I’m crazy about themes, props and the Bible! I love creating new ways to present Bible principles and verses to kids. Like many children’s pastors, I’m not a big fan of Halloween but I do recognize the incredible evangelistic opportunity I am presented with every year. Since kids love to dress up, each October I fill the kids’ church calendar with opportunities for kids (and moi) to dress up. What’s on deck this week? Ninja warrior Sunday!
During a recent devotion, I was reading, “At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.” (John 8:59) That’s ninja skills! Another verse that inspired my Ninja Warrior Sunday was John 20:28, “A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!” I’ve worked up a great lesson and three “minute to win it” games for our opening activities.
Ninja Mouth: I had a cardboard box with a pre-cut slit that looked like a mouth. (You could cut your own!) I covered the box with black construction paper to make the eyes look like my cardboard character was wearing a ninja mask. I’ll prop this “minute to win it” game up on a table. Kids can toss small plastic Frisbees through the mouth opening.
Chopstick Drop: When kids approach this game, they have to put on a ninja mask and transfer wrapped candies from one bowl to another using only chopsticks. Pretty simple but also challenging!
Ninja Blast: Full disclosure here. I found this on Pinterest and I loved it! I’ve inflated five red helium balloons and drawn ninja masks on them with a black, permanent marker. I anchored the balloons to bean bags on the floor. Kids get to use Nerf darts to smack the ninjas.
Once kids accomplish all the minute to win it games, I reward them with 10 or 20 Bible Bucks. You could also distribute the candy from your chopstick station.
You can read more from Monica by following her blog, Tools for Kids Church.
Ninja Warrior Sunday Ideas for Children's Church
