This is a super simple craft idea, but it takes a little concentration to pull off. Like so many things about the Body of Christ, the best picture is only revealed when every part is precisely where it should be.
This is probably the most traditional of crafts for making a moving body – using split pins!
These are the Character resources provided for: The Body (1 Corinthians 12).
For each passage, there is a collectable card alongside high-quality character images and a colouring page. All other graphics are extra’s!
Click on the images below to see a larger version. Save the images by right click + ‘save image as’ (computers) OR long press + ‘save image’ (mobile).
These images are NOT copyright free.
These resources are provided for personal/classroom use only.
Use can use them for teaching, games, publicity, decor, big screen presentations, flannelgraphs, stickers, or any other non-commercial activity in your church, school, home, or organised group.
You may not use them in products you are going to sell – both printed and digital, or to upload the original images online, on websites, social media or in YouTube videos.
Any questions, please reach out to me using the contact page link at the end of the page.
It’s easy to get lost in feeling you aren’t an important part of a congregation, that’s even more true for kids who often don’t have numerous hands-on skills they can offer. Paul’s passage on the body of believers is a great way of reminding everyone that not all jobs are glamorous and that each part, whether it’s a leading or supporting or a needing support role, is an essential part.
This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.
Main Passage :1 Corinthians 12
Paul stared at the passage of writing. The letter to the Corinthians was getting long, but it was all important stuff they needed to hear. He had just finished the bit about how God gives us different gifts, and now he had to find a way of explaining how those gifts worked together.
Paul looked around for something he could use as a symbol. The curtains needed the window. The lamp needed the oil. The plants needed the rain and sun and soil… nothing was quite working. He tried again. His pen needed ink and a hand to hold it and an arm to move it and eyes to see… wait this could work! He put the pen down and looked at his reflection in the basin. Then, he rushed to the table to start writing…
The body has many parts, but it’s still one body, just like the Church has many members but is still one church.
Imagine if a foot said it didn’t belong to the body because it wasn’t a hand! Doesn’t that sound silly? How would we walk without feet?
Imagine if an ear said it wasn’t part of the body because it wasn’t an eye! How would we hear?
If the whole body was nothing but ears, how would we smell? If the whole body was eyes, how would we hear? The body needs many different parts.
God has arranged the body so that we can all work together. The eyes can’t say they don’t need the ears. The hands can’t say to the feet that they don’t need them. Our churches are not places for being exclusive and only gathering people who are the same, but inclusive where we love the differences that others bring. We need each other to be the whole body.
When we work together, it changes how we treat each other too. If one person suffers, we all suffer. It’s the same when we get hurt. If you cut your foot, then the body is hurt even if your arm is fine. If you win an award for your drawing, your whole body is honoured and rejoices, not just your hands.
God has put the body together so that there would be no division in the body and that the members would all value each other. We all have different roles to play. Some roles are more important than others, but that doesn’t mean that the smaller roles aren’t important too. Without them, the body, as God designed it to be, would be incomplete.
The body of believers is a great lesson in including all, valuing all, accepting all, and working together to build a community that reflects God’s heart. These lessons all tie into the passage found in 1 Corinthians 12 in slightly different ways, allowing kids to move and experience the power of Paul’s words.
Hindered movement
All Ages
Small group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Get the youngsters to complete a task while hindered. Tie their leg to a partner’s then walk across the room. Tie their arms together then get them to open a packet, have them tie a shoe blindfolded. Write their name in flour using their nose.
Link: When one part of our body is hindered, it has an effect on the rest.
Building a church
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
Give the children a few wooden shapes used for building patterns. Ask them to make a person from just the shapes they have. Talk about how limiting it is to work with so few shapes. Now ask the children to put all their shapes together and repeat, discuss how much easier it was with more shapes.
Link: The church grows with diversity.
Musical identification
Ages 7+
Small group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
Play a piece of music for the children. Get them to identify the instruments used. If you can source real instruments for props or use photo’s.
Link: Talk about how the combination of instruments makes the piece sound good.
Clay men
All Ages
Small group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
Take some clay and shape it into a humanoid shape. Pass the man around, getting each child to break off a small piece. As each child takes a piece, get them to tell you what the man couldn’t do now that he’s missing the piece they took.
Link: We suffer when one part is missing.
Kingship is quite a simple concept to describe to children on one level. It’s the idea that one person has the authority to make decisions for others. Like so many things, Jesus turns this Kingship idea on its head. By the time we reach the passage with Pilate, it certainly doesn’t feel like a very kingly setting. Jesus is seen at one of the weakest moments, he’s arrested, questioned like a criminal, and about to be sentenced to die by the brutal execution process of crucifixion. It may seem tempting to act out this passage, but playing the role of one who thought they had authority over Jesus, or Jesus himself, is a lot for anyone to take on. These games skit the passage, look at it sideways and spark conversations.
Who am I?
Ages 7+
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
Also known as the Sticky Note game. Write the name of someone the child will know and stick it to their forehead. The child then has to guess who they are by asking questions that can only be answered with a yes or no.
Link: Pilate was trying to work out who Jesus was.
Sticky crowns
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Give each team one hat and one roll of sticky tape. The “crown” must be worn by one player. The aim is to attach as many different things to the crown as possible. At the end of the game, each king or queen must walk a full circle of the room before the teams are scored.
Link: Jesus’s crown was unexpected for a king.
Card circles
All Ages
Big group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Mix up one suit from a pack of playing cards and have the children make a circle, so each card gets progressively bigger. (Aces beat kings but are beaten by 2s.) Do this either as a timed race or by giving each child a card and standing in a circle.
Link: The Sunday of “Christ the King” is the last Sunday in the Church year, forming a circle that never ends.