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Testimony - Session Plan for Children & Young People

Notes for Leaders

  • Create a safe space for the conversation.
  • Be aware that sharing stories can leave people feeling vulnerable.
  • Ensure that everyone is given an opportunity to contribute to the session, but don't force anybody to speak if they are not comfortable.

Introduction - A Story to Tell (5-10 minutes)

Begin the session with one of the leaders telling a story. It doesn't have to be faith-related, but should be interesting or entertaining. It could be something you have read in the news, or a popular children/youth story.

Discussion

  1. Did you like the story?
  2. What kept you interested?
  3. How did it make you feel? Why?

Ask everyone to share a story they remember; maybe a story they have never forgotten.

Questions

  1. What was the story?
  2. Why have you remembered it? Was it to do with the content, or the time, or place?
  3. How did it make you feel?

Activity - Open the Bible (7 minutes)

Choose an appropriate Bible story for your group in advance.

Ask the group to work in pairs or threes to read the story to each other. Then ask them to retell the story to the other groups in their own words.

You can make it challenging by setting a word count or time limit to the retelling.

Activity - Why Should We Share God's Story? (10 minutes)

Suggested Bible passages:

  • Isaiah 52:7
  • Isaiah 61:1
  • Mark 1:1
  • Mark 1:14
  • Matthew 9:35
  • Luke 4:43
  • Romans 10:17

Discussion

  1. Which words leap out at you?
  2. What questions do these passages raise for you?
  3. How do these passages help answer the question of why we should be sharing the story of God?

Activity - Talking About God (7 minutes)

Create a continuum by labelling one end of the room Easy and the other end Difficult. Ask the young people to place themselves on the line in response to the question.

Do you find it easy/difficult to talk about God with:

  • Close friends?
  • People at school?
  • Family?

Where is it easy/difficult to talk about God?

  • Church
  • Youth group
  • Online
  • At a sleepover

Discuss why people have stood where they have.

Activity - What's the Story? (7 minutes)

Draw a figure in the middle of a large piece of paper (ideally flip-chart size) that vaguely looks like Jesus.

As a group, decide on 20 words that you think are important in retelling the story of Jesus and write those words around the figure.

Give everyone a piece of A4 paper and ask them to draw themselves in the middle. Around the outside they should write down the 20 words that describe their story with God.

Activity - How to Tell the Story (10 minutes)

Ask the young people to list the pros and cons of the following approaches:

  1. Your church hires a football stadium for an event with big bands and people talking about God in their lives.
  2. Two people stand on a street corner telling everyone to repent.
  3. You keep a vlog of your Christian story and invite friends to view it.
  4. You take photos of poor people you have helped and post them on social media.
  5. A church noticeboard says: "People who believe in God live in here."
  6. You invite friends round to preach to them.
  7. A friend is having a difficult time and you ask if you can pray for them.
  8. You send Christmas cards featuring the Nativity to non-Christian friends.
  9. The Christian Union hosts a "Grill a Christian" event.
  10. While chatting with friends in a park, it naturally comes up that you are a Christian.

Activity - Go Forth (2 minutes)

Challenge the group to:

  1. Use their chosen approach to share where God is in their story.
  2. Come back together and discuss what it was like to share their story.

Activity - Pray (5 minutes)

Pray together as a group asking God to open opportunities to share your story and to give you the courage to do so when those opportunities arise.