3 Bible-Based Activities for Your Preteen Ministry
Looking for a few new ideas to infuse the Bible into your ministry? Try these three Bible-based activities that your preteens will love!
3 Bible-Based Activities for Your Preteen Ministry
Bible-Based Activity #1: The Kindness Pass
Use this game to encourage preteens to be kind at all times.
You’ll need:
Form a seated circle. Give a cotton ball to one preteen.
Say: When I say “go,” you’ll pass the cotton ball slowly to the left. If you’re holding it when I say “stop,” you’ll thank the person who gave it to you, and then you’ll say “You’re special” to the person you’re passing it to. Have kids play, stopping them intermittently. After a few stops, begin adding in more cotton balls one by one, having kids pass them in different directions.
Ask:
- What was challenging about this game?
- What things can keep you from being kind and encouraging to others?
Read aloud Matthew 7:12.
Ask:
- Why do you think it’s important to do what this verse says?
- How can you intentionally show kindness more often?
Michael Capps
East Flat Rock, North Carolina
Bible-Based Activity #2: The First Is Last
Use this experience to show what it means to be a servant leader.
You’ll need:
Ask:
- Describe the characteristics of a good leader.
Say: Here’s what Jesus says. Read Mark 10:41-45. Let’s do something to help us think about that.
Have everyone line up along a wall. Say: When I give a command, you do the opposite. For example, if I say to take a step back, you’ll take a step forward. If you don’t do the opposite, you’re out. Your goal is to be the first to reach me by doing the opposite of what I say.
Stand at the wall opposite the kids, and give commands (such as “hop on one foot” or “turn right”) to lead kids to move to you. Play until someone reaches you, and give a prize to the winner.
Ask:
- What was easy or hard about this game?
- How was this game like what Jesus said about being a servant leader?
- How can you be servant leaders at school and at home?
Shawn Vander Lugt
Johnstown, Colorado
Bible-Based Activity #3: Balanced Beauty
Use this devotion to show kids there’s a time for everything.
You’ll need:
- Bibles
- 9 paper clips per child
- string
Tie one end of a string from the ceiling so kids can reach it. Unbend a paper clip so the large and small loops are separated (see photo). Tie the paper clip to the string in the middle of the clip so there are two hooks. Have each child unbend eight additional paper clips in the same way.
Say: Let’s make a hanging sculpture as we listen to some verses. Read aloud Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 verse by verse. After each verse, have each preteen add a paper clip to the sculpture by linking it to a loop on the hanging line. Encourage kids to keep the two sides balanced, but allow them to be creative with where and how they hang the paper clips.
Ask:
- What happened when our sculpture became unbalanced?
- How do the verses remind us of balance in our lives?
Steve Case
Savannah, Georgia
Looking for more preteen ideas? Check out these posts!
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