By Bethany Pitman
Before we can blink, stores have already cleared the Christmas trees, stockings, and snowman figurines from the shelves. In their place there will be the spring hues of Easter bunnies, baskets, and eggs. As kids walk the aisles, they cannot help but feel enamored with the brightly colored candies and cute bunnies. It’s normal for children to be excited about the candy and the egg hunts, but it can be easy for them to lose sight of Easter’s true purpose. Instead of competing with secular Easter traditions, your church can leverage them to help their children connect with the Easter story.
Read below for some tangible activities that will help children interact with biblical truths as you prepare for Easter.
Gospel Easter Eggs®: Gospel Easter Eggs® are sure to be a favorite in the children’s ministry. These plastic eggs are prepackaged with fun and relevant reminders of the Gospel message. During the Easter season, kids can open the Gospel Easter Eggs® and discover the items inside. As a class, discuss the items inside and what they represent. Alternatively, send them home with parents so they have a discussion piece on Easter Day.
Easter Playset:
Wooden, plastic or foam playsets are an engaging way for children to fix their eyes on Jesus at Easter. These sets often include a story booklet for parents and are practical ways for children to incorporate Jesus’ story into their everyday play.
Easter Basket:
Instead of filling Easter baskets with candy, clothes, and other spring toys, how about filling them with Christ-centered items? Easter books, stickers, or pencils make excellent basket items! Some stores sell chocolate crosses and other Christian-themed candies, such as Jelly Bean Prayer Scripture Candy. Instead of using Sunday morning for the Easter Bunny, families can use Saturday morning for the Easter Bunny and reserve Sunday morning to focus on worship.
Special Easter Books:
Keep some Easter books aside and only bring them out during the Easter season. This will make the books special. Kids will love seeing the Easter basket of books come out each year. Parents can do this at home, or it can an exciting weekly activity at church.
Cross on the Wall:
When Easter is approaching, cut out a large cross and hang it in on a wall in your kids’ classrooms or have parents do it at home. Every week (or day, if at home), people can write down a sin or struggle they are dealing with. People can fold the papers if they wish to keep the content private. After everyone tapes their paper to the cross, they can pray together, “Dear Jesus, you know what it is like to face struggles and temptations. Thank you for allowing us to
leave them at the cross. Please give us strength to overcome these struggles and temptations. Amen.”
On Easter morning, children will discover that the pieces of paper have disappeared and have been replaced with the word “FORGIVEN” written boldly across the cross. Classes and families can discuss how the empty tomb means that Jesus’ blood has paid for our sins.
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