Online Online Discipleship Discipleship Material Material for for Children Children
Faith, Hope and Love This resource has been created to support children’s discipleship in response to this time of social distancing. It is designed for children’s ministry leaders working with groups of children via video calling platforms but could be adapted for use in the home as a family. It is aimed for children aged 7-12 years. Many children thrive on the social interaction that will be missing as this time. This ministry provides an opportunity to enable children to interact and grow in a different way, and to still have some fun together! The theme for the material for the next three months is built upon 1 Corinthians 13:13, ‘And now these three remain: faith, hope and love’, and the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. Faith, hope and love are gifts from God. The Bible teaches that all three should affect the way we live. Faith is powerful; it motivates us to keep going when everything else tells us to give up and, without faith, we cannot know God. Hope is confidence in God, knowing he has a plan for our lives even in the most difficult of circumstances and encouraging us to keep moving forward. Love is the foundation for everything. God is love and when we love God it affects how we treat and behave towards others. The impact of Covid-19 has been felt globally by adults and children across the world. The pandemic is a new and uncertain time for everyone and will impact us individually in different ways. The rules of social distancing and isolation, along with the closure of schools, inability to attend clubs and groups, and not being able to see and have physical contact with close family and friends, has turned our young people’s lives upside down. More than
ever, Jesus can provide hope for the future. In Jesus we see a way of living a life of love to bring about peace and community among all people. We have provided 13 sessions, and each session is designed to last approximately 30 to 40 minutes, thereby making it usable with a free Zoom account. (This material could also be used with other video calling platforms.) The Salvation Army have produced guides on how to use Zoom, along with safeguarding guidance and a parent permission letter for running a session online. These are available via our Dropbox folder or via Our Hub for those with a Salvation Army login. Please read and ensure you follow the necessary requirements. Dropbox folder: https://www.dropbox. com/sh/yz93leu4070v4nr/AACQl1OljqqtHhkLNJJxIlka?dl=0 All online meetings should be password protected so you will need to contact your group in advance with the meeting times and ID & passwords (see the Zoom guide for how to do this). If you, or the families you are working with, haven’t used Zoom before it would be a good idea to have a practise get together so you can work out the technology and familiarise the children/parents with the format. It is possible that parents may want to join in with your sessions. You will need to make a decision on this for your setting, but we would encourage parents to be involved in their children’s faith journey as much as possible and join-in with your group up to a point which doesn’t stop children from being the focus.
The sessions have been written in a script style, designed so you can pick up and deliver them relatively easily. It will be necessary to read through each session and prepare some content required to enhance the learning experience and enable children to come to
each session prepared. Timings suggested are a guide and will vary week to week. Don’t feel that you have to deliver all the content, you can pick and choose and emphasise what is relevant to your group.
Each session follows a similar format based around the following headings:
Start It
A game or activity and an introduction to the theme building on children’s lived experience. (10 mins)
Sing It
A song suggestion to enhance your time of worship.
Tell It
Each week different ideas for telling the story will be used to share biblical truths. (10 mins)
Action It
Pray It
A time of response and prayer for the group together. (5 mins)
Explore It
These ‘send home’ ideas come in two parts and are designed to reflect the range of ways children can come to encounter God:
Explore It (FOR ME) – provides ideas and
activities that children can explore on their own
Explore It (TOGETHER) – provides ideas and activities that children can explore with their families.
An idea to help children reflect on the story and theme for this week. (5 mins)
The Salvation Army, Youth & Children’s Ministries, 101 Newington Causeway, London. SE1 6BN Phone: 020 7367 4548 Email: youthchildren@salvationarmy.org.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/youthchildrenSA Twitter: www.twitter.com/youthchildrenSA The Salvation Army is a Christian Church and registered charity in England and Wales (214779), Scotland (SC009359) and the Republic of Ireland (CHY6399).
Content Plan TITLE
THEME
BIBLE PASSAGE
May 3
A strong hope
Hope in Jesus gives me strength
Jesus calls the disciples Luke 5:1-11
May 10
An encouraging hope
Hope in Jesus brings me encouragement
Jesus sends out the twelve Matthew 10
May 17
A patient hope
Hope in Jesus teaches me patience
Jesus comforts his disciples John 14:1-13
May 24
A joyful hope
Hope in Jesus brings me joy
Jesus appears to his disciples Luke 24:36-53
May 31
Pentecost
God is with us
The Holy Spirit Comes Acts 2:1-13
June 7
A living faith
What is faith?
The Rich and the Kingdom of God Mark 10: 17-31
Hebrews 11:1 June 14
A courageous faith
Faith brings courage
Jesus walks on water Matthew 14: 22-36
June 21
A mighty faith
By faith, we can do incredible things
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy Matthew 17:14-21
June 28
An active faith
Faith in action
The Sheep and the Goats Matthew 25:31-46
July 5
A love for me
God loves his children
Jesus teaches Nicodemus John 3:1-21
July 12
A love for you
Jesus loves us and that love helps us love others
The Vine and the Branches John 15
July 19
A love for all
Love those in need
The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37
July 26
A love for us
Rest in God’s love
Jesus calms the storm Mark 4:35–41