The Sunday School Teacher's Network Newsletter - Great ideas for children's ministry!


The Place for Christian Education Communication Children need the Lord...teach them about Jesus!
Issue #10 - March 24, 2009 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. ~ Jesus
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In this issue of the SSTN Newsletter: Scroll down the page to view articles. 1) Church Woman Group? 2) Games Using the Bible 3) Details on Holy Week Museum? 4) Teaching Kids Every Other Week? 5) Gardening Lessons 6) Games Using the Bible 7) Bible Books Rapid Fire Game Click here to email your friends and coworkers to join us.	Home Search for Ideas Support SSTN PCM Discount 15% OFF Ministry Resources Bible-4-Life Curriculum Gospel Fun Activities Holidays & Holy Days Make N' Take Downloads E-books F-R-E-E Resources Bible Games Christian Crafts Christian Skits Object Talks Missions For Kids Recycling Ideas

1) Church Woman Group? I need some stuff for Church Woman Group. we want to have different activities each time we meet. the group is new. we only had one (1) meeting so far and we want to make it lively and exciting. what are some of the things that I can do? please give me some advice. I need your help. thank you geneva --from SSTN: check out our Ice Breaker Games page. You will find it listed under Bible Games, in the bright, green box, above. Silly games for kids can be fun for adults!
2) Games Using the Bible > I am trying to get some ideas for games to use for the youth at my church that would involve using their bibles In our large group time at Sunday School, we have them look up a certain verse in the Bible that goes along with our lesson. They have to find it within a short amount of time and as soon as they find it, they stand up and we have kids passing out tickets (we use the double kind so the other “half” is placed in a drawing bag). We look up about 5-6 verses each Sunday. They also get tickets if they bring their own Bible. Then after our Bible story, etc. we draw out three tickets from the bag and call out those numbers. Those that have the matching number, get to come up and pick a prize out of our prize box. They absolutely love doing this. They never let us forget to call out numbers at the end!! We really love doing this as it has kids opening up their Bibles, they learn where the different Books are, and how to find chapters and verses.
3) Details on Holy Week Museum? > Last year I made a mini-museum of stuff for Holy Week... And I love the idea of it! Would you please give more details about how/where it was set up? Many thanks, Sharon Australia
4) Teaching Kids Every Other Week? Sarah~ First let me say how much I have enjoyed the material you put together etc. The kids have enjoyed them very much. But I am having a situation here that I need some help with please. Our church went thru a big split and we don't have a lot of children. The problem: they are all from divorced homes which means I have them every other wk. Not all there the same wk either. I did the hero lessons and it was so hard to keep every one going with different ones there one wk and not the following etc. Do you have lessons that would compensate for such things? They love crafts etc too but I need the lessons. Thank you so much ...for every thing!! God is awesome! kay --from SSTN: Dear Kay, thank you for your encouraging words. As to your dilemma, the Bible-4-Life curriculum is designed to span two-weeks per lesson. Therefore, the second week is intentionally written as a review week. When I teach, I use the second week to catch up those children who have missed the prior week, as well as to review the lesson for those who were there. If a child misses a craft, there is no need to think you MUST "catch up" that child. (Except in the case of the Super Heroes series, because the Super Hero Scepter was used to score progress--and maybe a few other crafts in other series for scoring. But most craft projects are only for one particular week, per lesson. When it is necessary for a child to make a craft that is used throughout the series, you can make a few extras or have the children who are attending make extras. But you only need to do this if it is used throughout the series.) I hope this helps you! May God continue to bless you as you work in His Vineyard! Sarah Keith <><
5) Gardening Lessons Nancy, along with the ideas you already have, you might want to consider doing some lessons on the following topics: a. Parable of the wheat and tares (separating the good from the bad) b. Fields are ripe unto harvest (evangelism) c. Don't look back after you put your hand to the plow (not sure what the scripture is here, but Jesus said it in one of the gospels) d. Ruth gathering in the field (care for widows and needy) e. Vineyard workers (everyone gets the same reward) f. Vineyard workers killing messenger/ son - (not listening to God) g. Jesus saying that he is the vine we are the branches (again, I did not have time to research the exact scripture) h. Jesus going to the garden to pray i. God telling Adam and Eve to tend the Garden of Eden (taking care of God's creation or God has work for us theme) Here is another way that gardening could be done: * Lesson One: Talk about preparing the soil (aerating, tilling, making hills, temperature, etc. -- This could be equated to friendship evangelism) - good opportunity to plant a vegetable garden. * Lesson Two: Talk about what a seed is and then plant it (supplies all a plants needs for growth and producing fruit. It also holds all the genetic information - the Bible does the same thing in our lives.) * Lesson Three: Watering (Paul talks about planting the seed, someone else watering, but God giving the increase) * Lesson Four: De-Weed (pluck the bad out of our lives) * Lesson Five: Dirt (We get nutrients from the soil. What kind of soil (environment) are we surrounding ourselves with. A good illustration is using celery in colored waters (osmosis). The parable of the sower would also be good to use here. * Lesson Six: Roots (Our roots should be buried in God's Word or Jesus) * Lesson Seven: Stem (talk about how the stem is needed to support growth and provide nutrients. Could be illustrated by how we need the church or fellow members.) * Lesson Eight: Leaves - This is what a plant uses to create energy for growth. The leaves need the sun to grow. In the same way we need the "son" to grow. He supplies our energy. * Lesson Nine: Fruit -- What fruit are you baring? (Gal 5 - Fruit of the Spirit) You could also talk about how the different fruits are different (assuming you planted different vegetables), but no one fruit is better than another (talents and abilities). * Lesson 10: Harvest - The fields are ripe unto harvest. (evangelism) There are probably other lessons that you could develop, but this is just what I came up with right off the top of my head. I hope these help a little bit. Take care, Connie G. I hope these help a little bit. Take care, Connie G.
6) Games Using the Bible There are several things you can do to incorporate using the Bible in games. I am not sure if you want games that teach about the Bible or if you want to use the Bible as part of the game. What age children are you talking about? Depending on the age of your class you might like to play "Bible Baseball", "Bible Tic-Tac-Toe, race to find the scripture or scramble the words of the books of the New or Old Testament. You can find the rules for these games on the internet or e-mail me at scioart@yahoo.com. There are also numerous board games that can be purchased from Christian Bookstores, SSTN or the Internet, again they are age based. One book you might want to get is "The Best of Children's Ministry Games; 110 Out-of-this world games kids love" (ISBN 13: 978-0-7644-3438-9). Take care, Connie G. --from SSTN: click the link, above or below, and type or copy/paste into the search box to locate it http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com/bookstore.html Also, check out Anytime Bible Games at: http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com/games-Bible.html
7) Bible Books Rapid Fire Game "Dealer" shuffles deck and places them faced down on the table. Players takes turns drawing four cards, one at a time, from the deck then arranges them in sequential order in hand. If by chance a player has an exact sequence player yells...to get the rest of this game, follow this link: http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com/game_rapid_fire.html
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