WHEN THE CHILDREN CAN’T COME TO CHURCH, HOW CAN WE BRING THE CHURCH TO THEM?
As a teacher at a Christian Preschool and a Christian Summer Camp Director, I have spent countless hours researching different Christian resources available for children. There are so many great resources out there, but I have found it can be overwhelming to find specific materials when searching through the resources. There are many times where I end up with 8 tabs open on my computer from clicking numerous links trying to get to a specific type of resource. When our church had to close during the Coronavirus Pandemic, we wanted to create a page of resources that are available for children and teens so that they could continue to grow in their faith while not being able to attend church. We wanted to find the best resources out there and have them in one place for easy accessibility for our church families.
Finding resources
To do this I started by finding links to different resources including Bible lessons for kids, crafts and activities, and apps. I made sure to find resources for numerous ages so that we included our youngest children in our resources but also provided ways for our teens to stay connected with their faith through devotions and Bible studies. When gathering links for resources, be specific. This may mean you need to include a few links from the same website to direct people to specific pages within a resource. For example, some sites will have pages on crafts, games, printables, and more. I found it was beneficial to be specific with the links so parents can find exactly what they are looking for. Once you find all of your resources, organize them by age group. I divided mine up as Resources for Children and Resources for Teens.
providing descriptions
So now that you have your links, how will people know what they will find at each resource? As you copy each link to your resource site, include a brief, specific description of what people will find when they go to that site. For example, if the link provided is for crafts, provide a description such as “Bible Story Crafts”. Keep it short and concise so that people will know exactly what type of resource is being provided with the link. If you are providing information for an app, be sure to include that it is an app in your description so that people will know to use the app store on their phone to download the resource.
lesson Plans
Having a collection of online resources is a great way to provide families with a way to help their children continue to grow in their faith; however if you want to take it a step further you could include lesson plans for guidance. These can be 1-2 week lesson plans that utilize the resources provided to create something similar to a Bible study for children. Provide a topic of focus for a week or two such as Fruit of the Spirit, Holy Week, Heroes of the Bible, a topic that connects with your Children’s Message, or any topic you would like.
Once you have your topic chosen, choose a lesson for each day. For example, with Fruit of the Spirit, focus on one of the fruits each day. Provide scripture and a devotion each day to go with the lesson. Next, add an activity such as a craft, a game, or more to expand on the lesson for the day. You can then finish up the lesson for the day with a song to connect with the lesson. I personally like finding old Vacation Bible School music videos online so that the kids can get up and move while listening to the song. You could also choose to include a prayer, a video, or whatever you think will best help the children to understand the lesson each day.
share your resource page
Once you have put together your resource page, be sure to share it with your congregation. Add a link to the webpage on the home of your church’s website, share the link on social media accounts, and mention it during your Children’s Message and church announcements on Sunday morning. As you add lesson plans, post about them on social media and encourage parents to share pictures of the children engaging in the activities!