create moments where families experience truth together at church so they will continue the Christ-centered discussion at home. that is my goal of family worship. so what do you do when as a southerner you feel the weather has betrayed you for temperatures in the teens? you create your family worship around a frozen theme.
our goal in this family worship was to help families experience how sin paralyzes our lives and no matter how hard we try, we can’t rid ourselves of sin. we strived to help them understand that Jesus is the only one that can make us white as snow.
here is what our vine family worship night looked like:
– early arrival activity: as families arrived they were given instructions to write down sins they struggle with on the blank pages provided. each sin was listed on a separate sheet and then crumbled up into a paper snowball. their pile of snowballs would be used later in the family snowball fight.
- do you wanna build a snowman?: for our opening activity we provided each family a baggie that included large and small marshmallows, toothpicks, mini chocolate chips, pretzel sticks, and a paper plate. their challenge was to build the most creative snowman scene during the time allowed. (we played “do you wanna build a snowman” and told them their time was up when the song ended.) the only catch was each family member had to hold their right hand behind their back using only one hand to build their snowman scene. here is a taste of the action. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/116594721[/vimeo]
after completing the activity we had them discuss the following questions as families. 1.) what was difficult about this activity? 2.) how is this activity like how sin affects our lives? -
worship song: we then worshipped together to the song “i am free.” (here is the video we used.) before beginning the song we talked about how only Jesus makes us free from sin. (we may have also danced a little during this song. 🙂 )
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snowball fight: we divided the room in half and told families to take their “sin snowballs” to their half of the room. their goal during the next song was to get rid of their sin. we told them at the end of the snowball fight song (such a cute song by “bunch of believers) they had to make sure they had gotten rid of all their sin snowballs. here is a peek at the family snowball fight. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/116594722[/vimeo]
after the snowball fight we talked about no matter how hard they tried they couldn’t get rid of the sin on their side. i had them
grab a handful of snowballs and return to their table. as a family they looked at the sin on the snowballs and discussed the different sins listed. we looked at the passage in james 5:16 and talked about how as a family it is important to create a safe place to confess our sins to one another. then we concluded this time practicing what james 5:16 ends with – pray for one another. is their a more precious sight than families praying together?
- message: next our discipleship pastor shared a great lesson from luke 5:17-26.
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video: we then showed a great skit guys video which really drove home the point we had been sharing all night. preview or purchase it here.
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closing worship song: our final worship song was an updated version of “Jesus paid it all.” we asked each family member to hold a snowball sin in their hand during this song. as they worshipped, we challenged them to allow this song and the sin in their hand to give them a better understanding of just what Jesus did for them.
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testimony: we ended the night with our associate minister of children sharing how God unfroze His heart and he became a Christian.
vine family worships last one hour. we move quickly between each activity and we try to engage all the learning styles present. after worship is over we have family fellowship meal together. (we also set up a family photo booth with snowballs for family pictures.)
family worship has become one of my favorite times in kids ministry. oh that these conversations would continue in each family represented. i would love to hear about some of your family worship times. comment and share your favorite family worship experience.
