This event outline provides ideas for approximately an hour-long Resurrection/Easter program based on the theme Jesus Makes All Things New! It s perfect as a spring outreach event for children ages 3 to 9 years old, or it can be adapted for your children s Easter Sunday school celebration or as a special event for your church s Bible club. The event includes a Bible story presentation, snack idea, and activities. Choose the activities you wish to use, taking into account the size of your group, the children s ages and interests, their background knowledge, skill levels, and the time available to you. May God bless you as you share the joy of Jesus resurrection with the children in your care! #JMN5DO 2015 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.
As Children Arrive Position group leaders throughout your staging area and urge them to greet families warmly as they arrive. Gather children in groups, four to six children per group. Mix older children with younger ones in each group. That way, experienced children can help the little ones. Assign one or two adult leaders to stay with each group throughout the event. Group leaders can prepare a goodie bag for each child by writing the child s name on the bag with a permanent marker (order item #JMN5TS12 for goodie bags alone or #JMN5SCTS for the softcover book with free goodie bag). Then they should encourage the children to participate in conversations about old things being made like new again. Conversation starter ideas to share with your group leaders beforehand: Ask the children if they have ever broken a toy. A broken toy is no fun at all. It s ruined. But if a big brother or mom fixes it, then it s like new again. Make the connection that when we sin, it breaks relationships. Other people are hurt or mad at us. Worse, God hates sin and must punish it. But Jesus died to make all things new. Because Jesus died for us, God forgives us. Jesus fixed our relationship with God and makes it possible for us to say the words, I m sorry and You re forgiven to each other. Clean a few coins. First show the children how dirty the coins look. Combine a teaspoon of salt with ¼ cup vinegar in a bowl. Place the coins in the bowl, wait for a minute or so, and then rinse the coins and wipe with a paper towel. When you show the children the coins, say, These coins looked old, but this solution made them like new. Today we ll learn that Jesus died to make all things new. He gives us new life. When everyone has arrived and it s time to begin the center activities, the event leader should get everyone s attention. Explain that the groups will move from one activity to the next. Every ten minutes or so, at your signal (ringing a bell or playing traveling music ), groups will rotate to the next activity. 2
Small-Group Activities That Teach Bible-Story Activity The storyteller (or storytelling team) should be full of energy. Dress up like a Bible-times character. Practice speaking loudly enough that everyone in the audience can hear and understand. If possible, use the PowerPoint (www.ctainc.com/free) to tell the story. Otherwise, read it from the book. As you read it, emphasize the words OLD and NEW. Show any pictures large enough for the group to see. Have parents and children sit on the ground or floor at the storyteller s feet. If time allows, use these questions to talk about the book: Why did Jesus die? (He died to take away our sins.) Did Jesus stay in the grave? (No! He rose three days later.) Now we are God s very own children. Jesus lives and gives us new life. The life we have in Jesus will never end! After the story time, helpers can give copies of the books to the children (order under item #JMN5SCTS to get the free goodie bag with the book). Encourage them to read the book with a grown-up or older sibling at home. Tell them to look for the words Jesus makes all things new! in each picture. Washed Clean and New (for younger children) Prepare for this activity by rubbing mud onto plastic or rubber toys that can be washed clean easily. You ll need at least one toy for each small group. As the children leave this center, each will receive an expandable washcloth (item #JMN5CW). These washcloths expand when placed in water. During your center time, plan to use an extra washcloth with each of the small groups to demonstrate and talk about the activity. Put enough water in a small washtub for the cloth to expand fully. Show the children one of the dirty toys and talk about how it needs to be cleaned. Use the washcloth to clean the toy. This washcloth says, Jesus makes all things new. When I clean off this toy and it looks new again, it reminds me that because Jesus died on the cross and rose again, everyone who believes in him lives a new, forgiven life! Distribute the expandable washcloths for the children to talk home, and encourage them to do the activity with a grown-up, sibling, or friend and share the good news that Jesus makes all things new. 3
New Life from God (for older children) Prepare for this activity by finding a YouTube video that shows a chick hatching from an egg. If WiFi is unavailable in your setting, use a program like ClipGrab to download it. If you plan to show it on a laptop screen, be sure everyone in each small group will be able to see it. To introduce the video ask: Why do people use eggs to decorate for Easter? Why do we color eggs and eat chocolate eggs? Why all these EGGS!? Let volunteers offer guesses. Then say: This video will give us some clues. It takes about three minutes and at some points, it may look like nothing is happening. But keep watching! As you watch, think about how eggs and Easter are connected. Then show the video. When it ends, ask for answers to your original question: Why all these eggs? If no one mentions it, point out that the shell from which a living chick emerges is kind of like the tomb in which Jesus was buried and from which he rose. Then summarize by saying: We see all kinds of new life in spring. The trees bud. The grass greens up. Baby birds hatch. Baby rabbits are born. New life! The Bible says, If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (1 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus gives us new life, too. Everyone who believes is Jesus is new. Our sins are gone. It s like being born again! We have new life with God. If time permits, split the group into two smaller groups and do a cheer. Have one group say, The old is gone! Then the other group answers, The new has come! Repeat three or four times. 4
Snack Time (Also see Craft/Snack Time Option) Prepare for snack time by placing a small snack, such as goldfish crackers or pretzels in the Jesus Makes All Things New plastic tumbler (item #JMN5PT). As you distribute them to the children, talk about being able to start over once you ve been forgiven: Jesus makes all things new in our lives with the people around us, too. When a person says or does something to hurt your feelings, you don t feel so good about that person. How do you feel when that person comes to you to say, I m sorry!? Because of Jesus, you can say, I forgive you. When you do that, you will feel better about that person and the two of you can start fresh and new in your friendship. Craft/Snack Time (Option to Snack Time, above) For this project you ll need... Paper plates Wooden craft sticks or plastic knives Whole graham crackers White icing Colorful candies for decorating Spread white icing on the length of a graham cracker. Invite children to use the colorful candies to design a cross shape on the cracker. What beautiful crosses you re making! The cross reminds us that Jesus died to make all things new. He did that because he loves us very much. The beautiful colors remind us that Jesus didn t stay dead. God raised him to life on the very first Easter Day! He will never die again. He will be our Savior and Friend forever! 5
Games and Fun Choose the games below that will work best in your setting and will be age appropriate for the children who attend. Before each game, the leader will explain how the game is played. The leader should also explain how the game can remind everyone of the Good News of Jesus Easter victory. While you may wish to give prizes, you might consider not doing so. Instead, you could emphasize fun, fellowship, and the free gift of eternal life Jesus offers all people. Encourage parents to join in the games, too! Egg-citing Relay Race Overview: Form teams (same number of players on each team). Have the players on each team stand in single file behind a line marked on the floor. Mark off another line on the ground approximately 10 yards in front of each team. The first participant in line for each team receives a plastic spoon and a plastic egg. The child should place the egg in the spoon and carry it across the goal line and back, passing it to the next team member. If the egg drops, the racer must return to the starting line and try again. Racers may not use their free hand to keep the egg on the spoon. The game continues until all team members have completed the relay. To add a dimension for older children, set up obstacles along the path. Easter tie-in: Eggs remind us of new life. Reinforce the idea that the shell from which a living chick can emerge is kind of like the tomb in which Jesus was buried and from which he rose. Jesus lives! He is (Nathan s) friend and Savior forever! (Repeat this sentence, pointing to individual children and naming as many children as time will allow.) Leaders might also share the story of two disciples who raced to the tomb when they heard Jesus body was gone (John 20:1 9). You might also stress the importance of handing off the Good News of Jesus death and new life (telling others). Egg Roll Race Overview: Use a setup similar to the game above, but have half the players on each team stand behind one line and the other half stand behind the line opposite. (For this game, position the lines about 5 yards apart.) Participants crawl on their hands and knees, pushing a plastic egg with their noses until they cross the opposite line. When everyone on all teams has participated, the game is over. Easter tie-in: See the ideas for the relay race above. Celebration Streamers Chase Overview: Set up clear boundary lines on a lawn outside or in a large, multipurpose room. Tuck a crepe-paper streamer into the back pocket or waistband of each participant. When the leader gives the signal, participants try to pull out someone else s streamer while not allowing anyone to remove their own streamer. Players who lose their streamer must sit down on the sidelines. The last player standing wins. Easter tie-in: Streamers help us celebrate. Talk about Easter as the greatest celebration ever! 6
Large-Group Egg Hunt As groups complete their last center activity, have them return to the central meeting area where you began. As each group arrives, teach them the following echo cheer and keep performing it until all the groups have returned. (Hint: Print the words to the chant on large paper or poster board ahead of time and place it where everyone can see it.) Come on, everybody, let s cheer Hooray For Jesus he s our Savior and he lives today! He died upon a cross on Calvary And then he came alive for you and me! So - o - o - o (Repeat the chant from the beginning. Add pats, claps, stomps, jumps, and cheers, as you like.) If you haven t already given goodie bags to the children, hand them out now. Explain the guidelines you have set for your egg hunt. Be sure that everyone understands that they may take just one of the special Gospel Easter Eggs with the puzzle inside. If they find a second one, they should leave it for a friend to find. You may want to pair up very young children with an older child or adult helper to make sure each participant receives a Gospel Easter Egg. When the egg hunt has concluded, come back to the central area one last time. Repeat the chant once again. Thank everyone for coming and make sure they each have their take-home items. In addition, give visiting children a letter, brochure, or some other preprinted invitation welcoming them and those in their family to become a part of your church family if they don t already have a church family of their own. (See www.ctainc.com/free for printable materials that match the Jesus Makes All Things New theme.) After the event and cleanup, gather volunteers and pray for the children who attended, asking God to bless the Word he has planted in their hearts. Ask that Jesus gift of eternal life will be forever their most precious possession. 7