Unit 2 / Lesson 7
Evangelism
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Teacher's Prep
Games
Toothpick Puzzles
See this link for puzzles:
Print off a set of puzzles for every 2-3 children. Note: print only pages 1-6 of the document above, as pages 7-8 contain the answers. Print a copy of pages 7-8 for yourself.
Before class, prepare tables for children to stand around, so they can work on the puzzles. Chairs are not necessary.
Provide 30-40 toothpicks per child
Three Legged Race
Get a roll of duct tape and a roll of toilet paper (the toilet paper can act as a barrier to prevent the duct tape from damaging clothing or skin)
Get scissors to cut the duct tape at the end of the race
If unfamiliar with the game, you can watch this video to see what it is like:
Zoom Out Game
You will need to show this YouTube video for the game to work:
YouTube video: Zoomed-In Picture Puzzles | Can You Guess The Object Game?, by Planetworm Riddles & Tests
Note: a large screen TV or projector is ideal for this game.
Main Activity (Air Cannon Craft):
Watch this video
Materials (for each child):
A disposable plastic water bottle
Two balloons (one to be a spare in case anything goes wrong)
Strong tape to keep the balloon attached to the water bottle
Six styrofoam cups (or other light disposable cups) to set up as a target for knocking down
Helpers will need:
A knife to cut the plastic bottle
Scissors to cut the balloon
Make the craft on your own before the lesson, as some water bottles contain very soft plastic that will be crushed by the balloon. However, if you cut the bottle very close to the neck, you may have somewhat thicker plastic. Or, you may need to buy a thicker water bottle, like the Gatorade water bottles which are made of hard plastic.
Note: if you don't have any helpers, you may want to pre-cut the plastic bottles before class, as that is the most difficult step and requires an adult's attention.
Optional Large Vortex Cannon
Materials:
A cardboard box
Packing tape or other tape that is about 2 inches wide
A kitchen knife for cutting a hole
A source of mist or smoke (optional, but it makes the vortex cannon much more fun)
Instructions
See this video
The concept of the vortex cannon is very simple: you need a cardboard box that is taped all around its edges so it is airtight.
To make the box airtight, tape the seams that run along the middle of the box.
Then, cut a hole in the middle of one of its sides. The best side to cut is the one with the smallest area.
Hitting opposite sides of the box at the same time will generate a vortex that can knock targets over (if they are very light, fragile targets like a tower made of styrofoam cups)
If you can put mist or smoke into the box as shown in the video, it becomes much more fun.
Try to copy the proportions of the box in the video. See 0:52 of the video for a good idea of box dimensions. You can buy cardboard boxes at Home Depot, or you might be able to find some lying around.
You may want to make just one or two vortex cannons before class for the class to share.
Note: the hole in the box needs to be reasonably big for a far-reaching vortex. Too small of a hole will result in a very fast stream of air, but very little range. The hole in the video looks like it can almost fit a person's head through it.
Intro
SLIDE 1
Gathering
How was your week?
SLIDE 2
Intro Activity: Toothpick Puzzles
Instructions
Teacher: set up tables with toothpicks and puzzle sheets on them.
We'll start our lesson with some toothpick puzzles!
On the tables around the room, we have puzzles and toothpicks. You can work by yourself or in a team. Your goal is to solve as many of these puzzles as you can in ten minutes.
Teacher: set a timer for 10-15 minutes, depending on attention span
SLIDE 3
Debrief
Teacher: praise them for their efforts
In this game you might have noticed, it really helped to have someone else to share their answers with you.
That’s what it’s like if we are helping someone to become a Christian.
If a person is not a Christian, they normally have a bunch of questions and a bunch of problems that they need to work through before they become a Christian. It can be really hard for them to figure it all out by themselves.
SLIDE 4
Big Question
Our big question today is, how can we help someone to become a Christian?
Relevance
This might be one of the most important questions that we can answer. If we can help people to become Christians, they will become children of God and they will live forever, and they can do great things for God.
SLIDE 5
Big Idea
Our Bible passage today teaches us how to give people the best chance to know God.
Our big idea today is, we need to serve people and serve God.
That means we need to put people ahead of us, and we need to put God ahead of us.
SLIDE 6
Bible Reference
Let's read what a man named Paul wrote in the Bible.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (CEV)
19 I am not anyone's slave. But I have become a slave to everyone, so I can win as many people as possible. 20 When I am with the Jews, I live like a Jew to win Jews. They are ruled by the Law of Moses, and I am not. But I live by the Law to win them. 21 And when I am with people who are not ruled by the Law, I forget about the Law to win them. Of course, I never really forget about the law of God. In fact, I am ruled by the law of Christ. 22 When I am with people whose faith is weak, I live as they do to win them. I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can. 23 I do all this for the good news, because I want to share in its blessings.
SLIDE 7
Point 1
Our first point is, we need to serve PEOPLE. This means we need to put people ahead of us.
SLIDE 8
Activity: Three Legged Race
Instructions
Let's start this point with a game! We'll be doing the three legged race. All of you will have a partner. One of your legs will be taped to your partner's leg, so that you can only move that leg together if you walk forward.
The key to going fast is to work together. Hold each other's shoulders and say, "one-two-one-two" which will help you keep in time. The most important thing is to be steady.
Your first job is to find a partner and then we'll tape your legs so you can walk together. You can practice a bit, and once we're all ready, we'll all try to walk across the room. Then we'll try to do a fancy race where we go around the room.
Instructions for teacher:
Fasten their legs together as seen in the video at the top of this lesson plan. In the absence of special velcro bands, you can use duct tape in multiple layers, and for sensitive clothing or skin, you can put tissue paper as a barrier to prevent damage. Give them some time to practice.
Line everyone up and have them race from one wall to the other.
Then, have them do a relay race around the room where they start off touching a chair. Their goal is to touch the three other chairs and come back to the chair where they started. For the relay race, you can start up to four pairs at a time in different corners, and they can all move in one direction around the room (clockwise, or counterclockwise)
At the end of the game, praise them for their efforts, cut up their duct tape bands and have them sit back in a circle.
SLIDE 9
Debrief
We played this game because it's about being stuck with someone and walking with them. Sticking with someone like that is really hard!
Sometimes that's what it's like to help people to find the truth about God.
SLIDE 10
Bible Reference
Let's go back to our Bible passage again
1 Corinthians 9:19-20 (CEV)
19 I am not anyone's slave. But I have become a slave to everyone, so I can win as many people as possible. 20 When I am with the Jews, I live like a Jew to win Jews. They are ruled by the Law of Moses, and I am not. But I live by the Law to win them.
SLIDE 11
Explanation
Paul really wanted to help people to know about Jesus.
He wanted to help as many people as possible, so he became like the people he was trying to help.
He really cared about the Jewish people, so he followed their rules. He did things that weren't comfortable, and he said it was like becoming a slave, which is no fun. But Paul knew that if he could be a good friend and live like his neighbours, he would give them the best chance to know God.
SLIDE 12
Application
We need to do that too. We need to get to know people, spend time with them, and pray for them. We need to be people's friends and we need to show them that we really care about them. We need to let it bother us that people don't know Jesus, but maybe they could know Jesus if we tried something different.
It's really uncomfortable to think like that. If you do think like that, maybe you can help someone to live forever! They'll be your friend in heaven, you'll be really happy about it, and all that hard work will be worth it.
SLIDE 13
Discussion Question
Let’s break for some discussion questions:
Do you have any ideas on how to be a good friend?
Do you have any ideas for how to help your friends get to know God?
SLIDE 14
Point 2
Our second point is, we need to serve GOD, which means we need to put God ahead of ourselves.
SLIDE 15
Activity: Zoom Out Game
Instructions
We'll start this point with the Zoom Out game!
We'll be looking at a whole bunch of animals that are zoomed in, and then it will slowly zoom out to show the whole picture. As a class, let's try to guess the right answer as quickly as we can. The catch is, you can only guess once for every picture, so if you're wrong, you'll have to wait for someone else to get the right answer.
Teacher: show this video:
Answers (to check when they start guessing)
1. Lion
2. Dove
3. Racoons
4. Raven
5. Turtle
6. Eagle
7. Shark
8. Owl
9. Praying Mantis
10. Fox
SLIDE 16
Debrief
We played this game because it reminds us there's always a bigger picture.
When we are trying to help someone, we can get really focused on the little details. It can be discouraging when we see how hard it is to help them.
We need to remember that there is a bigger picture, or else it won't make sense to keep trying so hard.
The bigger picture is that we are serving God and doing His work, and it's worth it.
SLIDE 17
Bible Reference
Let's read what Paul said in our Bible passage:
21 And when I am with people who are not ruled by the Law, I forget about the Law to win them. Of course, I never really forget about the law of God. In fact, I am ruled by the law of Christ. 22 When I am with people whose faith is weak, I live as they do to win them. I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can. 23 I do all this for the good news, because I want to share in its blessings.
Explanation
Paul says there are some people who don't follow the laws in the first half of the Bible. He wants to become like those people, but he doesn't just break all the laws. No matter what people do, Paul is still going to do what Jesus wants. It’s hard to do that, but it’s worth it.
Application
It's like that for us too. When we are helping people, we need to change to become like them. When we become like our friends, we can understand them better, and we can be better at helping them think through the big questions of life..
Sometimes, if a person is not a Christian, they might do some really bad things, and Jesus doesn't allow us to do those things. We can still try to be their friend, but we need to do things the right way. That will be good for us, and it will help our friends to know God better, if we put God first.
SLIDE 18
Conclusion
Let's end our lesson by going over the big ideas again.
Our big question today is, how can we help someone to become a Christian?
Our answer is: we need to serve people, and we need to serve God.
Serving people means trying really hard for them because we know they need Jesus so much.
Serving God means we always do things the right way. We don't copy the bad habits of our friends. We always follow Jesus and we remember the kind of treasure that lasts forever.
SLIDE 19
Main Activity: Air Cannon
Let's end with a craft! Today we will be making air cannons! Air cannons are super simple, but they're really fun. They remind us a little bit of the message of Jesus. The message of Jesus is simple, and it's great, but someone has to tell you about Jesus or else it's really hard to figure out. Air cannons are like that too.
Let's watch a video for how to make it:
An adult will cut the bottom off of a water bottle. Then we'll cut a balloon and put the balloon over the water bottle and we'll tape the balloon to the water bottle so it doesn't fall off. That's it!
Teacher: have them make the air cannons, then have them set up six styrofoam cups in a tower pyramid so they can knock it down with air. See how much range they can get with their air cannons.
Optional Craft: Vortex Cannon
Teacher: If you have time, make a big vortex cannon as described at the top of this lesson plan. A vortex cannon is simply a cardboard box that has all of its edges taped so it is airtight, and then you can get a kitchen knife to cut a hole on the side of the box with the smallest area. That's it! If you have a way to add smoke, it's even better. Not every child needs to have a vortex cannon. Just one or two for the whole class would be a lot of fun.