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Elementary girl holds her hands in a heart shape as she sits among kids her age.
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Family Event: 7 Great Big Valentine’s Day Bible Activities

Looking for a way to help your families grow together? Use any or all of these Valentine’s Day Bible activities with kids or families to help them experience God’s heart and take that overflowing love out into their neighborhood!

Valentine’s Day Activity #1: The Heartbeat of God

You’ll Need:

  • a Bible,
  • several heart cut-outs,
  • and masking tape

The Experience

Hang the heart cut-outs on the wall. Create a large outline of a heart on the floor with masking tape. Point to one of the hearts hanging on the wall. Say: When we see a heart, we usually think about love. Let’s read what the Bible says about love. Read aloud 1 John 4:8.

Ask:

  • What do you think it means that God is love?
  • When you think of God’s love, what words come to mind?

Have everyone stand on the outline of the heart you taped on the floor and hold hands.

A group of children standing in a circle holding hands.

Say: I’m going to squeeze the hand of the person to my right. When that person feels my squeeze, that person will squeeze the next person’s hand. As soon as you feel a squeeze, pass it on to the next person and let’s see if we can keep it going! Let the game continue around the circle several times until you can clearly see the squeezes being passed and there’s a good rhythm around the circle.

When there’s good momentum, say: Keep it going! We can think of this as God’s heartbeat. When we receive his love, we can give it away and his love keeps on going forever!

Afterward, ask:

  • What are some loving things people have done for you?
  • What are some ways you’ve passed on God’s love to other people?

Say: When we experience God’s love, we get to pass it on to other people, just as we passed our heartbeat around the circle. Let’s remember to pass on God’s love!

Valentine’s Day Activity #2: Heart Tag

You’ll Need:

  • a Bible,
  • heart stickers (one sheet per person),
  • and a large, open activity area

Set up chairs around the perimeter of the room.

The Experience

Children playing tag with smart heart shaped stickers.

Say: Have you ever noticed that when you give something away, you usually don’t have it anymore? If you spend all your money, you don’t have any left. If you pour milk into cups and everyone drinks it, you don’t have any left. Let’s try a game to see just how this works. I’m going to give everyone a sheet of stickers, and you all need to run around the room “tagging” each other with stickers. Be gentle with each other, but keep going until you’re all out of stickers. When you run out, sit in a chair next to your family or friends.

Have adults or older children help you distribute the sticker sheets. Allow time for everyone to play. When all the sheets are empty, have everyone sit down.

Say: Show me your sheets of stickers. Hold them up high! Pause. It looks like all your stickers are gone.

Ask:

  • Even though you gave away all your heart stickers, how many do you have?

Allow time for people to count the stickers attached to them.

Ask:

  • Tell about a time you gave away love and felt loved in return.

Say: In God’s kingdom, we give away love but we keep getting more and more of it. God keeps on showing us his love, so we’ll never run out.

Read aloud Romans 8:38-39.

Nothing can make God stop loving us. Nothing will ever make God’s love run out.

Valentine’s Day Activity #3: Servant Love

You’ll Need:

  • a Bible,
  • a large bowl of warm water,
  • and one clean washcloth per person

Have everyone sit in a chair. Instruct people to take off their socks and shoes, leaving them around the edges of the room. When people are ready, place the bowl of water in the middle of the room. Then have everyone sit on the floor in a circle. Distribute washcloths.

The Experience

Say: God’s love never runs out. But how exactly do we give away God’s love? Jesus showed us by example how to do just that. In John 13, Jesus chose the dirtiest, grossest job he could-washing his friends’ feet. Back in those days, people walked everywhere on dusty roads wearing just sandals. Their feet got filthy, and they had to wash them often. God’s love flowed through Jesus so he could serve others by doing a yucky job. We can show God’s love, too, by serving each other.

Begin with the person to your left. Dip part of your washcloth into the water bowl, and gently wash the person’s feet. Dry them with the dry portion of the cloth. Then continue to move the water bowl along while each person washes the feet of the person to his or her left. (To save time in a very large group, have people sit in smaller circles of up to eight with a water bowl and cloths for each group).

Once everyone’s feet are clean, say: Return with your family or friends to your shoes. Rather than just putting on your own socks and shoes, help each other put on socks and shoes. Tell each other, “God loves you” as you serve each other.

Ask:

  • Why do you think Jesus chose this act as a way to show love?
  • How has Jesus shown love to you?
  • How can you share God’s love by serving your family throughout the week?

Say: When Jesus showed love by washing his friends’ feet, he told us to follow that example. He wants us to love others by being servants. That’s how we overflow his love to other people.

Valentine’s Day Activity #4: Down in My Heart

You’ll Need:

  • a Bible

The Experience

Have everyone stand in the center of the room but instruct them to split up, males on one side and females standing on the other side. Read aloud 1 Thessalonians 3:12.

Say: When God’s love fills your heart, sometimes it spills over! We’re going to see which group can show the most enthusiasm. When you hear the words “down in my heart,” I’ll point to either the girls or the boys. If I point to your group, shout out “Where?” as loudly as you can.

Sing or have a volunteer sing “I’ve Got the Joy,” alternating which group you point to after each line.

Sing:

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart, Down in my heart, Down in my heart
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy
Down in my heart, Down in my heart to stay!

I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus
Down in my heart, Down in my heart, Down in my heart
I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus
Down in my heart, Down in my heart to stay!

I’ve got the peace that passes understanding
Down in my heart, Down in my heart, Down in my heart
I’ve got the peace that passes understanding
Down in my heart, Down in my heart to stay!

After singing, ask:

  • What are the signs that someone has God’s joy, love, and peace in their heart?
  • How does God put his joy, love, and peace in your heart? 
  • How have you seen God’s love overflow from your heart?

Say: When God’s love and joy are down in our hearts, they spill out and other people get to see that love and joy, too.

Valentine’s Day Activity #5: Share God’s Love

You’ll Need:

  • a Bible;
  • red tablecloths;
  • party favor bags with heart designs (6 to 8 per group or family);
  • heart-shaped items for favor bags such as cookie cutters, chocolates, lollipops, or balloons (not inflated);
  • red gift ribbon cut into foot-long pieces (one per favor bag);
  • a printer;
  • hole punches;
  • and adult chaperones if it’s not a family project

Print small tags that have your church name and information on one side and “God loves you!” on the other side. Set up folding tables at the back of the room as an assembly station. Decorate the tables with red tablecloths and place favor bags, gift items, tags, hole punches, and ribbon there.

The Experience

Read aloud Galatians 5:13.

Say: We can’t keep God’s love only to ourselves—we share it by serving others. When we really understand how much God loves us, his love overflows out of our hearts and spills onto our neighbors, too! Sometimes just telling someone “God loves you!” and showing kindness to that person is all we need to do. Let’s create some fun goody bags to show the people in our neighborhood that God loves them.

A Valentine's Day goodie bag decorated with a tag that say God loves you!

Instruct everyone to come to the favor bag assembly station at the back of the room. Station smaller children and a few adults at one end and the older children and additional adults at the other end. The smaller children can take a favor bag and walk down the assembly line, placing each of the various items inside the bag and handing it off to an older child or adult. The older children and adults can hole punch tags, string them onto a piece of ribbon, and tie the ribbon in a knot or bow around the top of the favor bags.

When the favor bags are completed, ask:

  • Which items in our favor bags do you think show the most love, and why?
  • What do you hope people do or think when they get these bags?

Delivering the Love

Say: These favor bags are just a small reminder of God’s love. Let’s take these to our neighbors and share his love with them. Before we go, let’s pray.

Pray: Dear God, we ask that you multiply your love as we try to share it with our neighbors. Touch their hearts and let them know just how much you love them. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you’re not using this as a family activity, form small groups and include two adults in each group. Give each family or small group 6 to 8 goody bags and send them out in different directions to distribute bags. If the weather or time doesn’t permit immediate distribution of the favor bags to neighbors around your church, have kids or families take a gift bag home and distribute favor bags to their own neighbors at a later time.

Valentine’s Day Activity #6: Filled With Love

You’ll Need:

  • a Bible;
  • strawberries, cut in half lengthwise;
  • cream cheese;
  • sliced bagels;
  • plastic knives;
  • plates;
  • and napkins

Spread out all the snack supplies on a table. Optional: Use a disposable tablecloth to make cleanup easier.

The Experience

Read aloud Romans 5:5.

A bagel topped with cream cheese and a half of a strawberry.

Say: God can fill our hearts with love through his Holy Spirit. (Hold up a bagel slice.) Let’s say this bagel represents a person who doesn’t believe in God. There’s something missing! (Point to the hole in the bagel. Give everyone a bagel slice on a plate.)

Say: When the Holy Spirit comes, he spreads his love all over us. Spread the cream cheese on your bagel. (Allow time.)

Say: And when the Holy Spirit fills our hearts, we’re full of love, and not missing anything! Cover the hole in your bagel with a strawberry slice to show how your heart is full of God’s love. Have each person put a strawberry slice in the middle to cover the hole in the bagel.

Ask:

  • How does God’s love help fill us when we feel empty?
  • Describe what difference God’s love makes in your life.

Say: God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to die for us. And after Jesus came back to life and went to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to be here on earth. The Holy Spirit is inside everyone who believes in Jesus, so we’re never alone. We can be full of God’s love!

Valentine’s Day Activity #7: Spread the Love Necklace

You’ll Need:

  • a Bible;
  • colorful magazines or catalogs;
  • scissors;
  • jewelry cord;
  • toothpicks;
  • and quick-drying craft glue.

The Experience

Set up tables, and set out the craft supplies. Have children follow these steps:

  1. Cut colorful magazine pages into 25 long triangles. These triangles need to be 1 inch at the base and at least 8 inches long.
  2. With the most colorful side facing down, place the toothpick at the base of the triangle.
  3. Roll the toothpick toward the point, wrapping the paper around the toothpick as you roll.
  4. Add a dab of glue at the paper point and press against the rolled paper. Once the glue has dried, remove the toothpick.
  5. When all the paper beads are dry, string as many as will fit onto the jewelry cord, leaving enough cord to tie.
  6. Show kids how to tie their necklaces with a knot that can easily be untied.

A child making a piece of a jewelry.

Say: Valentine’s Day is a great time to remember that God has shown us a lot of love. Get into pairs, and see how many things you can think of that God has done to show he loves you. Point to a new bead for each thing you name, and see if you can get all the way around your necklace.

Say: Wow! God has done a lot to show that he loves us. And we can pass on his love.

Ask:

  • What are some loving things we can do for others?

Read aloud 1 John 3:18.

Say: Let’s commit to passing on his love. Each time you do something to show love this week, take a bead off your necklace and give it to that person, telling them that Jesus loves them. See how quickly you can empty your necklace!

Looking for more ideas for families? Check out these articles!

3 thoughts on “Family Event: 7 Great Big Valentine’s Day Bible Activities

  1. Melanie Swauger

    I was looking for the Year of Jesus calendar mentioned in your January/February 2015 issue of Children’s Ministry p. 40 and was unable to find it. Is it still available for downloading?

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