Easter Archives - Kids Ministry

Easter, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Preschool

April 4, 2018

Easter Egg Hunt Blues

The annual Easter egg hunt is over, leaving in its wake empty plastic egg shells covered in dry grass and stained with melted chocolate. When you and your team were stuffing those 14,000 eggs, you thought this day would never come. You fretted over securing enough candy, and your house looked like the chickens had come home to roost. Now, you’re wondering why you feel blue.

After a major event—even one filled with blissful mirth—feeling melancholy is normal. One way to escape the doldrums is to get some physical nourishment and rest. Next, take some time to evaluate the Easter egg hunt. I suggest doing this alone first, and then with your team. Ask yourself (and your team) questions such as these:

- What was our goal or purpose for the event? (If you held the Easter egg hunt because, “We always have one,” then you may need to redefine your goal before planning the next one.)
- Did we accomplish that goal or purpose? In what specific ways?
- Did we plan the event with enough lead time to be successful?
- Did the entire church participate, or just a select few? How can we involve more people in the next big event?
- Who came to the egg hunt? Regular attenders of our church? Unchurched people in our community?
- How did the Easter egg hunt further the mission of our church?
- What can we do next year during the Easter season to reach families with the gospel?

We ask ourselves these tough questions to ensure that egg hunts and other events are vehicles that help accomplish the mission of the Church as set forth in Matthew 28:18-20, to “make disciples.” All those mismatched plastic eggs you find under your couch and in the church flower bed six months from now, just might be worth it.

Landry Holmes is the Manager of LifeWay Kids Ministry Publishing, Nashville, TN. A graduate of Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Landry served on church staffs before coming to LifeWay. He is a church leader, writer, workshop facilitator, and publisher. Landry also teaches children at his church in Middle Tennessee. He and his wife Janetta are the grandparents of two adorable grandbabies.

Bible Skills, Easter, Kids Ministry

April 12, 2017

Bible Skill Games for Easter

By Bill Emeott

Try these fun Bible skill activities using plastic Easter eggs to enhance your Easter Bible study celebration this week:

You’ll Need:

Lots of colorful plastic Easter eggs
A couple Easter baskets
Fine-point permanent markers

THE GREAT EASTER EGG DIVIDE:

PREPARATION: On separate plastic Easter eggs print the names of each book in the Bible. Label one Easter basket, “Old Testament,” and another “New Testament.”

PLAY: Allow kids to divide prepared eggs into Old Testament and New Testament baskets.

OPTIONS: 1) Hide the eggs around the room and instruct kids to find the eggs and return them to the correct basket. 2) Prepare two sets of eggs and baskets for team relays. 3) Simplify the game by allowing kids to use a “Books of the Bible” poster or the listing from the front of the Bible to determine if the books is an Old or New Testament book.

BOOKS and DIVISIONS:

PREPARATION: On one side of a plastic Easter egg print the name of a book. On the other side of that same egg print the division from which that book belongs. Place the book halves in one basket and the division halves in another.

PLAY: Kids will match books and divisions to create “whole” eggs.

OPTIONS: 1) Create two sets of eggs and allow individuals or teams to see who can match all their books/divisions eggs first. 2) Use different colored eggs for the top (book) and bottom (division) so it’s not as obvious when looking for matches.

BEFORE and AFTER:

PREPARATION: On a slip of paper small enough to be placed inside a plastic Easter egg print any book of the Bible. On the “top half” of an egg print the book that is before the book that was chosen for the inside. Then on the “bottom half” print the book that follows. (Example: “Genesis” is printed on the top half of an egg, “Exodus” is printed on the slip of paper that will go inside the egg, and “Leviticus” is printed on the bottom half of the egg). Place the “top halves” in one Easter basket labeled “BEFORE” and the “bottom halves” in the other basket labeled “AFTER.” Lay the “middle” book (books you’ve printed on slips of paper) between the two baskets.

PLAY: On “go” encourage kids to select a book from the small slips of paper between the baskets and then find the book that’s before the book selected from within the “Before” basket, the book that’s after the book selected from within the “AFTER” basket and place the selected book inside the egg and close the egg. Continue until all eggs have been correctly assembled.

OPTION: Create a relay race for two teams: Player one from each team will select a book on one end of the room, run to the other end to find the “before and after” matches, place the selected book inside the egg and then return to their team to “tag” player 2 to continue the relay. The team that has all players correctly assembling a “before/after” match, wins.

Bill Emeott serves as Lead Ministry Specialist for LifeWay Kids. He is a graduate of Mercer University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Bill has served as a Kid’s Minister and currently teaches 2nd Grade Bible study.

Easter, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Preschoolers

April 5, 2017

Preschoolers, The Easter Bunny, and The Cross

By Landry Holmes

Have you ever played, “Which One is Not Like the Others”? The title of this post may remind you of that game. Some of you may be thinking that “the Easter bunny” doesn’t belong in the list. Others may say that “the cross” shouldn’t be in the lineup.

Regardless of your perspective, churches are confronted this time of year with the question, “What do we do about preschoolers, the Easter bunny, and the cross?” The answer depends in part on your church’s context.

Preschoolers and the Easter Bunny—Reaching Families of Preschoolers

If hosting a community Easter egg hunt will help advance your church’s mission to make disciples, then maybe you should consider having one.

Use an Easter egg hunt to introduce your church to the community and invite families to visit your church on Easter.
Separate the Easter Bunny from the cross.
Host the Easter egg hunt on any day other than Easter.
Allow preschoolers to have fun hunting eggs, and avoid trying to spiritualize the eggs. Preschoolers are literal thinkers and don’t really grasp symbolism.
If you choose to tell preschoolers (and parents) the story of Jesus’s resurrection be sure to do so from the Bible, as you would tell a Bible story at church on any other occasion.
Tell the Bible story in a different location from where the eggs were hidden, such as in a park pavilion. If a “live” Easter bunny is present, make sure he’s out of the preschoolers’ line of sight during Bible story time.

Preschoolers and the Cross—Teaching Preschoolers the Gospel

Some preschoolers learn about Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection at home. Others have never really heard how Jesus showed His love toward us by dying on the cross and being raised from the dead.

Teach preschoolers that God loves us and that God sent Jesus because He loves us.
Refrain from using symbolic language, such as, “Jesus is the Lamb of God.”
When stating that Jesus died on the cross, avoid the R-rated details of Jesus’s terrible death.
Focus on the resurrection and assure preschoolers that Jesus is alive!

Easter can be a fun, celebratory, and memorable time at church and at home. Encourage parents to keep the cross and the bunny separate, and remind them that building spiritual foundations in their preschoolers’ lives takes time and needs to happen everyday, not just on Easter.

Devotional, Easter, Family, Kids Devotions, Kids Ministry, Parent Helps, Parenting

March 22, 2017

Free Easter Devotional Guide

By Kids Ministry 101

Last year, we shared a free downloadable Easter devotional guide for kids ministers to pass out to families in their ministry. As parents and kids ministers tagged LifeWay Kids in Instagram pictures, Facebook posts, and Tweets, we were so encouraged by families’ commitments to celebrate the Easter story together. We hope our resources help you lead family discipleship throughout your entire church.

Click the image below to download the 2017 version of the LifeWay Kids Easter Devotional Guide. Post the link on your kids ministry social media page or print out copies of the guide to hand out next Sunday. May we truly celebrate our Savior’s resurrection this Easter and beyond. Happy Easter!

Click here to download your free Easter Devotional Guide.

Easter, Podcasts

March 9, 2017

Resources to Enhance Your Easter Season

By Andy Dukes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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The Easter season is one of the most important seasons in a church. We, as kids ministry leaders, have an opportunity to share with boys, girls and their families about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. LifeWay Kids has developed resources to help you this Easter Season as you minister to families.

Brian Dembowczyk, Team Leader of The Gospel Project for Kids, and Jeff Land, Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life Kids, stop by the podcast today to share some new resources that you can use to enhance your Easter season at your church.

Easter Devotional Guide – Available March 21 on KidsMinistry101.com
Easter is Alive Coloring Pages
Gospel Project for Kids Easter Bundle

Learn more about The Gospel Project Kids.
Learn more about Bible Studies for Life Kids.

Easter, Kids Ministry, Resources, Uncategorized

March 8, 2017

The Big Picture Easter Bundle

By Brian Dembowczyk

Easter not only provides us with the opportunity to share the gospel message with our guests, but with our regular attending kids as well. One of the greatest joys of kids ministries is seeing our kids grow and reach the point where they can respond to the gospel by trusting in Christ. And the great thing about our regular kids is that we don’t have to contain the Easter story to just one Sunday—we can spread it out over several weeks and go even deeper to help move our kids toward saving faith in Christ.

The Gospel Project for Kids team has just released a new Easter Bible study resource called The Big Picture Easter Bundle. If you currently use The Gospel Project in your ministry, you will have an Easter unit included in your Spring 2017 content. However if you do not currently use The Gospel Project, and would like to experience a gospel-centered Easter resource, this may be just what you are looking for. This five-session digital resource can be used in your preschool and grade school classes all five Sundays in April to share the compelling story of the final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, His crucifixion, resurrection, and appearances to His disciples.

Each session is designed to last one hour and includes downloadable Bible story videos, songs, music videos, leader guides, activity pages, posters, coloring sheets, cards, and more. The Big Picture Easter Bundle includes all of that for preschool and grade school and more for just $74.99. Churches can print as many of the resources as they need for their leaders and kids, making this a one-size-fits-all resource!

The five sessions include:

The Last Supper
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry
Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection
The Emmaus Disciples
Jesus Appeared to the Disciples

Each of the sessions will help share the Easter story with your preschoolers and kids, with each one pointing directly to the good news of the gospel through a Christ connection. If you are looking for Easter content to share with your preschoolers and kids, our hope is that The Big Picture Easter Bundle would be a resource that you could use to show your kids God’s love made known to us in His Son, Jesus Christ.

To learn more about The Big Picture Easter Bundle, visit www.gospelproject.com/easter.

Brian Dembowczyk is the team leader for The Gospel Project for Kids. He served in local church ministry for over 16 years before coming to LifeWay. Brian earned an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his family live in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Easter, Kids Ministry

March 6, 2017

Jesus Is Alive Coloring Pages

By Jeff Land

Easter is coming soon and if your church is like my church, we have parking lot issues on Easter Sunday. Because of the lack of space, we aren’t able to have Sunday School on Easter Sunday, so I’m always sad about not getting to see my second graders on Resurrection Day!

I don’t ever want to miss the opportunity to tell kids about the Savior and His sacrifice for us. Sometimes the sermon topics on Easter Sunday and the Sundays leading up to it can be graphic for children. It might be a good idea to have coloring pages available for kids to use during the service.

I also remember from children’s minister days that during the Easter season, I was never really sure when the adult choir would finish rehearsal. Having some coloring pages available is a great way to keep kids engaged after their friends have left to go home for the evening. You might even consider emailing them to families to reinforce the biblical content being taught at church.

In order to help, I’ve got you a few sets of Easter-themed coloring pages that will help your kids know that truly, Jesus is alive!!

Here’s Set 1 and Set 2. Enjoy!

Jeff Land is Publishing Team Leader for Bible Studies For Life: Kids. He holds a BSW from Mississippi College and a MACE from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jeff has served as children’s pastor and currently teaches second graders each week at his church. Jeff, his wife Abbey, and their four sons live in Coopertown, TN.

Easter, Kids Ministry Curriculum

March 25, 2016

Watch the Whole Gospel Story in 5 Minutes

By Cristy Whitlock

Today as you focus on the extreme sacrifice Jesus Christ made for sinners, remember that the cross is one part of the most beautiful redemption story in history. In this five minute video from The Gospel Project for Kids, you’ll see the whole story of Scripture. Watch below and share with friends as you thank God for his compassion and forgiveness.

Devotional, Easter, Fun, Kids Ministry

March 11, 2016

Free Easter Devotional Guide for Families

By Cristy Whitlock

A few months back we provided a Free Family Advent Guide, and the tremendous response compelled us to do it again. In theme with the Easter season, we’ve prepared a devotional guide for the days leading up to and the day of Easter. Families will study Scripture together and grow in their understanding of Christ’s death and resurrection. Simply download the guide and print out enough copies for every family in your ministry!

Here is what you can look forward to as you download your free Easter Devotional Guide:

Daily Devotions
Scripture
Prayer
Coloring Pages

You’ll also receive free sessions of Bible Studies For Life: Kids and an excerpt from Levels of Biblical Learning, a guide for teaching spiritual concept areas at a pace kids can understand.

We hope you find this free resource helpful as you build disciples in your ministry. We are excited to celebrate our risen Savior with you. Click here to download your free devotional guide now!

Easter, Encouragement, Fun, Kids Ministry, Leadership, Small Groups, Sunday School, Training

April 1, 2015

Easter Teacher Appreciation

By Jeff Land

The best time to show your volunteers that you appreciate them is every single time you think about it. They are the arms and legs of your ministry. Whether it is a simple thank you, a small trinket, or a thoughtful gift, volunteers are motivated through your appreciation. Here are a couple of ideas to use this Easter:

1. SomeBUNNY is Thankful!

I purchased a package of Russell Stover Iddy Biddy Bunnies from CVS and attached a little tag that reads: “Some[[bunny]] is thankful you serve in our Kids Ministry!”

Note: in hindsight, I wouldn’t have used a white font for the words “you serve in our”!

2. EGGcited!

I purchased an egg carton of chocolate covered marshmallow eggs from CVS, but you could use any type of candy eggs. I made and attached a tag that reads: “I’m so EGGcited God chose you to teach our kids!”