Think a good greeting program isn’t necessary for children’s church? Think again! When we don’t greet kids as they come in, we miss making a valuable connection for two reasons. First, the greeting is where you establish discipline. That’s so important to do right at the beginning of each session. Kids need to know someone is in charge. Second, we … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Have you ever snapped a selfie wearing a fingerstache? A fingerstache is a moustache drawing on the pointer finger that a person can use to pretend he has a moustache. It’s a playful temporary “tattoo” that was made popular a few years when it began showing up on different social media sites. I love the fingerstache—it’s a playful ice breaker … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Lesson Title: Knowing Jesus Through the Five Senses: The Sense of Taste Bible Reference: Matthew 26:17-30; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Target Age Group: Elementary Learning Context: Sunday School Target Time Frame: 45 minutes Focus Verse: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Lesson Title: Knowing Jesus Through the Five Senses: The Sense of Smell Bible Reference: Ephesians 5:2; Genesis 1:28-31; Genesis 2:15-17; Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 5:12 Target Age Group: Elementary Learning Context: Sunday School Target Time Frame: 45 minutes Focus Verse: “And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Back in December, I wrote a post called, What to Do When the Children You Teach Don’t Respect You. The post got quite a bit of comments and many of you had something to say about respect. Some of you had great experiences, no problems at all. Some of you no–not so much. Respect is a problem but we don’t … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Materials: Bucket of water, items that float, items that sink, picture of Jesus, large spoon, plastic egg, bucket (2 of each if you want to have teams), tape You can also download a coloring page of Jesus walking on water. Activity: Float vs Sink. – Put the bucket of water on the table – Talk with the children about the items … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Click on the image above to download this coloring page as a printable PDF document. We’ve also uploaded the JPG version if you need to edit. Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This free coloring page is based on the Gospel of Luke. It’s one part of our series of illustrations for each individual book of the Bible. Click here to download the print friendly PDF version. We’ve also uploaded the image in JPEG format. The illustration shows two fishing boats along a sea shore with a man reaching up to a fruit tree. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Barnabas is one of those people in the Bible that isn’t talked about a whole lot. Here is a basic Bible study of his life. Simply look up the Bible verses and discuss with your students what happened in the verses. I have put some information about the verses to be helpful to you as the teacher. * Acts 4:36-37 … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Musical instruments like trumpets feature prominently in the Bible. This cool instrument makes the perfect item to use for an object lesson. If you can get your hands on a trumpet, even a toy one you can have a lot of fun with the verses listed below. Give each child a toy trumpet (could be any kind of noisemaker) and … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This free coloring page is based on the Gospel of Mark. It’s one part of our series of illustrations for each individual book of the Bible. Click here to download the print friendly PDF version. We’ve also uploaded the image in JPEG format. The illustration shows scenes from Mark 4:9 in the parable of the sower where Jesus says, “He who has … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Sometimes in our life we go through situations that are difficult. Naaman was an interesting character in the Bible. He had leprosy and wanted to be healed, but wasn’t willing to do what God’s prophet, Elisha, told him to do. This is a great lesson to teach our children about following directions and more importantly following what God tells us … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This free Bible lesson is based on Mark 9:2-9 when Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John. It is designed for children’s church or Sunday School. Please modify as best fits your ministry. If your church follows the Revised Common Lectionary, this teaching plan would correspond to Year B – Transfiguration Sunday, Gospel Reading – Mark 9:2-9. Opening Activity – … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Establishing a new children’s ministry? This is such an exciting time but it can also be overwhelming because there is so much to teach! Kids won’t learn all they need to strictly from osmosis—you’ve got to teach, reteach and teach again. But where to start? I asked myself this question recently and it got me to thinking. What would I … More Children’s Ministry Resources
We offer the following background and ideas for making the most of the Lenten season in your children’s ministry. Don’t miss our Lent lessons and coloring pages. For many years the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday has been honored as the time of “Lent,” marked generally by sacrifice and mindful contemplation. In modern Protestant churches, it can sometimes … More Children’s Ministry Resources
In our culture, winning is highly prized and success is measured by performance. Again and again, though, the Bible gives quite different definitions of victory and achievement. Remind students in this lesson that our triumph is in Christ alone. Lesson focus: Though we can become competitive and weigh our success on what others do, the Bible emphasizes that the grace … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Negative voices tend to beat us down. They make us doubt our abilities, our anointing and even our calling. Sometimes those negative voices come from the people you serve (or their parents and grandparents) other times, those negative voices come from people you know outside the church and other times, those negative Nellies come from within your own two ears. … More Children’s Ministry Resources
On Sunday in my Pre-K/K Sunday School class, we were learning about the parable that Jesus told about the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21. This is a great parable to talk about needs vs. wants. I created this worksheet so that I could discuss this concept with my young students. I started the conversation with talking about what we needed … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This free Bible lesson is based on Mark 1:9-15 when, just after Jesus is baptized, He goes into the wilderness and is tempted by Satan, then reemerges to proclaim the good news. It is designed for children’s church or Sunday School. Please modify as best fits your ministry. If your church follows the Revised Common Lectionary, this teaching plan would … More Children’s Ministry Resources
This free coloring page is based on the book of Matthew. It’s one part of our series of illustrations for each individual book of the Bible. Click here to download the print friendly PDF version. We’ve also uploaded the image in JPEG format. The illustration shows a young girl outside an open doorway. The caption reads from Matthew 7:7, “Knock and … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Musical chairs isn’t just an exciting game, it’s an opportunity to present an object lesson to kids. Break out those chairs, get the music ready and that’s all you need. Here’s a review of how the game is played and some verses you can use. Chairs are placed in a circle, the seats facing outward. There should be one chair … More Children’s Ministry Resources
As adults, we tend to approach the Hallmark holiday of hearts with mixed emotions, depending perhaps upon age, gender, relationship status, or past experiences…for kids, Valentine’s Day bears connotations of fun cards and plenty of extra sugar consumption. There is nothing necessarily wrong with all of this, of course…but why not re-direct the focus of the holiday? Rather than romantic … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Unlike most folks, I’m not a big strawberry syrup fan but sometimes it’s delicious to have with milk. It makes a wonderful object lesson for teaching kids to see and appreciate God’s love. That’s perfect for Valentine’s Day or anytime you need to teach children about His precious love. This is so simple, it’s kind of silly to teach you … More Children’s Ministry Resources
Craft Alert! Mail a Hug for Valentine’s Day This Valentine’s Day craft is so easy, you’ll be wondering why you haven’t made it before. Full disclosure here: I took a great idea that I saw somewhere else and tweaked it to make it more specific for Valentine’s Day. It’s the ideal craft for kids who have loved ones like grandparents … More Children’s Ministry Resources