This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from purchased products at no additional cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Looking for another way to encourage children on their faith journey? Prayer stations may be a great tool for you to incorporate!
Our Sunday Schools and children’s ministries are often bustling with activities, crafts, and fun Bible stories. Passionate teachers, full of creativity, use their imaginations to bring these stories to life. And engaged teachers, well … teaching.
Looking for another way to encourage children on their faith journey? What about a change of pace? Or wondering, how do we teach our kids about prayer and worship?
Prayer stations may be a great tool for you to incorporate into your children’s programming!
So what are prayer stations?
They are like an object lesson but for everyone. They take an item or an activity to explain a Biblical truth or model a faith practice.
Get more info about prayer stations here!
Looking for a step-by-step to starting or restarting your children’s ministry?
Check out the Children’s Ministry Bundle For Small Churches!
5 Reasons Prayer Stations Are Great Tools
1. Get Out Of A Routine
- Children’s ministry can fall into a routine of opening activities, Bible stories, games, and crafts. Children thrive in routine, but I love to switch it up occasionally.
- Prayer stations are a great opportunity to mix up the usual routine, I like to have mine at the end of each quarter. That way, it is often enough to build understanding and buy-in, but not too often that I am overwhelmed with the amount of planning and creativity. Also, families and children with special needs can come to anticipate when it would take place.
- Prayer stations are meant to slow us down and give us time to reflect on our lives and create space for us to encounter the Holy Spirit, to see how God is working and moving in our lives. They guide us through a reflective pause and encourage us to take time to pray and worship Him.
2. Yield Better Results With A Hands-On Station
- What makes a prayer station? A station of prayer calls for action. Whether it’s as simple as a “write or draw out a prayer here” or an elaborate set up of work uniforms to pray for “how God can use us at work.”
- Children love hands-on learning, so the prayer station can help us create space to slow down in an exciting and engaging way.
- When leading children through prayer stations it is best to have a leader to guide them In each station or activity. Adults can be self-directed, but children need a guide.
- Interactive is just that, having the station include something to interact with. But not every station needs a bunch of items for each child. For example: if you were to do a station called “Jesus breaks our chains,” bringing in a real chain, would be awesome, but you don’t need a real chain for each child. They would get to touch the chain; feel the weight, then they could work together to build a link of a paper chain, which they could break together. This creates an interactive and personal experience for every child.
3. Inspire The WOW Factor To Create Awe
- I love when children walk into a room and say, “WOW”. Children are full of wonder, and prayer stations are a great tool to inspire and encourage them!
- When setting the prayer stations up, don’t just think about the practical needs of that station, think about the visual display. If possible: draw them in with all 5 senses.
- Cover your space with prayer. If you have volunteers helping out that morning, or a prayer team, invite them to come early and go through the stations together. This helps to not inform your leaders what happens at the station but creates space for the Holy Spirit as your team is already in a space of praise and prayer before the children arrive.
- These prayer stations are an opportunity to draw children closer to God, an intentional, guided time of worship and prayer together. It creates a “wow moment” to see how God is moving in their lives.
4. Offer Visual Reminders of God’s Truths
- Prayer stations can use simple things like coins, rocks, puzzles, leaves, Play-Doh, flowers, birds, mirrors, food, or a cross as tangible reminders.
- Simple items help to instill Biblical truths. Using these simple items means children are more likely to see that item in their daily lives. When they do, they remember the activity or Biblical truth that corresponded, allowing them to action. It could be a flower that reminds them: “God is faithful,” “God is a provider,” or of gratitude, “God thanks for this flower,” or “God thanks that you care for us.”
- Pray Stations assist our children to experience, act, and hold tangible reminders of God in their everyday lives.
Need to restock your children’s ministry craft supplies? Take a look at the list below!
- 8 x 10 artist canvas
- Decoupage glue
- Foam brush
- Glitter
- Hot glue or craft glue
- Ribbon or Jute twine
- Acrylic paint and Paintbrushes
- Felt
- Sheets of 8 ½ x 11 White cardstock
- Wide popsicle sticks and standard Popsicle sticks
- Acrylic paint
- Brown craft gift bags
- Sharpie permanent markers
5. Makes Use Of Low-Cost Items
- During the week of prayer stations, I am often found running around my home and church collecting what appears to be “random items.” It is these items and objects that make up my prayer stations.
- What I love about prayer stations is you typically have the items lying around or can be purchased at the dollar store, or in a pinch off of Amazon. And if you know your stations well enough in advance you can ask around to borrow or for donations: it may surprise you what people have lying around their homes (like a chain).
- I try to use prayer stations with items I know I have around the church, which keeps it budget-friendly. Or I will purchase an item, knowing I will use it again and again: like handheld mirrors or personal-sized whiteboards.
Add Prayer Stations To Your Small Church
Hopefully, this has inspired you to think of how you can incorporate prayer stations in your children’s ministry!
Remember: prayer stations are a tangible way to encourage, inspire, and draw us closer to God. They aren’t just for children. They can be used in almost any setting with any age of people!
Read More:
5 Helpful Tips To Plan Your First Children’s Ministry Event
