Ministry Ark Kids Resource Website Recommendation by Becky Lawrence, Youth and Kids Worker, St Mark’s MK.

 

Ministry Ark is a christian Kids ministry website with a variety of kids work resources for age 5-11’s, some of which are free and some are for sale and there is also a subscription model too.   Ministry Ark is UK based and run by Katy Herrera who has years of kids ministry experience and used to be the Childrens Ministry lead at Ivy Church, Manchester.

All of Ministry Ark’s teaching series are based around a fun theme and they creatively bring the Bible into that theme to make it relevant and accessible in a fun way.   I haven’t personally used these with my kids church yet as we’re still meeting adhoc online and in person for socials but they look really good, i’ll definitely be keeping them in the back of my mind for when our kids church starts up again.  You could use the resources as Kids Church/Sunday School material or as part of a kids midweek group or even as holiday club material.  Some of the printables could also be used for during church services or at home.

 

The free resources include colouring sheets, Bible verse printables and some of their teaching sessions and series.   I love their Bible verse printables, they are not cheesy but totally cool and some of them are suitable for youth too!

 

The themes of the free teaching series include Wrecked 2 Restored, a 5 part gospel teaching series that takes the children through the story of ‘Wreck It Ralph’ and likens it to the message of the gospel. Your children will love this fun approach to the gospel as they also learn to watch one of their favorite movies through spiritual eyes.  It includes decoration ideas, fun craft ideas, fun wrecking theme activity ideas, and 5 teaching sessions here’s the summary themes of each session:

LESSON 1: I WAS NOT MADE TO BE A WRECK    STORY: GOD CREATES ADAM AND Eve   PASSAGE: GENESIS 2  In this session your children will learn that they were not made to be wrecks, as they meet one of the main characters in ‘Wreck It Ralph;’ Vanellope.

LESSON 2: SIN WRECKS STUFF  STORY: ADAM AND EVE DISOBEY GOD  PASSAGE: GENESIS 3  There’s something a little creepy about King Candy, perhaps it’s his constant lying and deception. That’s why in this session he is compared to the devil.

LESSON 3: JESUS CAME TO RESTORE THE WRECKAGE  STORY: JESUS ON THE CROSS  PASSAGE: JOHN 19:16-37 OR LUKE 23:26-43  Children will love this session as it draws a comparison between Ralph and Jesus!

LESSON 4: JESUS DIED TO RESTORE OUR IDENTITY  STORY: BOY JESUS IN THE TEMPLE  PASSAGE: LUKE 2:41-52  Just as Ralph knew who he was, Jesus knew he was when he died for us. He died so that we might learn who we really are in him. This lesson will help children rediscover that identity.

LESSON 5: JESUS RESTORES ME   STORY: JESUS RESTORES ME  PASSAGE: JOHN 21:15-17

The other free resource teaching series include:

Mission Possible (12 sessions): is all about the mission of God.  The teaching works its way over 12 sessions from the old to the new testament focusing on Gods people and their mission.  Mission:Possible is all about encouraging children to see that they can be part of God’s mission to love people and tell them all about His love. Using stories from the past and the present Mission:Possible helps your children to see the importance of making God’s mission known. The travel themed decorations help to emphasize the fact that we must tell the world all about Jesus – and that we can even travel to do that!

 

Encounter (7 sessions) – the aim of this series is to provide opportunities for children to encounter Jesus as they learn about how seven different people encountered Jesus in the Bible and were transformed.

 

Heroes of Faith (5 sessions), a great opportunity for children to discover how some of those people found in the Bible are great Bible heroes. It aims to inspire them to realize just how they can be a hero too; by trusting God and having faith in Him.  This series is a 5 part series and is best used when combined with a SUPERHERO SUNDAY! The final session; Jesus You’re My Superhero is a great session to end on where you can invite all your children and childrens team to come dressed as Superheroes as you discuss why Jesus is the greatest Superhero!

Pirates (12 sessions) – the ‘Pirates’ teaching series uses the Joseph story in Genesis and was written by Kidz Klub UK as outreach material and as part of their intent to reach the children of the UK with the gospel. Kidz Klub ran in different churches all over the country with a passion to see families and communities transformed by Christ.

 

The 4 Points (4 sessions), this teaching series is all about helping children to understand the gospel message. It is based around the 4 Points (the4points.com). This teaching series was first used in Easter 2017 at Ivy Church in Manchester as part of a church wide series on the 4 Points. The 4 Points have given permission for Ministry Ark to produce this teaching series and we do not make a profit from advertising their merchandise. Session 1 God loves me, Session 2 I have sinned/got it wrong, session 3 Jesus died for me, session 4 I need to decide to live for God.

 

Eeeny Meenie Miney Mo (6 sessions), this teaching series is all about helping children to make well informed choices in their lives using new testament Bible references from the gospels. Every child has to make choices and will continue to do so throughout their lives. It’s so important that as Christians we learn to make choices that honour and glorify God. In this teaching series children will explore what that looks like for them in their current situation.  In a world where everyone is competing for a child’s attention, hoping to influence them in their lives, it is critical that the Church helps children to discern what the right choices look like. If children are able to make wise choices when they are young, this will set them up for a life of wise choices. A life knowing what they believe and why they believe it. Sessions: Should I follow, Should I trust, Should I help, Should we be friends, Should I give thanks, Should I share.

 

and Armour of God (6 sessions), It uses references from the book of Acts. The aim of the ‘Armor of God’ Teaching Series is to help children to understand, recognize and learn the pieces of armor and what they are for.   Yet it is much more than that, we hope that the children will allow this teaching to impact their lives practically so that they will learn that they can lift their shield, use their sword and remember their helmet and breastplate when life gets tough and the enemy attacks. We pray that it will equip them to put on their shoes and start embracing and sharing the gospel of peace.

 

Alternatively the subscription model is for people looking for more consistent help and a biblically based, fun and interactive curriculm of kids ministry.  The subscription is $29/£20 a month which gives you access to the members only teaching series’, downloads of all the JPG’s and PDF’s and private Facebook group access.  Or you can sign up for $299/£214 for a year.

 

The Ministry Ark store features games, videos and teaching series that range from $5/£3.50 an item for the games and videos to $49/£35 for some of the 3 or 4 week teaching series’.

 

You can access all of Ministry Ark’s free resources here, and join the subscription service here

 

You can also find them on Facebook as Ministry Ark and Instagram as @ministry_ark