Children and Families - Scripture Union NZ

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:   Th...

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...

Mother's Day Mother's Day has become an established date in our calendars. It is often celebrated in churches. This blog post contains some ideas you can use with your children. It also includes some thoughtful blog posts and suggestions that are helpful in thinking through how to acknowledge the pain and loss often associated with this day. How do we support and encourage mothers, while acknowledging those for whom the grief of losing a mum, or not being able to bear children is a very present hurt? Ridiculously beautiful things to make out of egg cartoons!  Here's a lovely prayer for all caregivers. It is a good one to read out as part of your church service: A child is a precious gift, given into the hands of birth parents, adopted parents, caregivers, relatives, and a church community. Together we undertake the raising of children and together we ask for help, Lord! Read more here...    Here's a very thoughtful post from the Sacraparental blog:  ...

Have you ever dreamed of passing a fish around in church?  Then this service resource is for you! (and even if you don't wish to pass fish...) This is an All Age Service, exploring the scene in John 21 where Jesus meets the disciples on the beach around a fire. He makes them breakfast and he gives Peter a special job to do. The service is designed to use the senses of smell and touch to explore the story. It takes a bit of set up beforehand but it is worth it!    Our sense of smell is one of our strongest memory triggers so my prayer is that people of all ages will remember this service long after they have forgotten the words. Credit to Elizabeth Singleton who led a devotion using charcoal, bread and fish in the Auckland Scripture Union office years ago – and I remember it like it was yesterday!  If you would like the script for the service please click here to download a copy from Dropbox.  Here are some extras to add into your serv...