For a child, Sunday School is a carefree time filled with friends, fun activities, and Bible lessons about interesting characters and God’s love. For an adult charged with entertaining, leading, and teaching a classroom full of energetic kids, Sunday School can be intimidating.
But it doesn’t have to be! Children’s church activity ideas are virtually endless, and no, it doesn’t have to be a 90-minute cycle of Sunday School crafts. Some are possible with a little planning and a few inexpensive supplies, while others require only Bibles or no supplies at all. And they can all help children learn in Sunday School class.
Bible Bingo
Are you helping your students learn the books of the Bible? A game of Bingo is a fun way to reinforce your lesson. Are you teaching the fruits of the Spirit? Bingo can help them stick. Do the children have a lot of Biblical characters to remember? Put their names on Bingo cards and play away! Use this free Bingo card generator to create your own game. Have small prizes on hand for the winners.
Outdoor Games
Do you have a room full of excited kiddos, bouncing off the walls? If weather and location permits, why not take your class outside? Get their wiggles out by playing Tag, Hide-and-Seek, Red Light Green Light, or any number of active games.
If the outdoors is not an option, maybe your building has a gymnasium or a suitable large room. You may find the children are better able to focus on your lesson after they have expended some energy. Not to mention, kids who have fun at Sunday School are more likely to keep coming back to Sunday School.
Classic kids’ games with a twist
We all remember the classics: Hot Potato, Simon Says, Duck Duck Goose, Musical Chairs, and more. Try playing these games with your class, and adding your own twist so the game supports your Bible lesson.
Play Hot Potato, but when the music stops and a child is stuck holding whichever object is the hot potato, give them a chance to stay in the game by correctly answering a question about the day’s lesson. You can also give children who are “out” the chance to earn their way back into the game by correctly answering the question if the child holding the hot potato gets it wrong.
Play Duck Duck Goose, but substitute characters from your Sunday School lesson. You might play David David Goliath or Jonah Jonah Whale.
Some games can serve as an object lesson on their own: Simon Says can illustrate how sometimes obeying can be harder than we think, and we need to pray for the Holy Spirit to help us be obedient.
Would You Rather?
For a fun, supply-free game that helps children more vividly imagine Bible stories, play a Sunday School version of “Would You Rather?” Divide the room into two sides and have the children sort themselves based on their preferences:
- Would you rather see the burning bush, or see the parting of the Red Sea?
- Would you rather be in the crowd during the Sermon on the Mount, or in the crowd waving palm branches during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem?
- Would you rather watch Jesus heal the blind man, or watch Him feed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish?
- Would you rather be on the boat when He calmed the wind and waves, or walk on the water to Him?
Silence
For children who are a bit older, “Silence” can be a good illustration for lessons about Bible characters stricken with dumbness. Instruct the children to arrange themselves in a straight line in a particular order: by height, by alphabetical first or last name, or by birth order. The catch is that no one is allowed to speak. Play this game and then ask the class to imagine being unable to speak for months or years, like Zechariah or Ezekiel.
Bible races
You can play lots of Bible games with your class to test and strengthen Bible literacy. The only supplies needed are a Bible for each student. Call out a book of the Bible and have the class shout out which Testament it’s in. Call out a letter of the alphabet and toss a piece of candy to the first student who can name a book starting with that letter. Say a book of the Bible and see which student is the first to name the book that comes after it.
For a more challenging game, name a Bible story or event, and reward the first student who can identify the book of the Bible it’s from. If you’ve been memorizing a Bible verse each week, recite the verse and see who can remember its reference or vice versa.
String game
All you need is a ball of yarn to play this simple game. Sitting in a circle, start by holding one end of the yarn and sharing something interesting about yourself. Roll the ball to a student, and have them share something about themselves. Keep rolling and sharing until everyone is holding a part of the yarn (or multiple parts) and your class has created a beautiful web. Remind the children that while we are all different and special, we are all connected by God’s love for us.
Trash can basketball
Combine Bible trivia or questions from the day’s lesson with hoops in this fun game. Divide the class into teams and have them line up behind masking tape strips equal distances from the trash can “goal.” The first person in line gets three shots at the basket when their team answers a question correctly. Make sure everyone gets a turn, and keep score to see which team wins.
A-Mazing Friends game
For any lesson about friendship or cooperation, try this unique activity. Use masking tape (or chalk if outdoors) to mark a 5×5 grid on the floor. Number each square in order from 1-25. Replicate the grid on your own “cheat sheet,” and mark a pattern starting in the top row and following adjacent squares through the grid until it exits the bottom row. This is the hidden “maze” students must discover through trial and error.
One at a time, have each child try to figure out the maze by stepping onto one square at a time. Once they make a wrong move, they go to the end of the line and it’s the next student’s turn.
As the class learns the pattern, they can call out advice to one another, and working together, each person should eventually make it through the maze.
For an extra challenge, tell students to help each other through the maze, but with no talking allowed.
Try out these Sunday School games with your class, and remember that if you are having lots of fun with the Bible, your students will, too.