Christian children’s ministries are able to make excellent use of puppets to entertain children while educating them as well. There are plenty of challenges that children’s ministry workers will face on a constant basis, and using puppets in this way can help to meet the many of the challenges and come out successful.

In this article you will see some very valid reasons that you should consider using puppets in your own ministry. We will point out some specifics of how they can help you and the children as well.

Fun

While ministering to the children and teaching them is much more important than having fun, teaching them in a way that allows them to have fun will be a tremendous help in terms of creating an effective ministry.

Children’s ministry leaders appreciate the use of puppets because they make it more effective to convey a message to a child, but kids pay more attention to the fact that they are having fun during a puppet presentation. They will still be learning, but their emphasis is usually on the entertainment. If you can create a fun and educational environment the kids will respond accordingly.

Educational

While puppet shows are fun for the kids, what is equally important is that they are an excellent way to present an educational message to the kids in a format that will allow them to learn and grow.

Retained Messages

If you minister to children you are not only concerned with teaching and educating them, but you also want those lessons to last and to be remembered by them in the future as they grow. Puppets often create lasting impressions.

Gets People Involved

Getting people involved is necessary for most types of ministries. With a puppet ministry you will need several volunteers, which can be a challenge, but it is also a great way to get many different people involved in the children’s ministry.

Many churches use teenagers to get involved with puppet ministries and this is a great way to get them involved with the younger kids. Puppet ministries in general are helpful for bringing people in the church together and getting everyone working together for the good of the children.

Versatile

Puppet ministries are great because they can be used in so many different situations and settings. They can be used at summer camps, Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, day cares, and just about anywhere else that children’s ministries will gather.

Financial Investment is not Necessary

One of the barriers in many ministries is related to money and expenses. However, you can start and run a puppet ministry with very little money needed if you are willing to be creative and make the puppets and props from items that you have around the house or the office.

If you want to spend some money for higher quality resources, that is always an option, but it is not necessary to get started.

Plenty of Scripts

If you have been hesitating to start a puppet ministry because you have no idea how you would write scripts or skits, don’t worry, there are plenty available. You can easily buy inexpensive scripts and books of skits, or you can find some that are freely available for your use.

You can find a book of 15 scripts from CCES that is available for purchase online. There are also four free scripts that you can download at their site for use in your own ministry -Puppet Scripts

There are two main goals or purposes for having a quiet time with God. First, to praise and worship the Lord. By taking the time daily to worship God you will revel in God and recognize the many ways that He blesses us each day. You can show gratefulness and appreciation for what He has done. God loves to receive praise and worship from His people.

The second purpose of daily devotionals is spiritual growth for yourself. This growth requires us to recognize that we are sinners and that there are areas in our lives that need to be changed. You’ll need to approach God and ask for His forgiveness for these things, and then work to correct them going forward.

Start your time with God each day with some deep breaths that will help to relax yourself and distance yourself from the daily distractions that exist in your life. Ask for God’s help in removing the distractions so that you can focus on Him and His Word. This will help to prepare you for a more effective time with God.

Pray and ask God to cleanse your heart as you come before Him.

Offer God praise and worship. You might sing a hymn or praise chorus, or read a Psalm of adoration. Count your blessings. Recite a poem that praises the great Creator. There are many ways to praise God. Be creative. He loves your worship!

Read a passage from the Bible, a devotional book or study guide.

While you are reading, take the time and make the effort to really understand what is being communicated through the passage. What are the main points? Who is the intended audience? How does it apply to you? How can you put it into practice in your own life? What can you do to obey what God is telling you here?

Does it encourage you to take action in some way? If so, what is it? How can you take what you learned and apply that to your life today? Writing down your key thoughts each day can be helpful.

Pray to God.

If you are looking for help with your prayers, try the acrostic ACTSS: A – Adoration. Praise God for what He has done in your life. C – Confession. Ask God for forgiveness for the sinful things that you have done. T – Thanksgiving. Give God thanks for all of the many things He does for you each day. S- Supplication. Ask God to be the supplier of your needs. S – Silence. Make an effort to simply listen to what God is telling you.

Conclude you time with God each day by praying that you would remember and apply what you have learned.

Remember when you were young and the school teacher said “We will be having a test in a few days?” That meant that it was time to start reviewing the things that you had learned in class. Hopefully, you had been studying all along.

But when he said it was time for the exam, it was time to stop and take a good, thorough review of everything that you had gone over. You had to try to remember everything, put it in its proper place, and know how to use it for your benefit.

You know the Bible is full of reviews, and sometimes I think God wants us to just stop and review. If we look back in the Old Testament, we find in Exodus 15 that Moses did a great job of reviewing. Just after God had brought Israel safely through the Red Sea and had destroyed their enemies behind them.

In the first verse of Exodus chapter 15 we read that Moses and the people of Israel sang a song out to God. The song that they sang is basically a review of all the wonderful things that God had done for the people of Israel. He had protected them and blessed them in many ways. He saved them from their enemies, destroyed those enemies, and protected them in the wilderness.

Although Moses took the time to review what God had done for his people, he wasn’t alone. There are many Psalms that review the great things that God did for Israel throughout many difficult and trying times. One that stands out is Psalm 18 where David writes that God is his strength.

Moving on from the Old Testament, there are also great examples of review in the New Testament. Hebrews includes a chapter (chapter 11) that is a review of what God has done and of the faith of people that had been a part of the Old Testament. It specifically mentions people like Noah and Abraham, talking about the faith that they had in things that they could not even see.

Taking time to review is a good thing, whether it is for a test in school or a review of what God has done in your own life. Never forget all that God has done. As you review, make an effort to count your blessings, you may be surprised at just how blessed you are.

If you have started to read the Bible, you have begun a great thing. Unfortunately, it is easy to get frustrated or defeated while reading the Bible if you don’t know where to get started. Logically, the beginning seems like the right place to start, but that would be a mistake. Today I will show you a plan to read and understand the Bible. If you think it is arbitrary in the beginning, keep on reading. I have found a plan to help you understand what you read, making sense of the flow and thought of the Bible as you read.

First, don’t start in the beginning. Instead, go to the contents page and find the Gospel of John. It should be about two thirds of the way through your Bible, right after Luke and right before Acts. Starting here will familiarize you with the most popular Bible character, Jesus. It will also help you get a grip on the main point of the Bible, which is why most people want to read it.

Just read one chapter a day. Don’t overwhelm yourself. Take time to think, read and reflect. You can write down your thoughts and questions as you read. If you read four to five times a week, the Gospel of John should take you about a month to read.

Once you are finished with John, go right to the next book, Acts. Acts details the lives of the Apostles after Jesus went back to heaven. Reading through Acts will help you understand the other books in the New Testament. Most of the other New Testament books were written by the Apostle Paul, who you will learn about in Acts. Acts is only a few chapters longer than John, so it should also take you about a month to read.

Now, go all the way back and read the first book in the Bible, Genesis. Genesis will teach you about the beginning of the earth and how God picked a certain group of people to affect all of human history. Genesis is a longer book, so it will take you about two months to read. In Genesis, you will get to know people like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob and Joseph.

Once you are finished with Genesis, flip back to the New Testament and read the book of Romans. Romans is right after the book of Acts. Romans was written by the Apostle Paul. In Romans, Paul teaches the reader about Biblical history and the point of it all. A lot of what you just read in Genesis will help you as you read Romans. Romans is thought to be the height of Biblical teaching by many scholars.

If you want to mix it up a bit, then I recommend that you read the Psalms or the Proverbs. Psalms is in the middle of your Bible. They were written as songs, poems and prayers to God. Most of the Psalms are not very long. Proverbs is thirty one chapters of wisdom sayings that generally apply to life. They are great to read for gaining common sense, leadership skills and learning how to interact with others.

So far you have read about Jesus, the apostles, the beginning of the world and the point of Biblical history. I think it is time for you to pick your own book of the Bible to read through. There are lots of different types of literature in the Bible, so take time to make sure you understand the type of literature you are reading. In the Bible there is history, prophecy, parable, poetry, and many other forms of writing. I have written a great book on how to understand them all. Most importantly, take some time to pray and ask God to help you in your reading. If you ask, you shall receive.