Grades 1–6: Tell About Jesus — Session 1: Paul and Barnabas Became Missionaries (May 3)

Grades 1-3

Introductory Activity – Country Spelling Bee

Materials: alphabet tiles (one set per team), paper, markers

Group the kids into teams or play as one group. Tell kids that they can use the tiles to spell the names of countries. They should try to make as many names as possible. Give the signal to start. Choose players to write down the names of the countries as they are spelled. Then the tiles can be used again to spell a different name. Call time. Note how many country names were spelled. If you played in teams, compare the lists and find out how many unique country names were made. Tell kids that today they will learn about sharing the message of God around the world.
Teaching Tip: If you do not have alphabet tiles, print letters on index cards for kids to use. (Include all the letters and multiple cards with vowels and frequently used consonants.)

Live It Out

Game – Thumb Ball

Materials: beach ball or other ball with colored sections

Guide kids to stand in a circle. Toss the ball back and forth across the circle. Call: “Stop.” Tell the child holding the ball to look at his thumb. If his thumb is on a colored section, ask a review question. If his thumb is on a white section, lead him to say the Bible verse. (Adjust the thumb placement to match your ball.) After the question is answered or the verse repeated, start tossing again. Tell kids about any missionaries that your church helps support around the country or world. Say the Life Point.

Craft – World Reminders

Materials: paper plates or white construction paper cut into circles, blue tempera paint, green tissue paper pieces, address stickers or paper strips with the Bible verse printed on them, paintbrushes, scissors, glue (as needed)

Invite kids to paint the backs of the paper plates blue. Tell them to cut out green shapes and add them to the blue circles to make them resemble globes. (If the paint is still wet, the tissue paper will stick. If not, use glue to add the tissue paper shapes.) Read/say the Bible verse together. Tell kids to add the verse to their globes. Talk about the Life Point. Mention missionaries that your church helps support. (You can find information about Southern Baptist missionaries at www.imb.org and www.namb.net.)

Grades 4-6

Introductory Activity – Word Scramble

Materials: index cards with the words of the Life Point printed on them, one word per card

Hide the word cards around the room before kids arrive. Lead kids to search for the word cards. Tell them to work together to try and assemble the words in the correct order to make a sentence. Give hints as needed. (For example, tell them there are 16 cards so they will know if they are missing any words.) Read the Life Point together. Tell kids that this is the focus of today’s study.

Live It Out

Game – Tabletop Golf

Materials: paper cups, scissors, pom-poms, craft sticks, permanent markers

Cut an arch or three-sided opening in the side of a cup (like a notch from the top). The opening should be large enough for a pompom to roll through. Prepare 3 or more cups. Print a point value on each cup. Arrange the cups, top side down, along the side of a table, with the opening facing the other side. Tape cups to secure, if you choose.
Group kids into teams. Tell players to stand at the table opposite the golf holes. Invite a player from Team 1 to use a craft stick to hit a pom-pom and try to get it in a hole. If she hits a pom-pom into a hole, ask a review question. Award points for a correct answer. Alternate between teams as you play the game. After the Bible story has been reviewed, ask teams to say the Life Point or the Weekly Verse when they score.
Variations: (1) Award double points if a kid gets a hole on the first try. Or deduct points if it take more than one try to get a hole. (2) Assign each cup a hole number. Teams must get balls into the holes in order.

Craft – Missionary Maps

Materials: Bible atlases, Bibles with maps, colored pencils, paper

Lead kids to examine Acts 13 and note the places that Paul and Barnabas traveled. They can find these places on biblical maps. Invite kids to make their own maps of Paul’s journey. They can draw the area and note the cities. They can draw lines to show Paul’s movement. As they work, talk about Paul sharing the message of God with the people. Comment that missionaries today are also chosen by God to share the message of God with people around the world. Mention missionaries that your church helps support. (You can find information about Southern Baptist missionaries at www.imb.org and www.namb.net.) Say the Life Point with kids. Tell kids to print the Life Point on their homemade maps.