EXTRAS: December
Skiing to Church
■ SUPPLIES
■ large paper plates
■ masking tape
■ construction paper
■ marker
Before the session, use construction paper to make signs: True, False, Like me, and Different
than me. Post the signs in different parts of the room.
1.Give each CA two paper plates to use as skis. Allow girls and boys to help each other fit the
plates to their feet. Use masking tape to help hold them on.
2. Read the following statements. Ask children to ski to the sign that most accurately matches
the statement. The Doves live in Norway. (True.) The Doves have three girls. (False—they have
two sons.) Daniel and William help in worship by playing bongos. (True.) Getting to know other
people is easy for me. (Like me/Different than me) Zack and Jennifer encourage church
leaders like Paul and Silas did. (True.) Winter sports can be fun. (Like me/Different than me)
William and Daniel have skied to church. (True.) House churches do not exist in Norway. (False.)
3. Ask for a volunteer to pray for Zack and Jennifer Dove as they help church leaders. Ask
another to pray for William and Daniel as they help in worship.
Photography Quest
■ SUPPLIES
■ camera
1.Share this word from the Smiths*: God created you to be unique. So, find out what you love
to do and then do it in a way that honors God. The world needs us to live, work, and play so
that we connect with others and share our faith with others.
2. Invite children to share some of the ways they are unique and some of the things they love
to do. Remind girls and boys that photography is how the Smiths connect with others.
3. Have children participate in a photo shoot where they stage some awkward poses together.
You may choose to divide CAs into smaller groups or have children complete these together.
*Name has been changed.
Helping CAs Understand
■ SUPPLIES
■ Internet access
1.Have children do some research on the Christmas traditions and celebrations in Denmark and
Norway. Some good resources are travel blogs and websites.
2. Allow CAs to give a brief presentation to share their findings with the group.
EXTRAS: January
Disaster Dash
■ SUPPLIES
■ ministry items
■ painter’s tape
■ two bags
1.Tell CAs you are going to play a game to see how much they remember about Donna Swarts’s
disaster relief story.
2. Use the painter’s tape to mark Start and Finish lines on the floor for the relay. Divide CAs
into two teams.
3. Have two leaders stationed at the Start line, one for each team. They will ask review
questions during the game.
4. Place two piles of children’s ministry items from the “What’s in the Bag?” activity on the
Finish line, with a pile directly across from each team. You will need enough items so that
each team has one item per person. It is fine to have duplicate items.
5. Give the first child on each team a bag. At your signal, that child will run to the Finish line,
place one item in the bag, and race back to the Start line.
6. Each time a runner returns to the Start line with the bag, they must answer a question
before handing the bag to the next child. If that child is unable to answer the question, his
teammates may help.
7. After the runner has answered the question, he will hand the bag to the next child in line
on his team. This CA will race to the Finish line, place another item in the bag, and race back
to the Start line to answer a question.
8. Play will continue with each child running to the Finish line, placing an item in their team’s
bag, and running back to the Start line to answer a question. The game ends when one team
has all of the items in their bag back at the Start line and all members of the team are
seated on the floor.
Flour Power Review
■ SUPPLIES
■ bowl
■ kinetic sand
■ flat piece of cardboard
■ plastic knife
1.Fill a bowl with kinetic sand. Place a flat piece of cardboard over the top of the bowl. Flip
the bowl and board over carefully, then lift the bowl away. The sand should be standing as a
single mold now.
2. One at a time, allow children to take turns using the plastic knife to cut away a section of
the sand that is at least one inch wide.
3. When a child makes a cut that causes the whole pile to crumble, the child should tell the
group something she learned about Donna and disaster relief.
4. Repeat as many times as desired.
EXTRAS: February
Who Am I?
■ SUPPLIES
■ construction paper
■ tape
■ Bible
■ marker
1.
Before the session, create two signs. On the first, write God. On the second, write
Moses. Hang the signs on opposite sides of the room.
2. Go through Exodus 3 and make a list of what God and Moses said. Read each statement
and tell CAs to go to the sign that shows who said that statement.
Our Lives in the Middle East
■ SUPPLIES
■ envelope addressed to your CAs
■ notebook paper
■ pen or pencil
Before the session, copy the letter below onto notebook paper and place it in an envelope.
1. Show children the envelope. Say: We received a special letter this week that I want to
read to you! Pull out the letter and read it aloud.
Dear CAs,
Thank you for being interested in Christian workers in the Middle East. We are happy
to share our lives with you.
I’m Debra Hasler.* I have a husband and two adventurous sons, Robert* and Michael.*
My husband Martin* directs a camp and conference center. He organizes outdoor
activities for children, including sports activities. Did you know that soccer is very popular
here? He also plans Bible camps for children whose parents believe in Jesus. He makes
sure that the conference center is always busy because that means people are being
encouraged and hearing about Jesus. Martin makes sure the campers have a safe place to
come and that everything is ready for them. He takes the bus to work every day and
leaves the car for me.
And, I do use that car! I drive around to visit Christian workers who are new to the
Middle East. I help them learn the language and how to shop in the markets here.
I drive to the conference center to pray with the Christian workers. On youth night,
I pick up youth from around the area to take them to church. If I don’t do that, they
might not be able to come.
Our sons have been important to our work in the Middle East. Robert is in college in
the United States now. Michael is nearing the end of high school. They have brought
many friends into our home. They play games, laugh, and make giant ice cream sundaes
in the kitchen. We love it! Michael uses the bus to get to school and back. He usually
gets home around four o’clock in the afternoon.
When all of us get home, we have dinner together. We pray for people around us.
We are glad God brought us to the Middle East.
*Names have been changed.