Picturing Jesus: Children's bulletin ideas for Lent

Some parents asked our Worship Ministry team to consider ways of drawing children into our worship services, and as a parent of two school-aged daughters and a toddler, I concurred. When I read the Lenten series “Picture Jesus” (RW 54; also available here ), it struck me that the article and the artwork would lend themselves quite well to a kids’ bulletin series. Our pastor had planned on preaching a series in Lent concerning the questions that Jesus asked during his ministry. Interestingly, almost all the Scripture texts in the series prepared by Howard Vanderwell and Norma deWaal Malefyt contained some of Christ’s most poignant questions, so the two series blended together well.

The large boxes at the top of each bulletin contained dot-to-dot puzzles, which were simplified versions of the artwork by Paul Stoub in RW 54. Churches who plan to use that artwork for bulletin covers or banners will find these puzzles an excellent visual connector for the children to have in their own bulletins.

A number of parents expressed their gratitude to the worship ministry for providing kids’ bulletins that actually drew their children into the service rather than distracting them from it. As one mother said, “I know they’re aimed at younger kids, but my junior high kids are using them as well . . . it’s great to see them looking up things in their Bibles!” The biggest encouragement came from the children, who began to rely on the bulletins being there for them on Sunday mornings. It is just one of the ways we can let our covenant children know they are welcome participants in our worship services.

Besides RW 54, the resources I used to create these bulletins were the Psalter Hymnal, the Bible (NIV), Microsoft Encarta, The New Handbook of the Christian Year (Hickman, Saliers et. al.), and Webster’s Dictionary.

You can find a complete set of these children’s bulletins here.

However, the dot-to-dot drawings are not included there. Please create them from the art in RW 54, pp. 10–15.

Della Stroobosscher is a member of the worship ministry of Waterloo Christian Reformed Church, Waterloo, Ontario.

 

Reformed Worship 58 © December 2000 Worship Ministries of the Christian Reformed Church. Used by permission.