Grades 1-3
Game – Jump to Answer
Materials: tape line in the middle of the game area
Lead kids to line up on the tape line, facing you. Make a statement related to travel: “I have been to Alaska.” Kids jump left off of the line if the statement is true about them and right off the line if the statement is false. Guide kids to move back to the line. Make another statement and wait for kids to jump left or right to answer it. Alter the statements: “I have never been to Washington DC. I have ridden on a train. I have never been on a cruise ship.” Tell the kids that in today’s Bible story, men traveled to different cities.
Live It Out
Game – Ball Bounce
Materials: beach ball or balloon
Guide kids to stand in a group. Bounce the beach ball into the group. Guide kids to continue to bounce the ball up in the air. As they bounce the ball up each time, they can say one word of the Life Point. If the ball hits the floor, start the Life Point over as you restart the ball. Encourage kids to work together to keep the ball up for the entire Life Point. Talk about how God helped Paul and Barnabas and how the Holy Spirit helps Christians today tell about Jesus.
Craft – Mini Megaphone
Materials: colorful paper cups, chenille stems (cut in half), large address labels, other colorful stickers, decorative tape, scissors, gel pens
Talk about the Bible story. Tell kids that the missionaries around the world tell people about Jesus the Savior. Tell kids they can make megaphones to announce good news of Jesus. Lead kids to cut the bottoms from their cups. They may want to cover the cut edge of the cups with decorative tape. Help them each cut two slits about 1 inch apart along the seam (or one side) of the cup. Insert one end of the chenille stem into each slit and bend the ends to keep the stem in place (for a handle). Guide kids to write the Life Point or Bible verse on large labels and attach to the sides of their cups. They can add more stickers and decorative tape as they choose to decorate their megaphones. When everyone completes their megaphones, lead kids to hold them near their mouths and say the Life Point together.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Action!
No materials needed.
Tell kids they will play a listening game. First you will call out an action and they will do it. Then you will call a twist for them to do. These are the twists: fast—perform the action as fast as possible; slow—perform the action in slow motion; reverse—perform the action backward; pause—freeze for count of 5 and then restart the action. Call a motion for kids to do; motion can be simple (shake hands; sway back and forth) or complex (pretend to be an elephant walking through a deep river). After everyone begins the movement, call one of the twists. After a minute or so, call a new action. Repeat several times. Tell the kids that they were doing what you asked them to do. Today they will hear about two men who did what God told them to do.
Live It Out
Game – Destinations
Materials: plastic hoops
Scatter plastic hoops around the game area, more hoops if you have a larger group of kids. Tell kids to move around the area as if they were sailing on boats. After a minute or so, call out a number. Tell kids they must land at a destination (hoop). Each destination can only have the number of kids that you called – no more and no less. Allow a little time for kids to assess and regroup as needed; then call stop. If kids are in larger or smaller groups (or not at a destination), they are grounded for the next round. Tell them to step to the side. After the next round they can rejoin the game. Call different amounts of kids at each round. After a couple of rounds, ask a review question and talk about the Bible story. Change how the kids move using different types of transportation. Talk about missionaries today and how the Holy Spirit helps them tell about Jesus.
Craft – Magnetic Puzzle
Materials: colored cards, scissors, thin-line markers, self-adhesive magnet tape, small ziplock bags
Talk about the Bible story. Say the Life Point and talk about how the Holy Spirit helped Paul and Barnabas tell about Jesus. Lead kids to cut colored rectangles. Each person should cut 9 rectangles. Lead kids to write a word of the Life Point on each of their rectangles and attach magnet tape to the backs of the words. Tell kids they can place their puzzles on a magnetic surface at home to remind them about the Holy Spirit’s help for Christians. Talk about how missionaries today depend on the Holy Spirit to help them tell about Jesus. Tell kids to mix their puzzles and work to put the Point in order. Provide ziplock bags for kids to store their puzzles.
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