Illustrated Ministry

Progressive Faith Resources for the Church & Home

You are here: Home / Archives for Summer Sunday School

Summer Sunday School

5 Low-Prep Small Group Games Perfect for Sunday School

1 Comment

Get your creative juices flowing with these five low-prep ideas for small group games that are absolutely perfect for Sunday School.

group games

Fun group games that kids actually enjoy playing and aren’t crazy to prep for are hard to come by. We hope this list is helpful as you work to create the best Sunday School ever!

What group games are you playing your your kids during Sunday School? We’d love to hear in the comments section below!

A Cold Wind Blows

This game is a great precursor for any lesson having to do with the Holy Spirit, a wind or storm motif, and beyond.

Similar to musical chairs or “Have you ever”, in Sunday School have the group sit on chairs in a circle. Gather one fewer chairs than there are people, leaving one person standing in the middle of the circle.

The person in the middle begins a sentence with the words “A cold wind blows…” and then describes an attribute that refers to one or more players.

For example:

“A cold wind blows for anyone who is wearing red, has blonde hair, and plays basketball.”

Anyone sitting who fits in this category has to jump up and quickly find a new vacant chair. The person who was in the middle is also looking to sit in a vacant a chair, and whomever is left standing without a chair becomes the new person in the middle.

The game continues for as long as people are enjoying playing.

group games

Blind Draw

This is one of the group games that’s a great precursor to any Sunday School lesson that has to do with communication, language, scripture translation and beyond.

Have the children pair up. Each pair should sit back-to-back so they cannot see each other.

Give one member of the pair a picture, object or a scene. They must then describe this to their partner.

The other partner draws what they hear their partner describing to them.

Make it more challenging by not allowing them to use words that are too obvious. For example, the picture may be of a chicken but the person is not allowed to use the word “chicken, bird, hen.”

You can either give everyone the same picture or have a few different options.

Depending on the picture, you will need to allow 10-15 minutes. Once time is up, share the pictures – you will find there are some very funny interpretations!

group games

Secret Questions

This is a great used with any lesson having to do with getting to know God, the disciples getting to know Jesus, questions about the faith, and much more.

On the back of some Post-it Notes, i.e.: the sticky side, write some good get-to-know you questions. Make sure you write at least as many questions as there are people – you can double up with the questions if there’s a lot of people in your group.

Stick them all on a whiteboard or wall so people cannot see the question on the back. Each person then has to come up, pick a post it note and answer the question on the back.

Make the questions simple enough that the kids won’t struggle too much to think of an answer or be embarrassed to answer.

Once done, they select someone else in the group to choose and answer the next question.

group games

Human Knot

This is a great addition to a discussion about the Holy Spirit’s role as an “untangler” or what you all may be called to help untangle in your community. It’s also one of those group games about communication, patience, perseverance, etc.

Everyone stands in a close circle – puts both hands out – and randomly grabs hold of someone else’s hand, creating a massive knot!

Without letting go of hands, the group should try to untangle itself.

sunday school

Toothpaste Challenge

This game is a fantastic demonstration for a Sunday School lesson on the power of our words and actions and, therefore, why we need to use them wisely.

For this game, you need a few tubes of toothpaste. Depending on the size of your group, have each student work alone or create pairs or groups.

Ask the kids to take all the toothpaste out of the tube as quick as possible into a bowl.

Then ask them to put the toothpaste back inside the tube. Obviously, this is more difficult, and probably impossible to do.

There are lots of bible verses to apply to this, e.g. James 1:26, Proverbs 15:1 or 21:23, Ephesians 4:31-32.

Group Games FTW

Group games in Sunday school help to focus and engage the kids. Additionally, they create connection to the content you’re teaching. We hope this list is helpful to you!

And don’t forget to share your ideas with us in the comments below!

10 Ways to Pray with Kids

12 Comments

10 Ways to Pray with Kids
FREE BOOKMARK: We have a special gift for you. One of the prayer ideas below is a 5-Finger Prayer, and we have created a unique printable bookmark for you to use with your family, or perhaps you’d want to email it out to families in your church or community. If you would like to download it, click here.
FAMILY RESOURCE ON PRAYER: If you want to check out a brand new resource on prayer, be sure and look into An Illustrated Lent for Families: Reflections on Prayer. You can check it out and download a FREE sample here.

10 Ways to Pray with Kids

Discovering ways to pray with children offers them space for connection with God and, not surprisingly, has been shown to improve well-being time and again. Consequently, we give our children an invaluable and timeless gift when we teach them how to pray. Additionally, it’s a gift they can carry with them throughout all of life. At ICM, we think this is so important we compiled a list of 10 ways to pray with kids. Pick and choose, mix and match any way you’d like.

Pray Through Art

Coloring Prayer: First, gather coloring utensils and coloring sheets. Second, decide what you’ll pray for with each color. For example, use purple while praying aloud for animals, green for family members, blue for the Earth and the environment. Tailor the categories to your own family or classroom. (Also, looking for some fresh coloring sheets? Grab a free sample pack here!)

Ways to Pray with Kids

Prayer in Song: One of the easiest ways to teach children to pray is through singing. There are several options out there. The doxology is one song used as a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. The lyrics are as follows:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise God all creatures here below.
Praise God above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father/Mother, Son and Holy Ghost.
Amen.

Prayer Journal: Invite your children to begin drawing and writing their prayers to God. Even little ones can draw their prayers. For those who are older, they may want to write letters to God. Additionally, giving children a prompt can offer needed structure. Perhaps encourage them to write God about their hopes for the coming school year.

Pray Using Your Body

Prayer through Movement: There are several ways to pray with kids that teach how their minds and bodies communicate with God. So, try this simple prayer below, especially useful for the kinesthetic learner. Additionally, yoga and dance are great options that can be done with children of all ages.

(3 deep breaths)
God, you are above (reach toward the sky), below (touch your toes), inside (hands to heart) and all around (big arm circles).
I worship you (reach toward the sky), and give my life to you (touch your toes).
And I love you (hands to heart) with all that I am (big arm circles).
(3 deep breaths)

Five-Finger Prayer: Developed by Pope Francis, this prayer practice assigns each finger something to pray for. The thumb is for those closest to us. The index finger for those who teach, instruct and heal us. The middle finger, our tallest, is for our leaders. The ring finger, our weakest, for those who are weak. The pinky is for ourselves. Click here to download your free printable bookmark version of this prayer.

Pray Through Conversation

Fill in the Blank Prayer:  Take turns going back and forth or from person to person, if you’re in a group, saying, “God is great, God is good, thank you God for ______________.” See how long you can keep it going. It’s fun (and sometimes breathtaking) to hear what your children say. Discussing what is inside our hearts and minds with each other is a crucial way to build relationships. Consequently, this practice builds both relationships with God and with each other.

Prayer Walk: Go for a walk together in search for the things you’re thankful to God for. Sidewalks, trees, bird songs, smiles from other pedestrians, flowers in bloom, passing cars and buses that make travel possible. So much to appreciate! Additionally, this is an excellent way to get outside, slow down the mind and get active together.

Pray Through Silence

Centering Prayer: Pray silently in this way to empty the mind and become open to God’s presence. Young children can struggle to sit quietly and still since their bodies often desire movement and activity. Therefore, two to five minutes can be plenty for young elementary children to start with. Now, for older children, try up to ten minutes once they’re acclimated to the practice. First, invite them to close their eyes and imagine that they are standing in a forest along the side of a stream. Second, explain that when a thought comes into their minds, they can imagine the thought landing on a leaf, floating down onto the surface of the stream and away until it’s out of view.

Ways to Pray with Kids

Breath Prayer: First, choose a word or brief phrase to repeat in one breath. Now, if it’s a phrase, say one part on the inhale and one part on the exhale. For example, invite your children to think in their minds or whisper to themselves Psalm 56:3. Next, on the inhale, think or say “When I am afraid.” Then, on the exhale, think or say “I will trust you.” Repeating breath prayers is a meditative practice that can be done with children of almost any age.

Scripture Prayer: First, choose a Bible verse and use it as a prayer to begin and end each day with your children. Try John 3:18, Psalm 46:1 or Romans 15:13. Additionally, it may be helpful to have it posted by their bed to read together.

Ways to Pray with Children

Tell Us Your Prayer Ideas for Kids

Phew, that was a lot to take in! We hope this has given you a few ways to pray with kids that help cultivate spiritual growth and connection. Also, how do you and your kids pray? We’d love to hear in the comments below!

Five Finger Prayer

Teaching Sunday School When No One Else Will

1 Comment

I’m always intrigued as to how people find out about Illustrated Ministry. More often than not, people arrive here from Facebook, Pinterest or other direct links people share. However, often people will get here from their Google searches, and there has been a particular Google search that has shown up a few times in the past week or two.

From what I can tell, about 10-20 people have arrived at Illustrated Ministry by typing this into Google:

teaching sunday school no one else will

Teaching sunday school no one else will.

No one else will.

I’m not entirely sure how to understand that. But when I read it – it sounds like there is desperation behind that statement. And what do we do when we’re desperate? We search Google.

Teaching Sunday School Shouldn’t Be That Hard

First, let me say that there are absolutely people who have the gifts and skills that naturally lead them into the ministry of teaching, specifically with children. And with lots of different master-level programs and certification programs for becoming Christian educators, I don’t want to take anything away from any of those avenues of receiving education about teaching.

But I just think teaching Sunday School shouldn’t be that hard. It shouldn’t be something that causes us to feel inadequate. It shouldn’t be something that makes us nervous because we don’t know all the “Bible stuff” or the answers to some of the hard (or crazy) questions kids might ask. It shouldn’t be something that only a handful of people in your church do, because that can easily lead to burnout and kids should be able to develop relationships with a greater amount of adults in your faith community.

Part of what I hope Illustrated Ministry does for people in the church is to help take away some of the “magic” and “fear” behind the idea of teaching and working with the children in our faith communities and in our homes.

If your volunteer teachers are worried that they don’t know enough to teach kids, maybe you haven’t fully communicated to them that educating and forming children has much more to do with relationships, caring adults in their lives and an openness to have conversations, rather than about giving them the right answers.

If your curriculum scares off potential teachers because it’s too long, too involved or just too confusing or boring, maybe you’re using the wrong curriculum. The Bible is an amazing storybook – so just tell the stories! Building community and having fun with each other is important, but you don’t need a bunch of fancy animated videos, games, activities or workbooks to have a fun and engaging Sunday School class.

An Illustrated Earth: Celebrating God’s Creation

If there is any part of the year when your most diligent and faithful teachers might be googling “teaching sunday school no one else will” – it’s probably the summer. As we’ve talked about before, summer Sunday School is often one of the great unsolvable problems in churches today. I know from experience that it’s very hard to find people who are willing to agree to teach during the summer, and so many churches just give up trying to offer anything to children and young families.

One of the main reasons we are creating An Illustrated Earth: Celebrating God’s Creation, is so churches will be able to have a resource that could easily work as a summer Sunday School offering that is not difficult to coordinate, is not overwhelming to plan for and does not require multiple trips to Michael’s or Hobby Lobby to gather craft items for the massive suggested supply list.

With An Illustrated Earth, your volunteers and leaders will gather kids together with an opening activity, read a Bible story, have some open-ended conversation about the story, create a piece of community art to share with your congregation, and help kids connect the stories from the Bible with the stories of their lives. If you want to see a sample lesson from the curriculum, you can download it here.

We aren’t saying that An Illustrated Earth is the answer to all of your summer Sunday School problems, but maybe after hundreds of churches use it this summer, there might be fewer people googling “teaching sunday school no one else will.”