Creative ideas to bring the Bible alive

Bringing the Bible to life for children and families

For over 20 years, The Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) has been supporting children's and family work in churches - helping to bring the Bible to life for children and families.

This website provides free ideas for your Sunday and midweek children's groups and material for all-age worship.

Browse ideas by topic

What is the BRF Ideas Hub?

The BRF Ideas Hub is the new home for creative ideas for children's and family ministry from The Bible Reading Fellowship.

Our hope in sharing this content freely is that it will continue to encourage, inspire and bless the church for years to come.

Why we've built this new site

A time to tear down, or a time to build up?

In late 2018 we were faced with a difficult choice: to close the Barnabas in Churches site completely or rebuild it in a modern technological platform.

Why we rebuilt the site

Please support us

If you find this site helpful, please consider a regular gift to support it. Thank you.

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Lent and Easter
Pentecost
Storytelling
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Saul to Paul: craft and activity ideas

Here is a selection of craft and activity ideas that you could use to explore the story of Saul's conversion in Acts 9 in a group session or for a Messy Church on this theme.

Acts of the Apostles

God is a faithful gardener

An outline for an all-age service with ideas for a talk, music and prayers linked to Jesus' parable of the gardener looking for fruit from his orchard.

Other Festivals

Easter - A Good Friday Service for all

An outline for a Good Friday Service, which is for the whole church family

Lent and Easter

Christmas cards

Finding new ways to retell the mystery of the Christmas story is always a challenge. The following idea uses a selection of playing cards to retell the events surrounding the nativity.

Advent and Christmas

The feeding of the 5000

Here is a version of the miracle of the five loaves and two small fish that turned a surprise picnic with Jesus into an unforgettable feast.

Life of Jesus

Celebrate Holy Week

The last parable that Jesus used about 'the rejected stone' perhaps sums up Holy Week most powerfully. The following outline could be used as part of an all-age service, in a session with an older children's group or within a celebration at Messy Church.

Holy Week

For such a time as this - the story of Esther

The story of Esther, a heroine in the Old Testament. Her courage in speaking up of behalf of the Jewish people in exile is celebrated yearly in the Jewish festival of Purim.

Prayer

Daniel in the lions' den

A retelling of the story of Daniel in the lions' den, which has been used by many people to encourage believers to stay true to their faith even in the face of fierce opposition.

Prayer

Messy mission: Acts 1-12

The story of the Christian church in the first twelve chapters of the book of Acts. This idea would work for a group session or within an all-age service and includes a group drama.

Other Festivals

Acts 1-12 drama

The story of Acts 1-12 in words and actions.

Acts of the Apostles

The story of Naomi and Ruth has much to teach us about how God welcomes and cares for those who, as refugees, face the loss of family and familiar surroundings. This simple retelling is could be used with a small group or in all-age worship.

Other Festivals

Speaking in tongues

A selection of words for 'hello' and 'peace' in several different languages. This activity gives a taste of how the Holy Spirit enabled the praises of God to be heard in every language on the day of Pentecost.

Other Festivals

Palm Sunday story

The story of Palm Sunday, told from a child's point of view. Suitable for all-age worship or a children's group.

Lent and Easter

Contemporary story of Zacchaeus

This is the dramatic story of Zacchaeus in a new context - on the streets of London rather than Jericho, drawing on imagery from a famous money-making board game.

Lent

The weeks of Lent are traditionally a time for personal reflection and recommitment to following Jesus. This outline for an all-age service or group session focuses on making the serious decision to become a disciple of Christ and draws on Luke 14:25-33.

Lent and Easter

Like a mustard seed

The parable of the mustard seed is one of the most memorable and profound stories that Jesus told his followers. This outline explores some of its meaning with reference to three other Bible stories.

Lent

Messy Church in Lent

This idea contains an outline for a Messy Church in Lent with suggestions for crafts and activities, the celebration and the meal. It is based on the story of the temptations of Jesus and it explores the theme of how to be truly strong.

Lent

More Ideas (71)

Messy mission: Acts 1-12

The story of the Christian church in the first twelve chapters of the book of Acts. This idea would work for a group session or within an all-age service and includes a group drama.

Other Festivals

Praying with the world

Ideas for prayer from the worldwide family of the church. Suitable for use with a children's group or as part of an all-age service in church.

Other Festivals

Speaking in tongues

A selection of words for 'hello' and 'peace' in several different languages. This activity gives a taste of how the Holy Spirit enabled the praises of God to be heard in every language on the day of Pentecost.

Other Festivals

A lame man is healed at the Beautiful Gate

A fun way to tell the story of the healing of the lame man by Peter and John, using a well-known nursery counting song. It is suitable for a Messy Church celebration, an all-age service, collective worship or a group session with adults and children.

Other Festivals

Power from on high

Pentecost is the next festival after Easter but it often gets overlooked. Just as God breathed into Adam at creation, we need the breath of God's Spirit to bring us to new life in Christ. This is a reflective story suitable for an all-age service.

Other Festivals

More Ideas (15)

Daniel in the lions' den

A retelling of the story of Daniel in the lions' den, which has been used by many people to encourage believers to stay true to their faith even in the face of fierce opposition.

Prayer

For such a time as this - the story of Esther

The story of Esther, a heroine in the Old Testament. Her courage in speaking up of behalf of the Jewish people in exile is celebrated yearly in the Jewish festival of Purim.

Prayer

Messy mission: Acts 1-12

The story of the Christian church in the first twelve chapters of the book of Acts. This idea would work for a group session or within an all-age service and includes a group drama.

Other Festivals

The story of Naomi and Ruth has much to teach us about how God welcomes and cares for those who, as refugees, face the loss of family and familiar surroundings. This simple retelling is could be used with a small group or in all-age worship.

Other Festivals

A lame man is healed at the Beautiful Gate

A fun way to tell the story of the healing of the lame man by Peter and John, using a well-known nursery counting song. It is suitable for a Messy Church celebration, an all-age service, collective worship or a group session with adults and children.

Other Festivals

More Ideas (172)