Children's Resources

Children’s Resources

Youth & Children’s Project 2019/20 LOCATIONS

Spain Sandy beaches, sunshine, paella, hot holidays, tapas, football... these are probably some of the words that come to mind when you think of Spain. Spain is a beautiful country and yes, a great holiday destination. It is also a country with very few Christians – there are estimated to be about 400,000 Christians which may seem like a lot, but it is only 1% of the population. However, the church is growing and there is an increasing desire to study God’s Word and learn more about him and how to live for him. In order to teach God’s Word, the Spanish church would benefit greatly from a wider choice of good Bible teaching resources. There are very few Christian bookshops and their stock and resources are limited. The Spanish churches and Christian parents would love to have more Bible resources so they can faithfully teach God’s Word to the children and young people in Spain, using tools to make it easier to understand and engaging to use. We will be supporting the churches in Spain and Christian families through prayer and by providing funds for the translation and publication of good Christian Bible teaching resources, to help with family devotions, Sunday school and youth group material, individual devotionals for teens and parenting books.

Derek and Jane French, GMW Spain Derek and Jane Derek and Jane met and got married when they were studying at are excited to be actively involved in a Belfast Bible College. They have two children. They adopted their new project with the oldest, Gabriela, in 2009 in China when she was one and then they publishing branch of adopted Luka (also from China) in 2012, when he was two years old. GBU (Andamio). The Derek and Jane readily admit that Gabriela and Luka speak better project aims to provide Spanish than their parents! resources for Sunday school teachers, They became global mission workers in 2001, working with a local church youth leaders and in Valencia until 2007. They then moved to Bilbao in northern Spain to parents, and devotional serve with Grupos Bíblicos Unidos (GBU) – a Christian student organisation materials for children affiliated to the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. and teenagers. The first stage is selecting GBU’s ministry is with high school and university students, publishing the right materials to and working with graduates and professionals. This involves evangelism translate and publish. among students and the discipleship of Christian students. GBU’s vision The next stages will be is to reach all non-Christian students with the gospel and to develop acquiring copyrights, student leadership which, in the future, should contribute to the growth raising funds, translation of evangelical churches in Spain. GBU also seeks to contribute to the and publishing. These resources will have transformation of Spanish society through evangelical graduates and a huge impact in professionals who have been helped by GBU. developing young Derek and Jane are also involved in local church ministry in Bilbao and they disciples in the Spanish- also work alongside MOCLAM (an online theological course in Spanish). speaking world. This is what Crecer Juntos will be supporting.

2 CRECER JUNTOS INTRODUCTION FOR LEADERS

Parenting young children is a challenge! In the midst of the tantrums, toilet training and tiredness, I often feel like I am paddling upstream. I am thankful though that at the end of every chaotic day, with jammies on and teeth brushed, we gather as a family in ‘mummy and daddy’s bed’ for a Bible story and prayers. A story is read from one of many books before thanking God for the good things he has given us and asking for his help for ourselves or others. Of course, this idyllic picture always includes a measure of chaos and tears, as tiredness peaks and patience plummets, but sometimes there is a moment where the story captivates and we grow deeper in our worship of God together. I am incredibly grateful for the vast amount of children’s devotional resources available in English and yet that is not the case for other parts of the world. Crecer Juntos is the title of this year’s Youth and Children’s Project. It aims to provide resources for Sunday school teachers, youth leaders and parents, and devotional materials for children and teenagers in the Spanish language. These will have a huge impact in developing young disciples in the Spanish speaking world. Thinking biblically about this, the project focuses on the Parable of the Sower. A familiar story where the seed is the good news of the gospel and the soil conditions represent circumstances or barriers that steal, wither and choke the kingdom message. Language can be one of those barriers and there is no doubt that having Bible-based resources for children and teenagers, in their own language, enables greater opportunity for: …those who hear God’s teaching with a good, honest heart. They obey God’s teaching and patiently produce good fruit. Luke 8:15 Through the words of Jesus and partnership with Derek and Jane French, PCI global mission workers serving with Grupos Bíblicos Unidos, we believe this project will result in many more seeds falling on good soil in the hearts of children and teenagers in Spain that will bear kingdom fruit. You will need: • Small plant pots • Compost to fill each pot • Instructions for care on labels • Seeds, e.g. sunflower seeds, peas, beans • Bibles • Project DVD and necessary equipment • Words and pictures for memory verse • Computer and sound to play YouTube videos for song • Torch • Resources to decorate candle

CRECER JUNTOS 3 INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY

Growing together Say: This year’s Project is called Crecer Juntos (pronounced Crether Huntos) and it means growing together. We are going to have a think about things that grow and how we grow as Jesus’ followers. Show the children a baby photo of you. Ask do they know who it is? Explain that the photo is of you when you were a baby but now you have grown up. Ask the children what other things grow? Allow the children time to answer. Explain that one thing that grows is plants and we are going to plant something that you can take home to watch grow as well.

Activity: Plant seeds You will need: • Small plant pots • Compost to fill each pot • Instructions for care on labels • Seeds, e.g. sunflower seeds, peas, beans • Water Give each child a small pot and help them to fill it with compost. Have them choose a seed or two and put them in the pot, cover them up and then give the compost a bit of water. Give each child a label with the below care instructions written or printed on. Alternatively, give the instructions printed on a piece of paper.

• Water regularly but not every day. • When 6-8 cm high, plant outside in a sunny spot. • When your plant gets taller, support the stem with a cane. • Watch your plant grow and grow and grow.

Say: Another thing that grows is God’s family. In the same way that we grow from being babies to children to adults, and seeds grow into plants, God’s family is always getting bigger. We may not always notice it but it is! God’s family grows through hearing about who God is and what Jesus has done for us by dying on the cross and taking the punishment for all the bad things we have done. God’s people also grow by reading the Bible and having a stronger relationship with God. It’s amazing but we are all growing.

4 CRECER JUNTOS BIBLE TEACHING

Explain to the children that the lesson we are going to Luke 8:4-15 (ICB) think about is a story that Jesus told when he lived on A great crowd gathered. People were coming earth about how God’s family grows. to Jesus from every town. He told them this Say: We are going to think about a farmer sowing seed, story: like we have just done, and think about what happens “A farmer went out to plant his seed. While he to the seeds. When Jesus told this story, he was helping was planting, some seed fell beside the road. the people listening to understand what happens when People walked on the seed, and the birds ate different people are taught the Bible. all this seed. Some seed fell on rock. It began to grow but then died because it had no Ask the children to listen out for the different types of soil water. Some seed fell among thorny weeds. in the story. This seed grew, but later the weeds choked Read Luke 8:4-15. the good plants. And some seed fell on good ground. This seed grew and made 100 times Say: Let’s think about the four different types of soil more grain.” and what types of people Jesus was talking about. Can Jesus finished the story. Then he called out, anyone think of any of the things that stopped the plants “Let those with ears use them and listen!” from growing properly? Jesus’ followers asked him, “What does this Encourage the children to answer from what they can story mean?” remember from the story. Jesus said, “You have been chosen to know Ask: What did the four types of soil mean? the secret truths of the kingdom of God. But I • The road where the birds ate it use stories to speak to other people. I do this so that: ‘They will look, but they may not see. • The rock where it had no water They will listen, but they may not understand.’ • The thorny weeds that choked the plants “This is what the story means: The seed is • The good soil God’s teaching. What is the seed that fell beside the road? It is like the people who hear Again encourage the children to answer from what they God’s teaching, but then the devil comes and have heard. takes it away from their hearts. So they cannot Ask the children what they think the types of soil mean? believe the teaching and be saved. What is the seed that fell on rock? It is like those who Read again the explanation that Jesus gave to the hear God’s teaching and accept it gladly. But disciples of the types of soil. Explore with the children they don’t have deep roots. They believe for about what it means to hear the Bible and to respond to a while, but then trouble comes. They stop it. Help them to think of some examples of how they see believing and turn away from God. What is the people respond to God in different ways. seed that fell among the thorny weeds? It is like those who hear God’s teaching, but they Say: Jesus said in this story that when we hear God’s let the worries, riches, and pleasures of this Word and listen with a good and honest heart, one that life keep them from growing. So they never wants to know what Jesus teaches, we grow in our faith produce good fruit. And what is the seed that and live for him. Our faith continues to grow as we read fell on the good ground? That is like those his Word and try our best to do as it says. who hear God’s teaching with a good, honest heart. They obey God’s teaching and patiently Not everyone has easy access to some of the books produce good fruit.” that we might have to help us grow in our faith, like Bible reading notes or Sunday school teaching resources. We are going to hear some stories of people that we are hoping to help with this.

CRECER JUNTOS 5 STORIES

Ask: Why is it important to read the Bible? Allow the children time to think about why the Bible is important and relevant today. Help them to understand that the Bible is God speaking to us, it is how we discover how God wants us to live. Talk about different ways that we can read, memorise and understand the Bible. Answers might include: reading with Bible study notes each night, going to Sunday school and learning from Sunday school teachers, reading the Bible together as a family, singing songs that are based on the Bible. For older children, ask: How do we apply the Bible to our daily lives? Say: We want to spend a little time learning about a Christian family from the island of Majorca in Spain and also about a local Spanish church. The children, just like you, want to learn more about God and what it means to follow him on a day-to-day basis. Watch the DVD that accompanies this Project.

SPAIN There are not very many Christians in Spain, but the good news is that this number is increasing significantly year by year. However, more than 10 million Spanish people live in towns where there is no evangelical witness. The majority of the churches are small in number, with maybe only 5-20 kids in the Sunday school and about 30 families that are committed church members.

Meet a Spanish family Meet Ruth, she is married to David and they have two daughters: Hannah (10 years old) and Ève (7 years old). They live on the Spanish island of Majorca. Ruth has been working for more than 10 years with GBU (Grupos Bíblicos Unidos). GBU is a mission organisation that works with students and young people and also publishes Christian books and resources. Ruth and David regularly read the Bible together with their daughters but more often than not, they use English language resources and translate them as they go along into Spanish for their children. Ruth says: “We use children’s Bibles, and devotional books such as Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd Jones. We also use holiday Bible school materials and books like Diary of a Disciple which is based on Luke’s Gospel. The truth is, everything we use is in English and we do our best to translate them. My husband is able to do it in English and when it’s up to me, I translate on the fly! What is missing here are good materials in Spanish. It would be great to have Bible teaching resources in Spanish, for example, resources that answer the questions children ask about God, books that help us build a bridge between Jesus and our children and resources that help them apply the truths of the Bible to their daily lives. Jesus says, ‘Let the little children come to me’ – we would love resources that could help us do that!”

6 CRECER JUNTOS We are thankful that The Jesus Storybook Bible has already been translated into Spanish and recently it was even translated into Basque (a language in the region of Spain where Derek and Jane live). However, there is still a great need for more good biblical resources to teach the Bible clearly and faithfully to the children and young people of Spain and to engage them with the Word of God with their families, individually and in the church context.

Meet a Spanish church Ruth and her family belong to a local church in Palma, the main city on the island of Majorca. Perhaps some of you have been to Majorca on your holidays! At their church there are about 12 primary school aged children and about 10 secondary school aged kids. The church has about 60 families, this is a large church by Spanish standards. It is a thriving church that faithfully teaches the Word of God and is a good witness on the island. The motto of their church is ‘To God alone, be the glory’, alongside the Bible verse from Romans 1:16: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” What a great verse to centre your local church around! At Ruth’s church they have produced some of their own teaching materials for Sunday school and also use other resources that are available in Spanish. Many other churches in Spain have fewer resources. Ruth says the biggest challenge for parents and those involved in ministry with children and young people is: “To motivate the children and young people, to be able to show them that we need the gospel and Jesus every single day, to help them live out their faith and grow daily in Christ. Children who have been born into Christian families often reach a point where they believe they ‘know’ everything about Jesus because they have heard the stories so many times...it is a challenge to present the gospel every day in a fresh, practical way that connects them with the reality of their day-to-day challenges.” Churches like this and throughout Spain would love to have more resources available in Spanish to help them teach in church and at home.

CRECER JUNTOS 7 MEMORY VERSE

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

Explain to the children that this verse reminds us that God’s Word, the Bible, helps us to understand the way that we should live and how to follow him. By reading it we learn how to love God for who he is and what he has done for us. We also learn how to love other people, as the Bible teaches us about how to care for others and how to live together in community with other people. There are lots of fun ways to teach memory verses. Here we will explain two different ideas.

Picture writing Write out the memory verse on pieces of card, one word on each piece. For some of the words use pictures instead of letters to help children to read it. For example, for ‘Word’ you could have a picture of a Bible, for ‘lamp’ you could have a picture of a lamp. This will be particularly helpful to children who are visual learners and also to younger children who cannot easily read the words.

Note to leaders: Teach the memory verse to the children so that they learn it. However, make sure that the meaning of the verse is the important factor in this exercise. The children do not have to get the words all in the right order to be able to understand the meaning and context of this verse. It is more important that the words and meaning are hidden in the children’s hearts rather than winning a prize for stringing words together in the right order.

Song The other way to teach this memory verse is by song. Below are two links to YouTube videos – one in English and one in Spanish. Overleaf are the words of the songs in each language. The children could learn to sing the verse in either or both languages as part of the Project this year!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ycs23FQDRI (song in English) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBwf5x778rg (song in Spanish)

8 CRECER JUNTOS SONG

Tu Palabra es lámpara a mis pies Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet

Tu Palabra es una lámpara a mis pies y una luz que alumbra mi ser Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path

Cuando tengo miedo, pienso que estoy perdida, When I feel afraid, think I’ve lost my way

Aún allí tú estás Still you’re there right beside me

Y nada temeré, mientras tú estés aquí Nothing will I fear, as long as you are near

Acompáñame hasta el final Please be near me to the end

Tu Palabra es una lámpara a mis pies y una luz que alumbra mi ser Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path

A pesar de tu amor, a veces tengo dudas I will not forget, your love for me and yet

Te ruego Jesús sé mi guía My heart forever is wandering

A tu lado quiero andar y amarte hasta el final Jesus, be my guide, and hold me to your side

Por favor, perdóname And I will love you to the end

Tu Palabra es una lámpara a mis pies y una luz que alumbra mi ser Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path

Y una luz que alumbra mi ser You’re the light unto my path

CRECER JUNTOS 9 FINAL ACTIVITY

Torch game You will need: Torches, a Bible, a large version of the memory verse. Ask the children in advance to bring a torch (or provide torches/ use the torch feature on mobile phones). Make sure the room is dark. Then turn on the torches. Talk to the children by torchlight about what the Bible means when it says “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” Psalm 119:105. Ask a child to read the verse from the Bible with a torchlight. Ask all the children to read the large version of the verse using torchlights.

Decorate a candle You will need: Regular sized tall candle, a strip of paper, colouring pencils, stickers, glue/sellotape. • On a long thin strip of paper write the following verse: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” Psalm 119:105. OR God’s Word is a light. • Encourage the children to decorate and colour the strip of paper. • Wrap the verse around the candle and stick with glue or sellotape.

PRAYER

Spend some time as a group praying for the Sunday school teachers and youth group leaders in Spain as they teach God’s Word. Pray for Christian families in Spain as they read and study God’s Word together at home.

10 CRECER JUNTOS FUNDRAISING IDEAS

Family fun day • Coffee morning • Paella party • Talent auction • Concert • Barn dance • Craft fair • Sponsored sing • Victorian tea party • Car boot sale • Cake sale • Ice cream sundaes • Table quiz • Art competition • Spanish themed night • Bag packing • Movie night • Spanish quiz night • Car wash • Treasure hunt • Sponsored walk • Church picnic • Church breakfast • Smarties tubes • Tapas night • Christmas gift wrapping • Barbeque • Sponsored football tournament featuring teams from various countries, including Spain. • Helping hands (parents pay children for jobs at home) • Sell bedding plants and f lowers • Cupcake Sunday

CHILDREN AND MONEY

Often in church, we either exclude children from giving money or we do not teach them what it means. One of the important parts of the Youth and Children’s Project is the raising of money to help support the locations that we are highlighting. We want to encourage this as part of the whole teaching of the Project. We want children to make formative connections between giving and following Jesus. In the gospels, Jesus says a great deal about money and possessions. Not that he was obsessed by money itself. He was obsessed by the abundant life that he promised to his followers. Jesus knew that how we handle money can either help or hinder us in finding that life. Ensure that you explain as part of the Project and the fundraising, the importance of our role of giving out of our plenty to help resource God’s work in the world. For more information on this subject check out www.givingingrace.org PCI video on the Grace of Giving at vimeo.com/presbyterianireland/graceisgiving

CRECER JUNTOS 11 Assembly Buildings, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast BT1 6DW Tel: +44 (0)28 9032 2284 Email: [email protected] www.presbyterianireland.org