Here at Scripture Union, we want to help churches connect well with their local communities through intentionally building relationships in their local area. One way to do this is through holiday programmes.
Holiday programmes are a great way of providing safe and meaningful activities for children to engage with during the school holidays. They’re also a welcome relief for parents who never seem to have enough annual leave to cover all the weeks their children have off school. Whatever the reason, we consider them a valuable tool for building churches and communities, and for that building to be done together.
The benefits of running a holiday programme are numerous. Obviously, there is the kingdom building aspects of children and their families hearing about Jesus and growing in their faith.
But other benefits include growing and developing a team, growing a sense of mission and a whole church vision, making intergenerational connections within the church community, building relationships with other churches, and helping churches think about their wider approach to children and families ministry.
In this edition of the Kia Tipu (formerly WAY2GO) magazine, we will look at some of the nuts and bolts of running holiday programmes and highlight some great material you can use.
Liz Eichler
SUNZ CHILDREN AND FAMILIES TEAM LEADER
CHECK OUT OUR IDEAS! PULL IT OUT! AND PASS IT AROUND
RUNNING A HOLIDAY PROGRAMME tiPs Top10
1
Pray together. Ask God what he wants you to share from the Bible and with whom. This will bring a correct focus from the start.
2 Plan well in advance. Do your best to stick to deadlines!
3 Communicate Ensure you share, plan, and reflect together.
4 Publicise in good time. Don’t rush this, but don’t leave it too late either.
5
Build a good team. Plan together, invite people to take on specific roles and be clear about them.
6 Involve the church. Ask the church to be involved before, during and after the event.
7 Watch the children. Are they enjoying it? Are they joining in?
8 Double-check everything for safety. Consider team issues, allergies, venue, crafts, electrics,
fire, child protection, insurance, health and safety policies (all team members police checked).
9 Keep it simple and flexible. Flexibility is not a failure, it’s a strength!
10 Enjoy yourselves! Talk to the children and the team members about what they are enjoying too.
There are lots of different elements to a Holiday Programme. Some of this will depend on your budget and some on who you have in your team to lead it.
what To INclude .
R BIBLE STORIES AND HOW TO READ THE BIBLE (RESOURCES – BIBLE AND BIBLE READING GUIDES)
R TESTIMONIES
R MEMORY VERSES
R CRAFTS
R GAMES
R SINGING
R PRAYER AND RESPONSE
R SMALL GROUP TIMES
R FOOD
R NAMETAGS
R CONSIDER DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES
R DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP POLICY
Wright, N.T., (2024), God’s Big Picture Storybook, Tommy Nelson
RESOURCES
Scripture Union has lots of Holiday Programme ideas and we are here to help you, whether you’ve never run one before or you’re looking for some new material. Ask us.
DIARY OF A DISCIPLE –LUKE’S STORY
A 3-to-5day holiday club based on Luke’s Gospel. This programme makes use of the book Diary of a Disciple: Luke’s Story, which has proved really popular with children and extremely helpful in encouraging them in reading about the life of Jesus. Recognising that families have busy lives and many churches are now running shorter programmes, this resource contains material for 3 days, with a further two days material available online. $28
TEAMBUILDERS
Is a 7-day programme which includes an opening service, five days’ worth of programme and a Sweaty Church session to close. Whatever your level of sporting talent, you’ll find your place at TeamBuilders. God’s team needs everyone, along with their different gifts, to function together and discover the amazing truth about Jesus! $20
BACKPACKERS
Like TeamBuilders, there’s enough material here for a five-day programme plus opening and closing services. As they journey,
children will uncover what happened during Jesus’ final week with his friends. They’ll travel with him to Jerusalem and explore what his death and resurrection mean to people everywhere. $20 WONDERZONE
Discovering God’s wonderful world. Join the Lab and explore some great scientific discoveries. Find out who God is and how exploring science and following him can go hand in hand. Through their explorations, the children discover the wonders of the world and beyond, and how the God behind it all wants to get to know them too. $28
LOOKING FOR MORE RESOURCES AND INSPIRATION? Check out our SUNZ Children and Families blogspot and Breakthrough websites childrenandfamiliesnz.blogspot.com | sunzbreakthrough.squarespace.com
