Have you been asked to present a kids' segment for Palm Sunday's worship service?
There are certain times, certain seasons, important events on everyone's calendar, that roll around every year- like Palm Sunday, Christmas and Easter. And although we know and expect them it's not easy to find a different way, each year, to present these important truths in a way that resonates with kids and families and impacts lives.
As I mentioned in a previous post, we're using Group's Walk with Jesus but presenting it weekly to the whole church family rather than a full Easter experience, as designed. Our first segment was last week. So I thought it might be helpful to report back and let you know how it went.
There are certain times, certain seasons, important events on everyone's calendar, that roll around every year- like Palm Sunday, Christmas and Easter. And although we know and expect them it's not easy to find a different way, each year, to present these important truths in a way that resonates with kids and families and impacts lives.
As I mentioned in a previous post, we're using Group's Walk with Jesus but presenting it weekly to the whole church family rather than a full Easter experience, as designed. Our first segment was last week. So I thought it might be helpful to report back and let you know how it went.
We decorated the church as outlined in the program's manual- naturally, a surprise for everyone as they arrived on Sunday. The provided soundtrack with the noise and excitement of Jerusalem was playing in the background and certainly added some atmosphere. We handed out the collectible cards and FamilyTime devotion booklets, and asked them to decorate a cardboard palm leaf. ( I wasn't sure how they would all react to this but we actually had trouble encouraging them to leave this activity and move inside.)
The Palm Sunday segment only lasted about 8-10 minutes and again, I wasn't sure whether everyone would interact with the activities (choosing a shout of praise for Jesus and writing it on their card leaf, standing up to wave and cheer for Jesus, and lastly, moving to the centre of the church to lay their palm leaves upon the sandy pathway while singing a closing song of worship.)
The Palm Sunday segment only lasted about 8-10 minutes and again, I wasn't sure whether everyone would interact with the activities (choosing a shout of praise for Jesus and writing it on their card leaf, standing up to wave and cheer for Jesus, and lastly, moving to the centre of the church to lay their palm leaves upon the sandy pathway while singing a closing song of worship.)
I was surprised and delighted when many of our church family mentioned, following the service, how much they had appreciated the special segment we had presented. Great! There will be another segment in church this week. If you'd like to see how we presented the Palm Sunday segment, I've included it below.
So.. what are you planning this year for Palm Sunday and Easter?
So.. what are you planning this year for Palm Sunday and Easter?
| walk_with_jesus-_palm_sunday.docx |
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