Click Image to download story

This is an adapted version of the story of the mustard seed, told to help children hear how precious and special they are. Story Massage is a lovely way for parents to tell faith-filled stories and speak blessings over their children and help them to absorb the meanings into their lives. Using the directions given in the pdf to draw the story on your child’s back if they are comfortable with touch.

To express our gratitude and pray for all aspects of our harvest, we have a simple prayer wheel available to download by clicking the image above.

The images on the wheel can be coloured in, encouraging children to pray for various elements such as Farmers, the Land, Pollinators, Animals, the Weather, and the Oceans.

Simply cut out and pin in the middle with a brass fastener

Click any image to download the pack

If you are looking for a way to make your harvest service more interactive, why not create Harvest prayer stations around your Church and invite the congregation to take part before or after the main service.

We have put together 5 very simple station ideas, giving thanks and praying for those involved in the production and distribution journey of the food we eat: Our Farmers, Our Fishermen and women, Our Producers, Our Delivery Drivers, Our Shop Workers.

In the download you will find the outline of ideas for each station and the equipment you will need. You will also find station headings which can be printed if you wish.

We’ve kept it simple and cost effective, but you will need a lot of Sharpies!

Click the image to read the latest news and ideas from BCFM

The outline can be used in whatever format suits you, it can also be adapted to use as a school assembly. Click here to get the service: Harvest

God of all Creation, who made the sun and stars, land and seas, has no beginning and no end.  Using a black A4 page, paste ripped pieces of coloured paper in circles to remind us of all the different parts of Creation and to remind us of the Creator, who is forever and ever.

Children are the crown of God’s Creation.  Staple dried Autumn leaves or coloured in template leaves to a piece of card which the children can wear as a crown to remind them that they are important and that even though there are so many part of Creation that are amazing, they really are the icing on the cake!

Using a large piece of card or paper draw a tree trunk.  Invite the children to add the leaves as a reminder that life changes, seasons change but God’s love for us always remains the same.  An alternative to this is to use small templates of hands as the leaves onto which they can write or draw their prayers and then stick them onto the tree trunk.  This can be a lovely display for the church.

HARVEST:

So many different yet connecting themes can be explored during Harvest: Thankfulness; wonder and awe for the God of Creation; prayer and recognition for those who work hard to provide our food; focus on those who do not have everything they need for a basic, decent life.

We’ll post a variety of different ideas to supplement your appraoch to Harvest this year.

God says over and over again in the Bible that he does not want us to bring him our festivals and our ceremonies unless we are looking after the weakest people in our communities (communities can be local or global).  It is important then to remind the children that as we celebrate all the good things that we have from the harvest that we must always make sure that everyone is included in the blessing.  When we leave people out, we are not honouring God as he has asked us to.  See Amos 5:11-15 & 21-24; Isaiah 1:11-18.

First of all, check out the Children in Church Resources on the Christian Aid Website:http://www.christianaid.ie/resources/churches/resources/children-in-church.aspx

There are ideas here for exploring justice issues with children at all times of the year.  Two are specifically for Harvest (one about people whose livelihoods are collecting Brazil nuts in the rainforest and the rainforest is being chopped down by big companies and the other one is about bee-keeping in India) but lots more could be adapted to suit your own programme.

1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14 and John 9: 1-41

There is so much scope for exploring faith with children.  We’ve taken ideas from the Old Testament, New Testament and the Psalms.

1. The passage in 1 Samuel 16 looks at how we see ourselves and then how God sees us.  Roots magazine looks at how lots of people these days are taking ‘selfies’ (pictures of ourselves) where we pose and pout and try to look fabulous.  This passage says that God does not look at our outward appearance (if we are tall or short, have a pointy nose or a flat nose) God looks at the heart.

One idea for exploring this is to allow the children to take selfies with silly pouts or funny faces.  Get the other children to hold a makeshift picture frame in front of their faces that has the words ‘God looks at the heart’.  If you have permission you can print the pictures at a later date and have the children make frames for them this week.  They can decorate them with heart shapes to remind them that God looks at the heart and they can put the verse on it too.  The idea that ‘the Lord looks at the heart’ can also be introduced to explore what kind of people love us, care for us and protect us?  What kind of things do they have in their hearts?  You could re-take pictures (potentially using funny moustaches, wigs and glasses!) but holding up signs that read ‘Love’, ‘Joy’, ‘Peace’, ‘Patience’, etc to denote what God is looking at when he looks at our hearts.

2. Psalm 23 –

Possibly one of the greatest joys in leading a Sunday Club is the chance to introduce the children to the fact that they are never alone.  Look at your shadow – it’s there when the light is shining brightly but when it’s dark it disappears!  (You can bring a bright light to show how we can see our shadows and how closely they stick to us!)  But even when we can’t even see our shadow God has promised us that He is still there, bringing comfort and never abandoning us.

There is a lovely veggietales song on Youtube about God’s love staying without us throughout the day no matter what kind of day we have had.  Check it out here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ch239kCT3Q

3. Ephesians 5:8-14 is all about living in the Light and not in Darkness.  Some of the things we do in secret are things we are ashamed of.  This compliments the 1 Samuel reading about not judging on appearances but judging on what is in our hearts.  But all of us, even the leaders, even the minister, do things sometimes that we are ashamed of.  It might be that we lie or wish bad things for a brother or sister or feel ungrateful for what our parents do for us or want to be somebody else.  These thoughts and actions and attitudes can keep us from living in the light.  Get the children to curl up into as tight a ball as they can on the ground.  Slowly tell them to unravel – you can talk them through it – until they are starting to straighten up.  Tell them to look around them as if they had woken out of a long sleep and ask them to say one thing they are grateful for.  Do the activity again and at the end ask them to name one person they are grateful for.  The third time ask them to say one thing about God they are thankful for.  The words they speak are in a group and all at once.  But speaking things out reminds us that we must look up (Love God) and look out (Love Others) and we must remind ourselves to do this or else it’s like we’re walking around asleep, or in the dark, and missing out on all the wonderful things that God has for us in the Light.

First things first, click on this Roots Lent Calendar.  It allows you to see an overview of Lent and then to follow it as it progresses, looking at a different Bible passage each week.  It’s a great idea that can easily be adapted to this year’s calendar: http://www.rootsontheweb.com/content/PDFs/433562/Lent_Calendar_2014

For older kids you could start your discussions by showing this short but effective video clip by Busted Halo that puts Lent in the context of Fasting; Praying; Giving or, if you want to explore new words with the group there’s also words like Repentance, Renewal and Community.  It moves really fast and is wordy so maybe ask people to pull out two points made in the video that stood out to them or that they didn’t know before: Ash Wednesday and Lent Explained

If you need to brush up on your own understanding of Lent, this link will take you to a Bible Blog.  Scroll down to the bottom to get Colouring pages, Bible verses and Bible Flashcards:http://whatsinthebible.com/what-is-lent/ 

Excellent ideas around engaging the senses to participate more fully in Holy week can be found on the engage worship website.   It gives good ideas for a Family Service on Palm Sunday and could be used just as succesfully in a Sunday Club context.  It can be found here:http://engageworship.org/ideas/Jesus%27_Final_Week_family_communion_service

Check out our Lenten Newsletter and our Advent & Christmas Programme suggestions in the ‘News & Events’ and ‘Programmes’ categories on this website for loads more seasonal ideas to get engage your Sunday Club.

Children Finding Faith

How can we help children know God? Bridger looks at the ways in which children develop physically, mentally and emotionally, and shows how these insights can help us share the gospel more effectively with children.

Every Child a Chance to Choose: The Challenge of Children’s Evangelism
Penny Frank (CPAS / Children’s Ministry)

How do we give all children the opportunity to discover Jesus and to respond to Him? Why has the number of children attending church in this country dropped dramatically over the last 40 years? Penny Frank looks at critical issues for children’s ministry today.

Mission-shaped Children: Moving Towards a Child-centered Church
Margaret Withers (Church House publishing)

A book that explores how the dramatic cultural, social and economic trends of recent years have impacted on children’s lives and how this affects the Church; Written in an engaging style, “Mission-shaped Children” contains many real life case studies, practical examples and questions for discussion.

Postmodern Children’s Ministry: Ministry to Children in the 21st Century Church
Ivy Beckwith

This practical, thought-provoking book presents a new paradigm for children’s ministry in the emerging 21st century and explores how churches are currently putting that vision into practice. Advocating the need to regard children as full participants in their faith communities, the book provides strategies for building intergenerational community where children feel they belong and have the opportunity to serve.

Learning Styles
Marlene LeFever (Kingsway)

LeFever looks at how people (not just children) learn and how we can most effectively reach them as deliverers of the Gospel. There is no right way or wrong way, but this valuable resource. This is the book for anyone who wants to discover more about how they think and learn, and how to best communicate with others of all learning styles. It is clear, well set out and easy to follow.

Working with Under 5s: Pretty Much Everything You Need to Know About….
Judith Wigley (S.U) ( Also titles working with 5-7 and 8-10)

A brilliant book for all busy children’s workers. It’s jam-packed with very practical information in a highly accessible, easy-to-read format, plus photocopiable pages. Part 1 helps adults step inside the world of the child and understand their spiritual and physical development. Part 2 contains all the practical advice; planning and running programmes, using the Bible, prayer, worship and lots more.

Messy Church
Lucy Moore

“Messy Church” aims to create the opportunity for people to have fun together and enjoy the experience of being part of the extended church family through a range of craft activities, storytelling, worship and simple homemade meals. Based on two-hour sessions for people of all ages, for each session the book includes: Bible reference and background, recipes for the meal, ten theme-related craft activities with suggested ‘talk about’ ideas, and an outline for the concluding act of worship.

Messy Church 2
Lucy Moore

“Messy Church 2” explores the importance of discipleship, faith development and training for leadership. The material includes insights into the theology of the sacred in the ordinary and ideas for practical ways to promote a sense of fellowship and community. Moving Messy Church on through quality worship, reflective storytelling, creative crafts and prayers, recipes and easy-to-learn songs. It explores the implications of being church, rather than a children’s club, including child protection issues.

All-age Worship [Paperback]
Lucy Moore

This is not a resource book but a ‘big picture’ look at ‘all-age worship’ – what it means, and how it works. It challenges the idea that worship needs to be segregated by age in order to ‘work’. It includes examples of all-age worship service outlines. It is suitable for church leaders, especially those nervous about doing ‘all-age’! It is also useful to those involved with children’s ministry, and those training for church ministry; theological college tutors in the area of worship and pastoral care.

Special Children Special Needs
Simon Bass (Church House Publishing)

This book gives information on how to integrate children with disabilities and special needs into your church’s worship and children’s programmes and activities. Among other things, it provides advice on: inclusive language; supporting families; practical issues and specific special needs.

Light
Scripture Union
www.scriptureunion.org.uk (need to register or buy )

Bible-based learning resources for children, young people and adults.
Light is ideal for use with junior church on Sundays, in midweek Christian groups, at youth clubs and with children’s prayer groups.
Bubbles 5yrs and under, Splash 5-8 , Xstream 8-11, the grid 11-14 and
substance 11-18

Roots
(Church of England)

www.rootsontheweb.com (need to register or buy)

Common Lectionary based resource, offering a subscription service for dated material. Resources are structured around the lectionary.

Living Stones – Complete Resource Book Year A (B and C)

Living Stones has ideas, outlines, intercessions, photocopiable worksheets, mini-dramas and much more. Separate books are available for each age group all of which contain photocopiable worksheets: Pebbles (infants), Rocks (6-10) and Boulders (11-14).

Urban Saints
www.energize.uk.net (need to register)

A stream of adaptable, creative, biblically-based meeting plans for 5-7s, 7–10s, 11–14s and 15-18s. Create your own lesson plans from different themes.

Child Evangelism Fellowship
www.cefbritain.org
Loads of Biblical teaching materials and resources. American in design and influence.

Go Teach
www.goteach.org.uk

Teaching material for beginners 3-4yr, primaries 5-7yr, juniors 8-11yr and young teens 12-14yr. Each book contains the material to teach 15 Bible lessons plus ideas for a family service.

TNT Ministries
www.tntministries.org.uk

An extensive range of Sunday School material covering 18 months to 14 years of age