Prayer Stations can provide an opportunity for your women to respond to God, meditate on His word, and connect with the retreat message on a deeper level. We used Prayer Stations at our retreat this fall and it was a huge hit! Today I’m going to share what we did as well as some resources for finding…
There are thousands of sites, books and ideas for prayer stations out there. Just a quick google search for “prayer stations” will bring up some great ideas. There are also Pinterest boards with ideas. Last week I decided to create a prayer station experience for our youth. I tried to focus on creating stations based...
My first resource I would like to give to you is one I wrote to round up our series on The Lord’s Prayer, so this one was set up with lots of small stations around the room so the young peopl…
Last year I was on the Women's Retreat Commitee at our church http://www.knowmercy.org . Being in theatre, I wanted to br...
This past weekend I attended a workshop on Contemplative Youth Ministry led by Marc Yaconelli (more on this event to come later this week.) As part of the...
The first Sunday of Advent, my church has interactive prayer stations, an opportunity to engage, reflect, and meditate on this period of expectation, waiting, and preparation for the birth of Chri…
ok..i've been rather slow in getting into lent this year...started out ok...but due to work and travel, my rhythm hasn't been it's best. maybe that's true for you too. the grace factor is that lent used to just be the...
ok..i've been rather slow in getting into lent this year...started out ok...but due to work and travel, my rhythm hasn't been it's best. maybe that's true for you too. the grace factor is that lent used to just be the...
6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. (Luke 2.6) The first Sunday of Advent, my church has interactive prayer stations, an opportunity to engage, reflect, and meditate on…
Activities with M&Ms for an ice breaker or a guided prayer time. Perfect for any kind of group! Printables include blank templates for you to customize.
Prayer games provide a way for kids to learn about prayer and grow in their faith. Kids' prayers typically come in different games designed for different age ranges, but all students should be
A touching film illustrating the importance of making new friends - at any age.
Activities with M&Ms for an ice breaker or a guided prayer time. Perfect for any kind of group! Printables include blank templates for you to customize.
The following prayer stations are from an Advent Worship Experience we hosted a few years ago. They are meant to be self-directed and allow students to move from one station to the next in no parti…
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If you are looking for an active, kinaesthetic, way of praying in a small group or even with the whole congregation, then this might be for you! You will need: A collection of buttons of different shapes, sizes and colours- at least one button for each person praying. Give everyone a button. Feel the hardness of the button and think about people who are going through hard times. Ask God to help them. Buttons are used to fasten clothes together. Ask God to bring together people who have fallen out and moved apart from each other. Pray that He will bring peace. Look at your button and see how many holes it has. Think of that number of things you would like to say thank you to God for and say Thank you prayers. Look at the colour of the button and say thank you to God for something that is that colour Find someone who has the same colour button as you. You might want to make a small group of people with the same colour. Say thank you to God for families. Ask God to bless them and help them to live together and to love each other. Find someone who has a different button to you- it could be different in shape, size or colour. Thank God for making everyone different and giving us all different gifts. Pray for the person you have found. Ask Them what they would like God to help them with.
1 Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. (Luke 4.1) Lent is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on one’s spiritual and fai…
In this article we will take a look at the different types of prayer in the Bible. Yes, there is more than one type! Plus a free PDF you can download to help you study
Is there a right way to pray to God? Find the right prayer methods for how God designed you and learn how to pray to God effectively.
Download a free Examen prayer card to guide you through a prayerful review of your day.
For Christians, Advent is a season of preparation and waiting. Advent prayer stations are a great way to keep kids focused on the real meaning of the Christmas season.
Gearing up for Valentine’s Day? Need an idea for a themed worship experience or youth group gathering? We’ve got you covered with this set of prayer stations centered around the five Gr…
Tonight, after our worship at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall during our soup supper (please know you are invited to join us!), we will be moving upstairs to the sanctuary for a time of self directe…
Consider sponsoring a future pilgrimage for young adults to deepen their spirituality by experiencing the global faith community in Geneva, Switzerland, and Taize, France. The first step is to send…
These prayer stations were part of an experiential worship gathering we hosted for our high school youth. The theme was, “New Year… Now What?” and focused on making this new year …
Learn different ways on how to propagate prayer plants (maranta plants) along with pictures to guide you through the process.
Object lessons are the perfect way to teach kids about complex or hard to understand concepts in the Bible. Jesus almost did the same thing...
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Pt. 2 "MY FIRST WEDNESDAY NIGHT" Tonight was my first night with the youth group at Hermitage UMC. It actually went really well. On Monday I met with our Christian Ed. Director, Linda, who told me that she was planning on doing an Advent program for tonight that was going to be intergenerational. She wanted it to be based around the music of Advent. So I told her that I would be in charge of shaping it into a more experiential alt. style worship time. Linda was excited because she said that many of the people at Hermitage had not experienced something like this before and that it would be really new for them. Well that may have made her excited, but I was nervous. We called the experience THE WALK OF THE MAGI based around the idea that the magi must have travelled a really long time following the star before they made it to the house of the Christ child. They really had no idea where they were going, they just simply followed the star. We had A LOT of youth there and a great mix of adults, as well. So we began with Linda talking about what Advent is. Then I invited them to the first prayer room: EXPERIENCE 1: “THE TIME IS NEAR” 1. First two stanzas of “People, Look East” UMH 202 is sung 2. Reading: Isaiah 40: 1-11 3. Experiental Meditation 4. Last 2 stanzas of “The Time is Near” is sung 5. As people exit they take a glow in the dark star EXPERIENCE 1: “THE TIME IS NEAR” PRAYER STATION Items needed: roll of newsprint, markers, plastic glow in the dark stars Invite participants to make a list of all the things they have to “get done” between now and Christmas… they should write directly onto the newsprint anywhere they want. Once they have finished that list they should then make a new list- one that lists things that they might do to prepare for Christ’s arrival- prayer, fasting, serving the poor, etc… etc… As they leave the experience invite them to take a plastic glow in the dark star as a symbol throughout Advent that God has called them to follow the star. NEXT WE MOVED TO THE SECOND PRAYER ROOM: EXPERIENCE 2: “SEND YOUR WORD, O LORD” 1. First two stanzas of “Send Your Word” UMH 195 is sung 2. Reading: Psalm 85: 1-2, 8-13 3. Experiential Meditation 4. Last 2 stanzas of Send Your Word sung. 5. Magi leads everyone out of experience and to continue following the star EXPERIENCE 2: “SEND YOUR WORD, O LORD” PRAYER STATION Items needed: sharpy markers and plastic glow in the dark stars from first station. At this station the practice of Lectio Divina will the central activity. Allow the participants a few minutes to center in, and then 1. read the scripture passage slowly once and invite the participants to listen for a word or phrase that jumps out at them. Ask them to then simply to “hang out with that word or phrase”. 2. Read the passage again and this time ask them to imagine a life experience where that word or phrase is involved- what do they see, hear, feel, taste, smell? 3. Read the passage again and ask them to simply ask God to give them insight on how they might live out this word or phrase during Advent. 4. Invite them to write their word or phrase on their star and to take it with them. THEN WE MOVED BACK INTO THE YOUTH AREA FOR OUR FINAL PRAYER EXPERIENCE: EXPERIENCE 3: “O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL 1. First two verses of “O come, O come, Emmanuel” UMH 211 sung 2. Reading: 2 Peter 3: 8- 15 3. Experiential Meditation 4. Sharing of experience along with joys and concerns 5. Closing Benediction EXPERIENCE 3: “O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL PRAYER STATION Items needed: playdough Invite participants to imagine what they hope the world to be like one day. Using clay invite them to create a symbol of their hope for the world. It ended up going very well and I was really impressed at how receptive the youth were to the contemplative aspect of what we did. I ended by relating the magi journey to our journey together- that none of us knows quite where God is going to lead us but that we're all on this journey together and that's part of the fun (and anxiety) of being where we are in this. I'm really looking foward to Sunday night and getting to know them all a bit more. shalom jonathon
Taking care of children sometimes feels super overwhelming. What is the Catholic perspective on the duties of motherhood? I found out for you!
Two weeks ago our Bible Study Facilitator asked if someone in our group would open in prayer. At first there was an awkward silence, but once she admitted she didn’t like to pray out loud a chorus of women echoed her sentiment. Just as I was about to volunteer another woman stepped up. Ya’all, this…
I think a true sign of genius is recognizing a brilliant idea when one of your friends comes up with it, and then immediately incorporating it into your life. I’m about to do that here. As ma…
How do you help kids to pray more than rote words or “God bless my puppy”? Prayer Stations are helpful to show kids ways to pray and to keep them focused.
Blogging about our Faith, Family, Homeschooling, and the Birthday Cakes I've made for my children. (aka: cupcakes)