plants with used dishwater, fixing leaks, or taking a short shower instead of a bath).
Reinforce the idea of saving water by playing a water relay game. Divide into two teams. Fill a clean open-topped non-breakable container with water for each team; be sure the containers are the exact same size and filled to the brim with water (do not fill to the top for preschoolers). Set a start and finish point. At a signal, the first runner heads for the finish line, walks over the line, turns around and heads back to his or her team, and passes the container to the next person in line. At the end of the race, the team with the most water still in the container is the winner.
Explore global water facts or other lesson activities found at http://water.org/learn-about-the-water-crisis/lessonplan/.
Collect or fundraise money to help people who don’t have clean, safe drinking water. Give to charity: water through the Blog Action Day fundraising page or any organization that gives the gift of water.Pro
Provide each child with a reusable water bottle to decorate with permanent markers, paints, stickers, decals or other art supplies. Discuss what a gift it is to have easy, inexpensive access to clean, safe drinking water. Talk about how not using bottled water creates less waste.

Water and the Bible:

Read Bible stories about water. Here are a few and you may be able to think of more! Creation (Genesis 1:6-10), Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6-9), Moses and the Red Sea (Exodus 14), Jonah and the Big Fish (Jonah), Jesus is Baptized (Matthew 3 or Luke 3), Jesus Walks on Water (Mark 6:45-56), Woman at the Well (John 4), Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet (John 13:1-17), and many more….
Look for similarities and differences between stories that talk about water in the Bible. Lead children to see how water often involves a miracle, cleansing, forgiveness, or redemption.
Invite the children to create and share a picture of a story from the Bible that includes water.
Play Charades or Pictionary using stories about water from the Bible.

Water and Ritual:

Teach your students about how water is used in ritual or sacrament at your church. For example, if you practice infant baptism, you may want to demonstrate how it is done and read the words from the baptismal worship service, while you demonstrate with a bowl of water and a baby doll. If your congregation provides baptismal gifts (a candle, napkin, certificate, etc.), share and explain these items with students. Invite your Pastor to speak with children about baptism and possibly even provide a tour of your worship space, focusing on the baptismal font or pool.
Remind kids that they are a child of God, washed clean of their sins. Use a bowl of water and invite each child to dip their finger and use the water to place a cross on their forehead, or talk about how we clean ourselves compared to how God cleans us. You could even give each child a washcloth, rubber ducky, or other token to remind them about how God washes our sins away.
Wash each others’ feet! Provide pitchers of water, bowls, and clean towels for the foot washing. Share the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet found in John 13. Talk about foot washing as a sign of humility and service.

Innovative New Curriculum from Spark House

Nicole VanderMeulen — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:47:50 +0000

Do you work with older children and youth? Could you use a curriculum that’s adult user-friendly, yet has real appeal for your tweens and teens?

Well if your answer is yes, you may just want to give re:form a chance. The publishing company, Spark House, a division of Augsburg Fortress, claims,

re:form is a fully customizable curriculum that’s rooted in historic Christianity, but speaks to kids on their level. re:form empowers youth to discover for themselves what they believe.

The materials, including a DVD set, leader guide, and student “anti” workbook are geared for confirmation programs with 7^th and 8^th grade students and organized into six units with 40 lessons, each answering a tough theological question a kid might actually ask like “Is the Bible true?”

“What does God think about war?” or “Can I be a Christian without going to church?” re:form is designed to be useful across protestant denominations, but the publishers (who have traditionally created products aimed at the Lutheran church) claim re:form appeals broadly across multiple denominations. If you’re curious about how that could really be possible when our ministries can be so diverse, check out this blog entry for more information.

So Is This Any Good?

That’s WHAT it is, but what you really want to know is…”HOW is it?!!!?” As a seasoned youth and children’s ministry professional, who is forever searching for a curriculum that provides one-stop shopping, the whole-shebang, no need to adapt, edit, or improve for my purposes, but has come to believe this doesn’t exist type of gal, who was formerly especially skeptical of material published by Augsburg Fortress… I must admit that re:form is good, really good.

I wish it had been around when my not formally theologically trained self was charged in a past employment position with teaching confirmation class for a group of impossible to please sixth graders! This curriculum would have saved me HOURS of preparation. Read on for my re:form pros and one, measly con.

Pros:

Format –I LOVE how each lesson is organized around a question. How kid-friendly is that?! When I was a confirmation student myself, I was definitely WAY more interested in figuring out “Is believing in Jesus really the only way to get to heaven?” than memorizing the books of the Old Testament. I think it’s awesome that re:form tries to encourage exploration over indoctrination.
Lotsa Options -40 lessons over six units!?!??! This is probably WAY more material than you could ever cover, which is great, because if there’s something you don’t like you can just leave it out and move on to the next topic. I truly believe the curriculum could be used effectively in both small and large group settings and re:form could work for multiple years of programming and for confirmation, youth group, Sunday school, probably even adult Bible study, giving you a bit more bang for your buck (like about 40 of them for the leader guide and almost $50 for the DVDs).
The DVDs –Honestly, I’ve never seen a Christian focused one that I actually thought was truly quality. Why IS that? Anyway, the heavens may just have opened up this time, because the short films that are provided for each lesson are actually both informative AND engaging for a middle school audience. Amazing!
The Leader Guide –It’s user-friendly, straight-forward, and offers multiple fun and engaging activities and discussion questions to support each lesson. It’s everything you’ll need and more.

The Con:

The Anti-Workbook –While your students are sure to be intrigued by the name of the product alone, not to mention the extremely flashy artwork and hip language incorporated into this wire bound journal designed to be provided to each kid at a cost of about $20 a pop, I don’t think it’s really necessary. Many of the activities the curriculum designates to be done in the journal, like drawing graffiti or answering questions, could also be completed on a plain old sheet of paper. The anti-workbook doesn’t stand alone, meaning you couldn’t send it home to be used outside of class, and needs directions and information from the leader guide to be useful. Plus, unless you are going to use EVERY re:form lesson and ALL the suggested activities therein, the anti-workbook can actually become a distraction to students who want to try the thumb-war or build the marshmallow toothpick towers, even though that might not have been part of your plan. Hint: Feel free to just order the DVDs and Leader Guide and be anti the anti-workbook!

Are YOU sold? You can learn more about re:form on their Facebook page and it’s sold here. Whether you are or not, I’d love to read and respond to your comments and questions about the curriculum. Leave em’ below!

A Perfect Father’s Day (Children’s Bible Lesson)

Nicole VanderMeulen — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:32:32 +0000

This lesson would work for a children’s sermon or message, Sunday School or Children’s Church. Length could be anywhere from 10-60 minutes, depending upon the activities used. You might also like our Father’s Day coloring pages and craft ideas for Father’s Day.

By contributing writer, Nicole VanderMeulen, Children’s Ministry Coordinator at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington.

Learning Objectives:

Children will consider the great sacrifice God made for us, how he loves each of us unconditionally and how we can attempt to love others in this same way after listening to a children’s book about a father who puts his daughter’s pleasure before his own on Father’s Day.

Target Age Group: Children age 3-12 years

Bible Story: John 3:16

Explanation: On Sunday, June 20, many people will celebrate Father’s Day. Through the use of a children’s picture book, this lesson helps connect the celebration of Father’s Day and the love we may receive from our birth fathers to the unconditional and sacrificial love we all receive from God our father. The use of this delightful story about how a little girl honors her dad on Father’s Day helps children to consider God’s sacrifice of his son for our sins in a very age appropriate and easy to comprehend kind of way.

Items Needed:

Bible/Children’s Bible
“A Perfect Father’s Day” by Eve Bunting

Optional Supplies:

popsicles
paper, scissors, crayons/markers
sidewalk chalk
large banner paper

Ask the children what is special about the day (Father’s Day). Tell them that you have a special Father’s Day story to share with them and read “A Perfect Father’s Day” by Eve Bunting . Be sure to read in an engaging voice and show all of the pictures. Stop every so often to discuss what you are reading with the group. Susie, the little girl in the story, takes her Dad out for the “perfect” Father’s Day, but they actually do all of HER favorite things, like visiting the duck pond and playing on the monkey bars. Ask your students what they think about this. Is this the perfect day for Susie or for her Dad? Why does Susie’s father do what she wants to do when it’s supposed to be his special day?

After you have read and discussed the storybook, share John 3:16 from a Bible. Remind the children how Susie’s Dad made some sacrifices for her on Father’s Day. Ask the children if they know what huge, unbelievable sacrifice God gave for all of us (giving his son Jesus to die for our sins). Discuss how whether we have a loving, involved birth father in our lives or not we all have the perfect, loving, giving father in God. Both our Father God and many of our birth fathers make sacrifices to love us unconditionally. How do you think we should love others in return? What does that kind of love look like? Can you think of some examples of sacrificial and unconditional love?

If you would like to extend the lesson beyond a children’s sermon or short Children’s Church lesson, consider adding one or more of the following activities:

Snack –Have POP-sicles for a snack! Get it… father, dad, pop?!!?!? Hint: The “otter pop” kind of popsicles frozen in the plastic sleeves are much less messy than traditional ones on a stick!

Crafts

-Make Coupons for Dad (or other male role model!). Our Fathers make sacrifices for us, now what can we do for them? Help the children to make coupons for their Dads using paper, scissors, and markers or crayons that entitle them to gifts like one free carwash, a hug, taking out the trash, walking the dog, control of the TV remote, etc.

-Design Father’s Day cards or simple gifts. MANY free ideas are available online. One great resource is the Family Fun website.

-Use sidewalk chalk outdoors or markers and large banner paper inside to make a special Father’s Day greeting for the Dad’s at your church.

Consider closing with a “repeat after me prayer”. Pause between every few words, allowing the children to echo what you have said. Dear God/Thank you/for being our Father/and for/all of our other Father’s./Help us to/love each other/like you love us. /Amen.

Church Bulletin Insert: The Faith Focused Family

Nicole VanderMeulen — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:55:35 +0000

Recently a reader wrote to us asking about bullet inserts to encourage families to integrate faith into their home life. I passed on the idea to Nicole and she created this resource. It can easily be printed and distributed to all the congregation or just to parents. It has five practical tips for parents who want to develop a faith focused family.

Directions: Click on the preview image or click here to download this bulletin insert as a printer friendly PDF file. Below is the full text of the document.

The Faith Focused Family 5

1. Take time (daily! if possible) to gather as a family and share “highs” and “lows”. Listen as each person shares the best (high) and worst (low) part of their day. Pray about the things that have been shared as a family, or as a parent, take note about what your child has shared and use the information during your personal prayer time.

2. Make the Bible and prayer requests visible. Dedicate a special dry-erase/chalk/cork board in your home to displaying a different Bible verse each week. Invite your family members to write prayer requests for both challenges and joys on the board. Pray for them!

3. Say “repeat after me prayers”. The “prayer” offers their prayer, pausing after every 2-4 words so others may repeat what has been said. This is a great way to engage everyone in praying and to model prayer for small children.

4. Bless your kids! Place your hand on them and say something like the traditional words found in Numbers 6:24-26, May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. Feel free to give a blessing in your own words too! Before children leave for school in the morning and bedtime are two particularly appropriate times for a blessing.

5. Serve together! Scripture and prayer are important, but so is service. Look into serving at a food pantry, soup kitchen, or participate in any project you can do as a family that helps care for others. Let the family brainstorm and decide on projects together. Making family service projects a quarterly or monthly tradition can really help everyone understand how important it is to give.

Need More Ideas? Browse our resources for family worship or adapt our kids Bible lessons for family devotions.

Children’s Bible Lesson: The Pentecost Party

Nicole VanderMeulen — Mon, 31 May 2010 17:46:42 +0000

Many Christians celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The holiday falls 50 days after Easter Sunday. So this lesson may be particularly appropriate at that time, but could also be used any time in exploration of the Bible text found in Acts 2.

This lesson would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church. It was written by contributing writer, Nicole VanderMeulen, Children’s Ministry Coordinator at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington.

Bible Story: The Pentecost Party
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21
Target Age Group: Age 3 – 12 (U.S. preschool – 6th Grade)
Time: 45-60 Minutes
Learning Context: Children’s Church
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please leave your feedback and suggestions for this lesson plan. Others will benefit from your ideas. Click here to respond

Learning Objectives: Through story, craft, game, and snack children will explore Acts 2:1-21 and learn about Pentecost, the birthday of the church, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Items Needed:

Bible/Children’s Bible
DVD: The Bedbug Bible Gang Pentecost Party (optional)
Parachute
Balloons and/or Tennis Balls
Cupcakes
Trick Candles (the kind that you can’t blow out)
Lighter/Matches
Paper Lunch Bags
Markers
Embellishments: stickers/foam/sequins/etc.
Glue
Tape
Yarn

Story: To introduce the story of Pentecost to the children, you may want to share Acts 2:1-21 from the Bible or a children’s bible. Another option, which may be especially appropriate for preschool and kindergarten aged children would be to show the first 7 minutes of the DVD, “The Bedbug Bible Gang Pentecost Party”, which can be purchased here. Make sure to discuss what you read or view and ask comprehension questions.

Games: Play parachute games!!! Talk about how the Holy Spirit is like the wind. It holds us up and fills us up and makes us float. The Holy Spirit first came to the disciples like a rushing wind.

“Spirit Says” -like Simon says…Spirit says wave the parachute fast, wave it slow, make it still, put it over your head, turn around and hold it, etc.
“Tent Time” –everyone raises their arms up holding the parachute together, takes a few steps in toward the center, brings the parachute behind them, and sits down on the edge to make a mushroom, tent, dome, etc.
“Ball Bounce” -use balloons and tennis balls on the parachute. You can try to keep them all on, try to bounce them all off, split into two sides and try to get the balloon off the other team’s side, etc.
“Switch Places” –number off the children, in 4’s maybe? Raise up the parachute, call out a number or two, and those kids run under the parachute and switch places or find a new place.

Snack –Birthday cupcakes!!! Pentecost marked the first birthday of the church, so when we celebrate Pentecost, we celebrate the birthday of the church. Light trick candles, sing “Happy Birthday”, and talk about how the Holy Spirit is like a flame in our hearts that won’t go out. It keeps us burning with love for Jesus. Eat and enjoy!

Craft –Windsocks! Pentecost is when a rushing wind brought The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is like the wind; we can’t see it, but it’s there. Sometimes, we can feel it though! Each child can choose a colored paper bag, cut off the bottom to make a tube. Decorate with stickers, foam, sequins, and markers. Glue/tape streamers to one end, and tape a piece of yarn to each side of the other end to make a handle.

Prayer: Consider using a “repeat after me prayer”. Pause between every few words, allowing the children to echo what you have said. Dear God/Thank you/for the gift of/the church/and your Holy Spirit./Help us to/feel and see/and be filled with/your power. /Amen.

The Backwards Easter Egg Hunt (with a message!)

Nicole VanderMeulen — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:53:11 +0000

Hopefully, all of your Easter Sunday plans for your children’s ministry are in place and ready to go, but if that’s not the case, here’s a user-friendly way to engage and teach little ones in celebration of the resurrection. This method is especially nice for dealing with a large crowd, but can work well with any size group.

Have your kids participate in a traditional Easter egg hunt, using plastic eggs…here’s the best part…that are EMPTY! No stuffing required! I ask the children to find five eggs (one of each color available) and then have them visit a different station for each egg where they receive an object to fill their egg with that represents a part of the Passion story. For example:

Green Egg -Palm Sunday/piece of “donkey” fur or palm branch
Pink Egg-Last Supper/cheerio or oyster cracker to represent bread
Purple Egg-The Cross/small wooden cross or cross sticker
Yellow Egg-Empty Tomb/small chocolate egg (to eat!), egg stays empty to represent the empty tomb
Blue Egg-Jesus Appears Again/nail to remind us of the holes in Jesus’ hands that helped Thomas believe

It’s kind of like Resurrection Eggs, just a bit different! You can alter this to fit your needs and your ministry. This is the quick and simple start. If you want to go above and beyond, consider these ideas:

Provide bags or baskets for the children to use to hold their eggs. I like to use simple colored lunch bags and “He Is Risen” stickers from Oriental Trading Company.
At each station, explore the story more by reading a Bible verse, Bible story, or section of a children’s book that gives more details.
Provide different art materials at each station (stickers/sequins/permanent markers/etc.) to be used to decorate the outside of the egg.

Can you think of other ways to adjust and adapt this concept to make for Easter success? If so, share them in the comments below. You’ll have extra time to make your ministry extra great now that you won’t be stuffing all of those plastic eggs yourself! All laziness aside, my hope is that this activity will combine the ever pleasing egg hunt activity with a meaningful and fuss-free way to share the true message of Easter with children. Blessings to you as you share the Good News! He has risen! He has risen indeed!

Parable of the Lost Coin (Lenten Lesson)

Nicole VanderMeulen — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 01:04:14 +0000

This lesson is the fifth and final lesson in a series of five that explore the Lenten theme “Walk His Ways” using a parable Bible story. This lesson would work well any time for children’s church or Sunday School.

Explanation: Lent is a 40 day journey (not counting Sundays!) to focus on God and prepare to remember and celebrate Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the grave to save each of us. Many people decide to “give up” things for Lent to help them remember that Jesus gave his life for us, but you can also “take on” doing good things, just like Jesus did. Through the exploration of parable Bible stories, the “Walk His Ways” Lent lessons help children discover how we can attempt to live and serve as Jesus did in the kind of kingdom he envisioned. Each of the five lessons addresses “walking his ways” with a different parable and theme. This lesson explores losing and finding God, connecting with prayer, and reinforces the idea that God NEVER loses us with the story of The Lost Coin.

Bible Story: The Parable of the Lost Coin
Scripture: Luke 15:8-10
Target Age Group: Age 3 – 12 (U.S. preschool – 6th Grade)
Time: 45 Minutes
Learning Context: Children’s Church
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please leave your feedback and suggestions for this lesson plan. Others will benefit from your ideas. Click here to respond

Learning Objectives:

Children will experience the story of The Lost Coin, exploring how we might lose God and how we can find him again.

Items Needed:

Shoe nametags & extra supplies
Search & Find Picture Books (I Spy, Where’s Waldo)
Large Paper or Poster Board
Crayons/Markers
Glue
Plastic Eggs with Candy/Prizes
Walk His Ways Kids’ Guide PDF
Puppets
Bag of Coins, Ticket, Random Collection of Stuff
Plastic or Wood Cubes
Prayers

Introduction:

Nametags: Children find their shoe nametag that they made during the first lesson and put it on. If there are children without a nametag, provide materials and allow them to make one.
Search & Find Picture Books: Provide a stack of search and find picture books. Two popular series are “Where’s Waldo?” and “I Spy”. Your local library should carry many of these books! Children, most likely in pairs, search the picture books to find the things that are “lost” or hidden.
Pray Big: Provide large poster board or mural paper and markers or crayons. Children can write words or draw pictures of things or people they want to pray for, inside the letters P-R-A-Y written on large paper.
Discussion Questions: What were you doing with the books? Why? Do you ever think we lose God? Does he lose us? How can we find him? What things or people can you pray for? Why should we pray?
Check in about the “Walk His Ways” challenges if you are using the guides.

Game: Lost and Found Games

- In advance, hide a plastic Easter egg with a small piece of candy or prize for each child. Children search for a hidden Easter egg.

- One child waits outside, while group agrees on a hiding place for an object (plastic egg?). After it’s hidden, child comes inside and searches. The group claps louder when the finder gets closer to the hidden object, and softer when they make a wrong turn.

Discuss: How do you find God when you lose him? Can anyone or anything help us?

Story: The parable story is taught in this lesson using the following puppet script. You may also want to read Luke 15:8-10 from the Bible. Use these follow-up discussion questions after the puppet show: What happened? What did Billy do when we found his lost coin? Do we ever get lost from God? Does he lose us or do we lose him? How do we find God? How does God feel about that?

Parable Puppet Show: The Lost Coin

Materials: two puppets, bag of coins, ticket, lots of random stuff

Billy: (holding a bag of coins, jingle pop can with coins for sound effect) That’s it! This is really it! I just earned the last dollar coin I need to go to the movies. Now I can finally go see “Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D”. Wow! All that lawn mowing and leaf raking and babysitting is FINALLY going to pay off. I can’t wait to go to the movies with Jenna. I hope she gets here soon!

Jenna: Hey Billy!

Billy: Hiya Jenna. I am so super excited to go to the movies with you! Lets go, lets go, lets go!

Jenna: Hold your horses, Buddy! We’ll get there. My Mom’s outside waiting in the car. Here’s your ticket. She bought them for us last night before they sold out. You owe me $10.

Billy: The money is all right here. I hope dollar coins are ok. I just love saving these big dollar coins. I know I have enough because I just got the last coin this morning from Mrs. Jones after I watered her flowers. But let me count it for you, just to be sure; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine….WHAT!?!? Only NINE!??! There must be some mistake.

Jenna: Here. Let me try counting. Kids, will you help me? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine….Uh Oh, there is definitely only nine coins here, Billy.

Billy: (crying/sobbing) Oh, no! This is HORRIBLE! Now I won’t be able to see “Monsters vs. Aliens” after all. This stinks. I worked so hard…and for what? NOTHING! THAT’S what!

Jenna: Don’t freak out yet. Lets try to find your missing coin. Maybe it’s just lost. Come on!

(Both puppets go behind the curtain, and start throwing random props over the curtain while they search for the coin…)

Billy: Oh this is horrible! A monkey, a stick, and Kleenex, but no coin anywhere!

Jenna: Here’s a ping pong ball…oh, and a really pretty scarf.

Billy: JENNA! Concentrate! We need to find my coin.

Jenna: (Jenna and Billy come back up) Well, I didn’t see it down there anywhere, Billy. Hey…maybe we should ask the kids to help us look for the lost coin. It HAS to be around here somewhere. Can you do that kids? Go! Find Billy’s missing coin!

(kids look for hidden coin and when someone finds it teacher gives it to Billy)

Billy: Woohoo! Hooray! You kids are awesome! Thank you SO much. I am so excited! Now we can go to the movie after all!

Jenna: That’s enough dancing! We gotta go if you don’t want to miss the beginning of the movie. Come on!

Billy: Seeya kids! Thanks again for your help finding my lost coin. Bye!

Art Activity: Prayer Cube Children color and decorate six paper squares, each with different prayers on them and then glue them to a large block to make a prayer dice to use to help choose a prayer to say. Consider using mealtime and bedtime sets of prayers the kids can choose from. I have found inexpensive plastic colored ABC blocks at Big Lots that work well, but you could use a wood, or any other type of cube. Why should we pray? How does prayer help us find God?

Prayer: Consider using a “repeat after me prayer” to close each of the Lent lessons. Pause between every few words, allowing the children to echo what you have said. Dear Jesus,/You are/so good./Help us/to walk/your ways/and serve others/as you would serve./Amen.

Need More Help? Browse all our Bible lessons for Easter or check out our suggested worship music for children.

Lenten Lesson: Parable of the Foolish Rich Man

Nicole VanderMeulen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:23:39 +0000

This lesson is the fourth lesson in a series of five that explore the Lenten theme “Walk His Ways” using a parable Bible story. This lesson would work for Sunday School or Children’s Church.

Explanation: Lent is a 40 day journey (not counting Sundays!) to focus on God and prepare to remember and celebrate Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the grave to save each of us. Many people decide to “give up” things for Lent to help them remember that Jesus gave his life for us, but you can also “take on” doing good things, just like Jesus did. Through the exploration of parable Bible stories, the “Walk His Ways” Lent lessons help children discover how we can attempt to live and serve as Jesus did in the kind of kingdom he envisioned. Each of the five lessons addresses “walking his ways” with a different parable and theme. This lesson explores needs and wants and helping everyone to have enough with Jesus’ story of the Rich Fool.

Bible Story: The Parable of the Foolish Rich Man
Scripture: Luke 12:16-21
Target Age Group: Age 3 – 12 (U.S. preschool – 6th Grade)
Time: 45 Minutes
Learning Context: Children’s Church
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Learning Objectives: Children will experience the story of The Foolish Rich Man, exploring the difference between wants and needs and considering as God’s people how we can help care for everyone.

Items Needed:

Shoe nametags & extra supplies
Magazines
Scissors
Glue Sticks
Poster Board
Markers
Walk His Ways Kids’ Guide PDF
Puppets
Cup, Lemonade Sign, Coins
Cardboard Banks
Fair Trade Chocolate
Non Fair Trade Chocolate

Introduction:

Nametags: Children find their shoe nametag that they made during the first lesson and put it on. If there are children without a nametag, provide materials and allow them to make one.
Needs vs. Wants Collages: Children cut out magazine pictures of things and work with their table or small group to glue them on large piece of poster board divided into two columns titled needs/wants.
Discussion Questions: What is a need? What is a want? What’s the difference? Is it ok to get things we want? Are there people who don’t have their “needs”? I wonder how God feels about people’s needs and wants? How can we help make sure everyone’s needs are met?
Check in about the “Walk His Ways” challenges if you are using the guides.

Game: This or That Hunger Awareness
Children stand along one wall, and in response to the following questions move from one side of the room to the other. Go stand by the other wall if…

You have eaten dessert or a sweet treat this week. (hungry people in poor countries rarely get dessert)
You can drink water many times a day. (some people are hungry because they have no water to drink or to grow food)
Your freezer at home has bags or boxes of food in it. (people in many places don’t have refrigerators or freezers to keep food fresh)
You have to walk a mile to get to the nearest drink of water. (in many countries people do, and even then the water is dirty)
You ate meat today. (many people eat only grains and never get to eat fish or meat)

Discuss each item as you come to it and end with a repeat after me prayer thanking God for food and asking to help us make no one hungry.

Bible Story: The Parable of the Rich Fool

The parable story is taught in this lesson using the following puppet script. You may also want to read Luke 12:16-21 from the Bible. Use these follow-up discussion questions after the puppet show: What happened? What was Billy doing wrong? What does God want us to do with our money and our things? Is it fair for some people to have a lot and others to have barely anything at all?

Parable Puppet Show: Lemonade For Sale!

An Adaptation of the Parable of the Foolish Rich Man

Materials: one boy puppet, two girl puppets, cup, lemonade sign, coins

Billy: (shouting) Lemonade $.25, Lemonade $.25, (notices audience) Oh! Hi kids! My name is Billy. Do you like my lemonade stand? I’m raising money for my favorite cause…ME! I started out trying to get enough money to buy this really cool little airplane I saw at the toy store, but business was really good earlier today and I’ve got plenty of change for that, see (jingles coins). I’ve got even more hidden in a box underneath my lemons. If business gets any better, I might have to get a bigger box, or bigger lemons? (scratches his head) Hmmm…Hold it, here comes a customer!

Jenna: Hey Billy!

Billy: Hiya Jenna. What can I do for you?

Jenna: I want another glass of lemonade. It’s pretty good! Can you hurry? It’s hot out here! Here’s my nickel.

Billy: Jenna! Can’t you read the sign? The price is $.25 a glass.

Jenna: $.25?! A little while ago I got a glass for $.05?

Billy: Well that was early this morning when I was just getting started. The price has gone up.

Jenna: Gone up? But I walked all the way across the street to get some lemonade. I’m thirsty and it’s hot out here!

Billy: That’s right and the hotter it gets the more people want lemonade, and the more people WANT lemonade, the more it’s going to cost.

Jenna: But Billy, THAT’S not fair!

Billy: THAT’S supply and demand.

Jenna: But I’m thirsty and all I have is a nickel.

Billy: Well, looks like you’re going to be walking back across the street thirsty.

Jenna: That’s not very nice.

Billy: Take it or leave it.

Jenna: Whatever! (Exits)

Billy: Oh Well, that’s just a drop in the bucket. There’s plenty more customers where she came from. In fact, I’ve got so much money I don’t even think I want that little airplane anymore. It’s dinky! I think I’ll buy one of those flying model airplanes with the remote control, the super-de-duper-deluxe model! Nobody I know has one of those. That’ll be so cool! I’ll be set for life and then if I have enough left over, I think I’ll have a pizza party for…me! A lovely cheese pizza just for me! And some soda pop, lots of soda pop! Pizza…soda pop and party all night long! Wahoo (dances a little). Well, at least until my bedtime…Oh good. Here comes another customer.

Julie: Hi Billy. Whatcha doin?

Billy: Hi Julie! I’m selling lemonade. What to buy some?

Julie: Gee, I don’t know. It sure looks good, but a quarter…that’s kind of a lot, isn’t it?

Billy: What? No way. I’ve sold all kinds of lemonade today. I’ve made a fortune!

Julie: Really? What are you going to do with all that money?

Billy: Well, first thing I’m going to do is make a bunch more money and then I’m going to spend it on…ME!

Julie: But Billy? Doesn’t your Mom & Dad give you an allowance?

Billy: Well, ya, but…

Julie: And don’t they get you anything you need?

Billy: Well yes, but I want to be set for life!

Julie: Life! Billy, you are only six!

Billy: You can never start too early.

Julie: Gee, I don’t know (scratches her head).

Billy: You don’t know if you like lemonade or not?

Julie: Nooo…I don’t know if it’s ok for you to charge so much for your lemonade just so you can have a big airplane and pizza and soda and party all night long.

Billy: Well, why not? It sounds pretty awesome to me!

Julie: Well, it’s just that you don’t need all that stuff and I know there are other kids who don’t even have the things they DO need like food and clothes and a place to live. It doesn’t seem fair for you to have so much and someone else to have nothing.

Billy: Hmmm….maybe you’re right Julie. I’ve been kinda selfish.

Julie: AND greedy too…

Billy: Ok, fine…and greedy too. I guess I don’t need a super-de-duper-deluxe airplane. I think I’ll just get the little one and give the rest of my money to someone who needs it more, like the kids who need backpacks of food over the weekend that we are using our Sunday School offering at church to buy.

Julie: I think that’s a great idea Billy! Way to go! Wow, I’m really thirsty. Now, could I have a glass of lemonade?

Billy: Sure Julie. That’ll be $.25. I’m saving for kids who need food, now. (Shakes his money)

Julie: (hits herself in the head) Uhhhggg!!

Billy: Bye, everybody!

Julie: Bye!

THE END

Art Activity: Bank On It! Children decorate a small cardboard bank to use to save money to give to others by cutting out magazine pictures of things people need; food, clothing, shelter, love and gluing them on to the bank. Discuss different places where they might give the money they save; buy an animal, give to Sunday School offering project, donate to food bank, etc. Small plain cardboard banks can be purchased here or you can use any small container that closes and just add a slit for the money.

Snack Activity: Chocolate Comparison Provide each child with a small piece of Fair Trade chocolate and one piece that isn’t Fair Trade. Remove the chocolate pieces from their wrappers before class and place them on plates labeled “A” and “B”. Ask the children to compare and contrast the chocolate. Which piece was better? Discuss how purchasing Fair Trade products can help others in need. You and your children can learn much more about Fair Trade through these websites:

Need More Ideas? Then check out more lesson plans about Jesus or ask your questions in our forums about children’s church.