Children and Families - Scripture Union NZ

     Christmas Carols but not as you know them: When it comes to singing at Christmas, providing a good balance is important.  Christmas Carols have fabulous words and tradition, providing an important connection with the past. The parents of the children you work alongside may have wonderful memories of singing these carols as a child, and will enjoy singing along with their own children. But there are some great Christmas songs that can be added into the mix. Here are a couple you might like to have a listen to and buy. While they might not be your taste in Christmas music, they might be just the thing your children will love!  Hey! Mary!   Straight from NZ: Malcolm Gordon’s song “Hey Mary” was composed with his son Sam and released just last year for all of us to enjoy. Click here to listen to this song : Youtube Click here to download the sheet music! Dropbox Raise your candle:  Click here to listen to this song and see the actions: Youtube You can purchase the s

These are four quick ideas you can use to explore the Christmas story with children. They accompany photographs that I took in Israel in 2011. We want children to understand that the events of Christmas are not a fairytale. They happened in a real time and place, to real people.  __________________________________________________________________   Spot it! Print out pictures of Bethlehem and Nazareth as they look today, or download copies of the photos mentioned below. As a small group, look at the photos. Count how many differences you can spot between Bethlehem or Nazareth today and what it would have been like in Jesus’ day. Israel photos: Click on the photo's name to download the photo from our dropbox file:  Bethlehem today Nazareth today __________________________________________________________________ Create it!  In Israel, beautiful churches have been built in places where the Christmas story happened. They have amazing stained glas

We have a few All Age Services that we here at Scripture Union have run over the past couple of years. So, we thought we would pass them on. All free to download and use. (Side note: If you would like some help planning your service we would be happy to help: email us )  Check out the latest: It's Good News!: An all age service for Christmas Day. This service looks at how the declaration 'Good News' was a common phrase used of Caesar. But, the good news of Jesus' birth was a whole different story. This outline includes dressing up, interaction, a video, and bending pipe-cleaners. Created by Paul Dadd. Click here to download this service outline. Angels we have heard on high: An all age service for Christmas Day, based on the angels who proclaimed the very good news! This service comes with a script, a powerpoint and a craft activity, so everyone can make their own super easy angel craft to create a heavenly host. Created by Paul Dadd Click here to download

Second Chances The book of Philemon is only one chapter long. It is Paul’s shortest letter. It is not a book that is often talked about in church. But it is amazing! This short letter is packed full of great advice for living in today’s world. This All-Age service is about 45 mins long and leads the church through the whole letter, focusing on ‘Second Chances’. Files you will need: - Service outline - Bio scripts for Paul, Philemon and Onesimus  - Powerpoint  - No Longer Slaves Youtube clip (optional) - Images (found on the internet) - Fonts used in powerpoint   - 

Do you have young leaders in your children's ministry team? These six strategies are gold! They come from a book called, 'Growing Young'. Have a look at this list. Which do you see operating in your church? Which could become a focus in the second half of this year? How might these six strategies change or strengthen the way you work alongside young leaders? 1. Unlock keychain leadership: Instead of centralizing authority, empower others—especially young people. 2. Empathize with today’s young people: Instead of judging or criticizing, step into the shoes of this generation. 3. Take Jesus’ message seriously: Instead of asserting formulaic gospel claims, welcome young people into a Jesus-centered way of life. 4. Fuel a warm community: Instead of focusing on cool worship or programs, aim for warm peer and intergenerational friendships. 5. Prioritize young people (and families) everywhere: Instead of giving lip service to how much young people matter, l

By Nigel Winder, Scripture Union NZ Max and Liz are both ten years old and are good friends at school. They both come from Christian homes where they are encouraged in their relationship with God and church attendance. When Max goes to church with his family on Sunday morning, his parents are greeted at the door and given that week’s bulletin. Max is ignored but heads off into the kid’s church hall where the music is pumping and 50 other kids are already chasing a large ball around the room. After 10 minutes, a biscuit and drink, the music team crank up the decibels and the kids shout and dance and praise God with all their might. The children take a well-earned seat as the lights are dimed and a professional and biblically sound DVD is shown with that week’s animated Bible Story. Afterwards they are directed to a variety of amazing art and craft activities to choose from at stations around the hall. Max loves the construction stuff and spends the next half hour there until

These are the resources from the 'In the Footsteps of Paul' workshop at WAY2GO 2017. Map of Corinth: http://www.cwr.org.uk/cover2cover  Photographs: Corinth The Lechion Way (The Main Street) The Main Street Shops Temple of Apollo The Forum The Bema Philippi The River The Church to remember Lydia The Corinthian Church: Who is in the church?  Lydia: The story script  Check out this page for more detail: By the Riverside First Century Roman Coins Websites: www.bible.ca/maps www.windowintothebible.com/a-photo-tour-of-corinth www.bibleplaces.com The River in Lydia, Philippi

This is a simple but effective way of telling the story of Paul meeting Lydia by the riverside. The script and photographs are available for download. Click here for a ll you need ! This church near Philippi is dedicated to Lydia To tell this story you will need: - Dress ups for Lydia (A white sheet and a dressing gown tie will do) - A length of blue fabric for the river - Some purple cloth. - A bag of coins, or a large picture of coins – click here to download. - A handful of shells, or a large picture of shells  (See link above) - A copy of the PowerPoint if you are using it - create this using the images in our dropbox folder. Before hand: - Choose a volunteer to dress up as Lydia. - Choose two other volunteers to spread out the river for Lydia to sit beside. - Give out the props and let people know that when their prop comes up as part of the story they are to bring it to the front and give it to Lydia. Script:   The words i

What I learned from cows... Growing up on a dairy farm, I loved nothing better than lying in bed at night and listening to the herd of cows in the paddock next door. There was something strangely comforting about hearing them chomping away on their grass. I find cows rather peaceful creatures. Strange I know. Memory verses are important . I still remember verses I learned as a child. Teaching children memory verses is an investment in their future, planting the seed of God's love and concern that can spring into life during the difficult times they may face in adulthood. But memorisation alone is not enough. We know that Jewish children were required to memorise large chunks of scripture. But the Bible also places emphasis, not simply on rote learning, but on wrestling with the text. Meditation. Meditation can be a rather difficult word for Christians to feel comfortable with, given its links to other religious practices. But meditation is thoroughly biblical. In the Old Tes