Teaching a lesson on the Great Commission is more meaningful when you end it with an opportunity for children to go and tell the good news! We often need to look beyond the words of our teaching manuals to provide creative experiences that make the message stick.
Rock painting had just emerged as a new craze when our kid’s club was beginning a study on Christ’s final instructions to His disciples. I saw it as the perfect avenue for our children to offer words of life to the people of our community. We planned a field trip to a nearby park for the week following our lesson on the Great Commission. After studying, discussing, and reflecting on how the scripture applied to us, I revealed my plan to the children. We would place messages of God’s good news all around a nearby park and pray for those who would find them.
At the art table, children chose from an array of paint pens and colored permanent markers to decorate smooth rocks. I challenged them to create designs that communicated God’s gift of love and grace. They wrote “John 3:16” on the back of each rock.
When the children completed their projects, we gathered to talk about our mission. We prayed the rocks would fall into the hands of people who needed to hear the good news. We prayed the messages would lead individuals to discover the truth of John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Rock painting is still popular today. It’s always a delight to discover a painted rock tucked beside the steps leading to the library or soaking up the sun in a hospital’s flower bed. With just a few craft supplies, children can be on the giving end of this joyful, gospel-spreading experience!
I LOVE this! I think this will be the craft we do in my third grade classroom next week!