Children and Families - Scripture Union NZ

A very old olive tree at Gethsemane, Israel Luke 1:5 When Herod was king of Judea…   Imagine with me that you are sitting in an olive tree . The day is a little chilly, and the wind is blowing. Your friends hang off branches and jump from rock to rock. You are in your famil y 's olive grove and the year is about 4 BC , although no one quite knows that for sure. When you look around you see a small village. It’s not famous or important, but its home. Most of the peop le who live in this vi llage are your family. This village is called Nazareth. It’s up in the north of Israel, near the mountains dusted with snow. This is your village, the place you call home. Life is pretty good for you. Sure, you have to go to school, carry water f rom the town's well to your house, and you also have to work pretty hard in the family olive grove, but you get plenty of time to play with your friends climbing trees and keeping out of trouble. But, things are not good for

Are you looking for some media or video clips for your Advent and Christmas events or church services? Here are some options to get you started. Some of them are Youtube clips, others are free to download and use.  Learn more about the Shepherds who feature in the Christmas account.  This video series 'Drive Thru History' is well worth a watch, for giving you background information, as well as for playing in a church or community service: The Mystery of the Noisy Neighbour: From the Bible Society UK. Show this free animation in your church services, children's programmes and community events. Suited for a young audience. Discover who Jesus really is... Emmanuel, Rescuer and King. Click here to find out more and download. The Bible Project: The Birth of Jesus - Gospel of Luke Ch. 1-2: If you are looking for an excellent series of clips digging deep into the Bible, these are great! Use them as study material for your Sunday School team or volunteers, before

What a beautiful poem to read this Christmas, (despite the fact we don't know that there were three wise kings, nor do we know their names). This would make a great addition to an All-Age service, or as part of a church service during Advent. Find someone in your congregation with a great reading voice. You might even like to have them sit in a comfy arm chair with a lamp for light.  For extra drama, soak a little frankincense or myrrh oil onto cotton-wool balls and pass these out before you read the poem. Let people smell the spice of the wise kings gifts, as they listen to the poem, and take home the cotton-wool ball as a reminder.  The Three Kings  By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  Three Kings came riding from far away, Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar; Three Wise Men out of the East were they, And they travelled by night and they slept by day, For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star. And when they came to Jerusalem, Herod the Great, who had heard this thing, Se

I apologise to your ears in advance. This post is full of Christmas music, ranging from the traditional to the dance-party vibe. If you are looking for some songs for your church or children's community or church programme, then here are a few we have come across. I have provided the Youtube links to them so you can have a listen.  Listen at your own risk :)  Mary, did you know?   Stunning! Good to play in the background. Away in a Manger:  A beautiful rendition of this classic carol.  O Come O Come Emmanuel: A slightly 'dance-party' version of this carol.  Angels we have heard on high: This is a Youtube clip of the actions to go with the carol. You can purchase the song from Amber Sky Records .  Noel: ...more dance party vibes Noel: a really lovely version to balance out the dance party version above! Do you hear what I hear: A lovely rendition of this song.  Hear the bells: This is a good option for children to learn and sing.  Peace has come: a

Weaving spiritual practice into our day can be a challenge. In the busyness of work, school, meetings, sport and life, setting aside time to connect with God can seem one step too far.  Here's one simple practice we have found helpful. It's as easy as 5 steps. And it's a simple version of an ancient practice. That means people have been using this method for centuries. That's gotta mean its good, right?  Faith Five: Five steps to help you and your family connect with God.  This method is based on a practice called the Examin , an ancient way of pausing at the end of the day to reflect on where God has been. It can be incorporated into your bedtime routine for five to fifteen minutes a night, or can be used during a meal time. We use this on our kids camps as a review at the end of each day.  Five steps, hence the name.   “Faith Five is easy, biblical, intergenerational and faith forming." Andrew Ramsbottom  1.  SHARE your highs and lows of the d

Our WAY2GO Children's Ministry conference is over for another year. We had an awesome time in Dunedin, Auckland and Wellington. Some of the resources from our workshops are here for you to download. Check them out!

July is Bible Month in New Zealand!  Here's an All Age Service outline you can use. It's about 25mins long.  Click here to download all the files you will need.   For more on Bible Month, see the Bible Society NZ

ANZAC Day 25 April is the day that we remember the ANZAC landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. It is important for children, young people and adults to be aware of New Zealand's history and to reflect on the place of faith in the midst of war and violence. If you are looking for resources for your children's ministry or All Age ideas then look no further than these: KidsFriendly  and Pinterest page STRANDZ website Other resources: ww100.govt.nz:  The official 100th year commemoration website, a wealth of information as well as events and resources. OMF reflection resource using stones: Written for adults, but could easily be adapted for an all age reflection.  Sacraparental - the sacred practice of parenting (and some other stuff): If you are interested in reading wider on how to approach ANZAC Day from a faith perspective, this is an excellent blogpost to spark your thinking. 

**This is episode one of a serial story, leading right up to Easter. This story is written to share as a family or with your church community. You can find the rest of the story by clicking on the 'Easter' ta b above. You will find the pi ctures to be downloaded, as well as a little Easter booklet to print and share .  ____________________________ Step with me back in time, over 2000 years back. Look around you. The land is dotted with olive trees, their silvery foliage swaying with the gentle breeze. It's warm, not too hot. The full on blaze of summer hasn't arrived yet, but the harshness of winter is fading.  The fields are tinged with green, with the olive trees providing shade for weary travellers. You sit down on one of the many rocks scattered all over the fields. They are everywhere! And sh epherds have used them to create walls and holding pens for animals, and the structure of their simple houses.  The journey towards Easter is just beginning. 

This page is the right spot to find all the resources for series one, books 1-5.  Click on the links below to access our dropbox folders, with all the resources you need. Crafts, waiata (songs), karakia (prayers), story telling ideas and great suggestions for how to set up your room with stations.  Start with the 'Read First' book, as this gives you some important details into how the programme works and some of the thinking behind it. Click here to download it. The programmes: T here is a programme for each book. You will find the programme file, as well as lots of additional material to go w ith it.    Click on the link s below to access th ese programmes:   Book #1 - Te Powhiri - The Welcome Book #2 - Te Pahi the Adventurer Book #3 - Ruatara and the new Beginning Book #4 - Patuone the Peacemaker Book #5 - Elizabeth Colenso the Teacher

An All Age Palm Sunday Service Use your imagination to enter into the story of Palm Sunday.  This service is a great way to encourage your whole church to enter into the event of Palm Sunday. It begins by setting the scene as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, providing helpful background details. It also includes: - Role Play: imagine you are one of the people in the crowd that day. Why have you come to see Jesus? - Waving of palm branches and laying coats along the front of the church.  - Bible readings  - A reflection activity using rocks, based on this verse:   “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”  This All Age service is designed so that people can be as involved as they want to be. It provides depth as well as interaction, seeking to bring to life the story in a creative way. You can download the file for FREE by clicking here. Feel free to adapt it to fit your church context. I would love to hear how it goes. 

2018! It's here whether we are ready for it or not. If you are like me, my inbox and Facebook feed has filled up with New Year resolution type emails and links to articles and advice. 10 ways to change your life. 5 tips on de-cluttering your house. 20 super foods to add to your diet. So, in the spirit of numbers + New Year + good advice, let me offer you four things for this new year. I found these in 'Children Matter' by Beth Posterski and Scottie May (a great book for anyone starting out in Children's ministry by the way). A great community is characterised by these: - hospitality  - gratitude - truth telling  - promise keeping I think that's a great list. How might they help you shape this year with the children you know, love and walk alongside?