BYKATHY VINCENT

Ephesians 5:25 says this: Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. To your preschoolers, the church may be a strange yet wonderful place to them. If your little ones are anything like mine were, they loved exploring up and down and through the aisles. They liked going up on the altar area and wondering at the mystery of it all. And of course they were curious about communion. Traditions vary greatly from church to church, but one thing remains the same: Jesus loves the church. Here is a fun Bible school activity to help your little ones understand this. I call it The Church that Jesus Loves.
Heres what you do:
For this activity you will need to draw the outline of a church on a large piece of poster board. Dont forget the steeple! You will also want to gather pictures of items found in a church. Here is a list to get you started:
1. A cross
2. Pews
3. Stained glass windows
4. An altar
5. A podium
6. A baptismal
7. A piano
8. Banners
9. Communion items such as the cup and plate
10.An offering basket
11.People
You will be able to find pictures of these items on Google Images. Cut the different pieces out and laminate them for long-term use. Place all the items in a bag or basket from which the children will pick. You are now ready to play the activity.
Heres how to play:
After introducing your lesson, show the children your church. Let a child come up and reach into the bag for one of the items. Ask him what the item is and let him attach it to the inside of the church with some kind of adhesive. Now have the whole class recite this portion of Ephesians 5:25 Christ loved the church Let another child reach into the bag and follow the same procedure, each time ending with the reciting of the verse. After all the items have been placed inside the church, face the church away from the children. Now let a child come up and pick off one of the items and instruct him to show it to his friends and see if they are able to remember the name of the item.
Before playing this Bible school activity, you might want to introduce the game in the following way:
(Show the picture of the outline of the church.) Boys and girls, who can tell me what kind of building this is? (Wait for responses.) Thats right! Its a church. See the cross on top of the steeple? A church is a wonderful place where we can come together and worship Jesus. Did you know that Jesus loves the church? Its true. The Bible says so in Ephesians 5:25. It says this: Christ loved the church Lets all say that together. (Wait for response.) Very good. Now, my church is empty. Would you like to help me fill it up? Wonderful! Inside my bag here are items that you usually see in a church. (Begin pulling out each item and give a short description of each.) Well, lets play a little game to help us remember that Jesus loves the church. Its called The Church that Jesus Loves. Here we go!
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