If I believed in magic, (which I don’t) I would have to say that balloons have a magical quality. No matter where you put them in a room, children will unavoidably be drawn to them. Even uninflated balloons are full of potential for kids. Don’t believe me? Place a basket full of balloons in the center of your classroom table. You’ll have to move them! If you’re like me, you have probably used balloons in your children’s ministry class. These handy, inexpensive items are perfect for illustrating many different bible topics, like dealing with anger before you pop or how the Holy Spirit lives inside us.
And other cool way to use a balloon is as an object lesson for prayer. Teaching kids that prayers are more than words, they are powerful messages to God who hears every single word. It’s an important lesson to teach if building a strong foundation of faith is a priority for you. When we talk to God, these special messages travel quickly to God’s ears. For this New Year’s object lesson, you need latex balloons, string, scissors, small pieces of paper and pens. It’s a good idea to teach a lesson on prayer before this activity. Use prayer balloons at the beginning of the year so kids can start the year with an emphasis on prayer.
Encourage the kids to write their prayers on a piece of paper. (They can leave them unsigned for privacy.) You may need to give them several minutes to collect their thoughts and write their prayer request. Each child should then roll up his prayer like a scroll, then cinch it closed with a string. Tie the string to the balloon string and head outdoors. Lead the kids in a prayer and release the balloons!
A sea of balloons rising up to the heavens is a powerful demonstration to kids about prayer. This is also a terrific object lesson for teens too!
Read more from Mimi by visiting her blog at Tools for Kids Church.
New Year's Idea: Prayer Balloons
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Hi there
While I really like the picture that the rising balloons would give, please don’t encourage releasing balloons in this way! They use up helium (a finite resource that is best used for better purposes), they pollute, and they kill animals. God calls us to be good stewards, and I believe that this would go against that calling.
We’ve done others things to teach kids about prayer. One great resource comes from Standard Publishing called “Helping Kids Pray.” Maybe you can find more environmentally sensitive ideas there.
Blessings,
Joanne Adema
Ministry Coordinator – Bethel Christian Reformed Church
Waterdown, ON
Please don’t do this! Balloon releases are terrible for the environment and not a good lesson to teach our children
I honestly love this idea!! Balloons floating towards the heavens… just like our prayers!! Ahhhhhhh ❤️🥰 as far as the environment, well our Heavenly Fathers in control of that. Let’s tell some of our politicians to settle down some of their unnecessary traveling/vacations in an airplane… not worried about 12-15 balloons hurting our environment. Sorry. Lots of blessings will be received in this!