A Bible lesson that shows that planting seeds of faith will help
your children's ministry grow.
Preparation: For this Bible lesson you'll need
a large pumpkin and a New T...
Colleen Oglesby
Classroom and family traditions help children develop lifelong
habits and thought patterns. This Christmas help families develop
their children's first traditions that'll ad...
Use this twist on a favorite baby and toddler game to teach
about Jesus' Resurrection.
Form a circle with the little ones in your nursery and tell about
how people put J...
Children's Ministry Magazine
Little ones in your nursery and toddler
rooms love receiving presents; you can help them learn how fun it
is to give gifts as well.
Before Christmas, send a note home wit...
BABY JESUS
Christmas Insight: Teaching preschoolers that
Jesus was a real baby.
Preschoolers need to understand that Jesus was a real person
born as a real baby. Nativ...
*Theme: Christmas Message God is our loving
father.
*Text: Luke 2:10-11
*Preparation: You'll need two volunteers. Have one
volunteer wear a mask and carry a baseball b...
Susan Grover
To help take the "Scare" out of Halloween, use this lesson to
help kids trust Jesus when they're afraid...
1. Care Call -- Bring in several items that
represent caring pr...
Susan Grover
To help take the "Scare" out of Halloween, use this
lesson to help kids trust Jesus when they're afraid...
1. Pumpkin Matchup -- Remove the seeds and pulp
from two pu...
Mark von Ehrenkrook
A fun and creative Halloween alternative for grades
1-3
1. The Good, Bad, and Ugly -- (Supplies: Bible,
newsprint, tape, and markers.) Tape the newsprint to the wall. S...
Mark von Ehrenkrook
A fun and creative Halloween alternative for grades
4-6
1. Bible Activity: It's War! -- (Supplies:
ball, strobe light, newsprint, markers, tape, and Bible.) Form two
tea...
Cindy Nelson
Use this Christmas lesson to help children celebrate Jesus'
birthday.
1. News Sources-Ask kids to name ways we send
and receive news (television, radio, newspapers, magaz...
1. Barnyard Tag-Section off an area where kids
can run and play. Choose someone to be "It." Have "It" try to tag
kids. The only way kids can avoid being tagged is to run...
1. Inside Out-(Supplies: Bibles.) *Say: Jesus, the Son
of God, came to earth as a tiny baby. He saw what was in the world.
Some things he saw made him happy; other thing...
Children's Ministry Magazine
The Scene: Three children with a Bible
discussing the true meaning of Easter.
The Characters: Three children, the Easter Bunny,
the Teacher, Jesus on a stick pony, two chil...
Children's Ministry Magazine
Easter Theme: Jesus is our shepherd; Jesus the
Lamb of God
Scripture: John 10:7-9
Age Level: 6 to 12
Prep Time: Time to prepare muffins
Activity Time: 20 minutes
Ma...
Susan Grover
To help take the "Spook" out of Halloween, use these
lessons to help kids trust Jesus when they're
afraid...
1. Safety First -- Show magazine pictures of
things that may...
Materials needed:
Pumpkins -- 1 pumpkin with the top already cut open;
For a large group presentation, precarve 4 pumpkins with
different Christian symbols. (You ...
Mikal Keefer
Give your kids and their families an experience they
won't forget this Easter with two unique Passover
meals
Easter marks the most profound and promising event in our fai...
Reader Submitted
Construct a 6- to 8-foot cross from lumber, and mount it on a
base so it stands upright. The week before Easter or early in the
worship service, give each child a piece of r...
Theme: Christ's Exaltation As King
Text: John 1:4
Preparation: For each child, you'll need a
1-inch piece of cardboard tube (from a paper towel roll),
spray-painted gol...
Reader Submitted
On Palm Sunday, put three brightly colored strips of paper
(approximately 2 1/2 x 11 inches long) in each worship bulletin.
During the service just before the offering, ask ...
Children's Ministry Magazine
By Debbie Neufeld
A Basket Of Meaning
Bring this basket of Easter goodies to church with you for a
"sweet" object lesson that kids will love! Weave the gospel message
...
Children's Ministry Magazine
Theme: Cleansed Hearts
Text: Matthew 5:16
Preparation: Carve a happy face into a pumpkin.
Remove the pumpkin seeds and place them in a bowl inside the
pumpkin. Before chil...
Children's Ministry Magazine
TREAT BAGS
Help kids serve others. Send home letters to parents requesting
a donation of a Halloween treat, such as individually wrapped
lollipops, chewing gum, or candy ...
Mark von Ehrenkrook
A fun and creative Halloween alternative for ages
Pre-K
1. Let's Pretend--Have the children put on
animal costumes and pretend to be animals. Lead the children on a
para...
Children's Ministry Magazine
Here's a Halloween alternative that's sure to delight your kids.
Have an Orange You Glad to Know Jesus? party. Decorate
with orange streamers and balloons. Serve hot dogs an...
Children's Ministry Magazine
Ages 3 To 5
Give each child a small paper plate and a sugar ice cream cone.
Have kids place their cones upside down on their plates. Then help
them cover their cones with...
Lori Haynes Niles
Help babies give musical praise during the holiday
season by making them a pair of Baby Bells. For each infant, you'll
need a red pair and a green pair of socks, one size la...
Mikal Keefer and Scott Kinner
Celebrate Jesus' gifts of hope,
peace, joy, and love with children.
Shopping mall Santas, holiday toy ads, and school musicals
depicting snowmen and wintry weather -- th...
Theme: Halloween
Text: Psalm 91
Preparation: You'll need scrap paper and a
Bible.
The Message: (Distribute 20 sheets of scrap
paper and have kids wad the paper as you t...
Movie Title: Miracle on 34th Street (1947) (not rated)
Start Time: 6 minutes
Where to Begin: The parade begins.
Where to End: Santa has passed by, and the
marching b...
Anticipation, excitement, and wonder-these are the hallmarks of
the Christmas season, especially for children.
Can we decorate Christmas cookies?
Do you think it'll sno...
Honor Jesus' life, teachings, and miracles with these 11 ideas
especially
for Easter.
Kids love Easter! And we love Easter because we feel especially
connected to our Sa...
Celebrate Christ's birth with 22 Christmas ideas,
activities, and resources.
Kids love Christmas more than any other time of year -- and who
can blame them? Adults can ge...
Getting to Know Jesus at Easter
Say: On Easter we celebrate Jesus' defeat of death. He's alive
and will live forever. He wants us to be his friend and have the
power to l...
Lori Haynes Niles
Make your Holy Week both memorable and educational with a
week-long series of activities that will provide educational
opportunities each day from Palm Sunday..all the w...
Children's Ministry Magazine
A New Dozen
Easter eggs are a great way to tell about Easter. The filled
plastic Easter eggs can be opened at home on different days of Holy
Week, used to tell the purp...
Jelly beans come in all the right colors to tell the gospel of
God's love. Use this Jelly Bean Gospel Poem with any of the ideas
below:
Orange is for the sins we've d...
Sue Lennartson
Halloween's origins are rooted in the occult. The ancient Druids
believed that on October 31, Saman, the lord of death, called forth
hosts of dead spirits to visit their...
Christine Yount Jones
Our elves have been hard at work to help you pull off a bright
and cheery Christmas season.
To me, Christmas is the most enchanting time of the year. For a
brief mome...
Christine Yount
If you shake your Christmas stocking for new ideas to celebrate
Christmas this year and nothing falls out, don't despair. Try any
of these 20 Bible activities to keep ki...
Lori Haynes Niles
Through the stories of the Old Testament festivals, we learn
that God loves for his people to celebrate! And at Christmas,
celebrate we do -- with programs and parties, ...
Theme: God gave us his Son, Jesus. This is the reason
we celebrate Christmas.
Bible Reference: Luke 1:31-32a; Romans 6:23b
Simple Supplies: You'll need a Bible; the...
Truth: Prayer can lead us to acts of service during the
Christmas holiday.
Make a manger from a wooden or cardboard box. Fill it with hay
or shredded paper.
On the fir...
Truth: Prayer prepares us for Christmas
Wrap the Christmas figures from a crèche (nativity) scene and
bring them to class in a box. Let each child pull out one or two
fig...
Truth: It is good to pray in silence and
stillness--Even during the excitement of Christmas.
You'll need CD players and three CDs of different styles of
Christmas mus...
Children's activity on forgiveness at Christmas / New
Year
Truth: When we pray for forgiveness, God cleanses our
hearts.
You'll need colored glass ball Christmas ornam...
Donald Hinchey
Use this traditional Mexican drama with your kids to tell the
Christmas Bible story
La Posada is an honored and traditional Mexican drama at
Christmas time. In Mexican ci...
Peggy Emerson
Rev up your Christmas program with the best
principles from vacation Bible school.
How many times have you walked into a Christmas program rehearsal
to find kids sitting,...
A dozen new ideas that'll capture everyone's
attention for Jesus--the real center of Easter.
"Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went
up on a mou...
Inspire, delight, and captivate everyone in your church with
these 12 memory-makers for Christmas.
One of the most treasured gifts you can give another person is a...
Our readers' favorite ways to harvest
fun.
HEART ATTRACT
All Ages
To help children have a heart for your community, play this
familiar game with a twist. Tape a la...
Easter Week gets off to a spirited start when it
includes family devotions, service projects, easy crafts, yummy
snacks, fun games, a complete Seder Meal plan, and
more!
...
AN EASTER BONFIRE
Early Christians often lit bonfires on the night before Easter to
represent the light coming into the world through Christ. You also
can use this traditi...
TRACY NEREM
PALM BRANCH COOKIES
Your kids will enjoy making and eating these cookies. To make the
dough, you'll need 1/3 cup shortening, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 egg, 3 cups
sifted flour, 1/2...
l. Point of View-(Supplies:
Bible.)Say: Look around this room. What do you see? If you
were a tiny baby lying in on the floor, what would you see?
Say: Listen as I tell t...
Debbie Trafton O'Neal
Four fun ways to celebrate the Christmas season.
DECK THE HALLS
Hang a string of small white lights around your classroom
doorway to welcome children. Get even more cr...
Cindy Nelson
Use this Christmas lesson to help children celebrate Jesus'
birthday.
1. Come to the Party!-Show children a package
wrapped in birthday gift wrap.
Ask: Has anyone had ...
Bible Activity: Our Gifts-Show children an empty
manger. *Say: A manger is a food dish for cows. But for
baby Jesus, it was a bed. Jesus came to earth to help us be
kind.
...
Spread the good news of Jesus' resurrection with
these 10 new "egg-citing" experiences.
Easter is one of the biggest days on your church calendar -- and
for good reas...
Children's Ministry Magazine
Follow these instructions to lead your family in celebrating
Jesus' birth.
Get four pieces of clean trash, such as crumpled, unused
tissues. Hide them around the house ...
Create this recipe with your family to better understand why
Jesus is the reason for the season. (In addition to the contents of
this kit, you'll need wax paper and a can of...
What you'll need for each family; a kit with a penny, paper
clip, used staple, pebble, cotton ball, crumpled paper, heart
sticker, thumbtack, aluminum foil, tissue, rubber b...
Census Questions
Read aloud Luke 2:1-5 to see how Mary and Joseph had to travel
for the census. Then answer the following questions as a
family.
1. How many people liv...
What You'll Need:
Email or mailing addresses for your families
What You'll Do:
Help families mark the four weeks of Advent by sending mailings
that focus on the traditio...
This Christmas, put Jesus center stage by
throwing him a birthday bash! Follow these simple steps, and it'll
come together in a flash!
Step One: Decorate the room and h...
Age
Level: All
Materials: Stage, props, costumes, and
seating
Time: About one hour
Get everyone-kids and parents-involved in your Christmas
celebration with this i...
Age Level: 6 to 12
Materials: Graham crackers, straight pretzels,
unshelled peanuts*, chow mein noodles, marshmallows, decorator's
gel, frosting, shredded coconut, chocol...
These flower crowns help kids remember a different
crown Jesus wore on the cross.
Stuff: Green paper plates (available at party
supply stores or online at www.orientaltra...
Kristen Kansiewicz and Ali Thompson
Easter is our time to celebrate Jesus' resurrection.
And what better way to celebrate than to share the good news with
friends in your community? Use these make-and-take Ea...
At
Halloween, all sorts of zombies arise in costume. But we know
there's only one true Savior who can raise people from the dead-the
greatest Tomb Raider of all: Jesus. Her...
This hilarious
gathering will have all the pet lovers in your congregation
howling, purring, or making whatever noise turtles make.
Get Ready
You'll need small prizes...
