Weekly Fun Plan: Fishers of Men

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Welcome to this week’s Weekly Fun Plan: Fishers of Men! If you haven’t already I highly recommend you read my introductory blog post “Faith-filled Fun: What Is It? And Why I Started It”. That post will give you some background into this blog and a little more in-depth explanation of my Weekly Fun Plans and how to use them.

This Week’s Theme: Fishers of Men

This week our theme is all about what it meant when Jesus told his disciples they would be “fishers of men”. Our Bible lesson will focus on answering the question “Who should I share Jesus with?”, and all our craft, snack, and activity ideas are going to focus on the theme of fishing. If you try anything in this week’s plan don’t forget to share your experiences on social media! Tag us @faithfilledfun on Instagram or use #faithfilledfun. New Weekly Fun Plans drop each Monday so stay up to date with the blog each week by subscribing to my email list!

Bible Lesson: What to Read or Watch this week

If you have younger children and haven’t already, I recommend downloading the “Bible for Kids” app from the App Store. This is a FREE app for children that uses fun moving graphics and sounds to tell them stories in the Bible. Read the stories yourself or use the audio to have them read aloud to you.

Since this week we are focusing on learning what it means to be fishers of men, here are some great resources to read/watch:

If you have young children (ages 0-8):

Read or listen to the “Journeys for Jesus” story on the Bible for Kids app OR
Watch the “Journeys for Jesus” Bible Adventure episode on YouTube. Bible Adventure is a kids-based YouTube show created by LifeKids and LifeChurch. These are the creators of the popular “YouVersion Bible” app for adults and the “Bible for Kids” app I mentioned earlier, so the episodes coordinate perfectly.

bible adventure episode journeys for Jesus

If you have older children/teens (ages 9-18):

Read Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission) to your kids or encourage them to read it during their own personal study time.

Bible Lesson: Questions to Ask Your Kids/Discuss this week

If you watched the “Journeys for Jesus” Bible Adventure episode, you’ll see the question they focus on is:

“Who should I share Jesus with?” And the answer is “Share Jesus with everyone!”

If you have little ones (ages 0-8):

I would focus on that one question this week, and work on having them memorize the answer. Ask them that same question every morning or evening and see if they can answer it.

If you have older children (ages 9-18):

Here are some additional questions you can discuss with them throughout the week:

Who in my life can I share Jesus with this week?
How/In what ways can I share Jesus with others?
Did Jesus ever say sharing the gospel would be easy?
Who can help me or who can I turn to when sharing the gospel gets hard?
Jesus shared his good news with many people in his time on earth. How did Jesus share the good news with others?
- Example answers:
  - Showed love first
  - Helped meet their needs (fed them, healed them, showed them love when no one else would, etc.)
  - Shared the good news with everyone and never judged them on the way they looked, the amount of money they had, their job or educational level, what society thought of them, etc.

Bible Lesson: Memory Verse

Memorizing scripture is such a vital skill to teach our children at a young age. Recalling and reciting scripture that they’ve memorized with help them as they grow and go through trials in life. It will also encourage them, equip them to go out and be little disciples of Jesus, and it will strengthen their own faith as they get older. However, memorizing scripture can be hard for adults to do so we often neglect to teach our kids to do it or assume they’re too young. But if your toddler can memorize the theme song to their favorite show or the steps to navigate a smartphone they absolutely have the mental capacity to memorize simple Bible verses.

This week let’s have your kids work on memorizing Mark 16:15, and if they watched the Bible Adventure episode for this week then they’ve already learned some fun motions to help them remember it. I recommend practicing reciting the verse each morning over breakfast or before they leave for school and maybe even again before bed. Make it a part of your routine and you’ll be amazed at how fast they will begin to pick it up.

mark 16:15 "go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone."

Supplies needed for this week’s activities

Here is a quick list of all the supplies that you will need in order to complete all the suggested crafts, activities, and snacks for this week’s plan. For a list of my most used craft supplies, and things I will be utilizing often in future Weekly Fun Plans be sure to check out my Links page.

And mark your calendars because Amazon Prime Big Deal Days are next week, October 10-11! Many of my frequently used craft and activity supplies are going to be on sale, so this would be a great time to stock up your craft closets!

You must be a Prime member to get in on the deals so if you aren’t already sign up today! Sign up for Amazon Prime by clicking here. And if you’re already a Prime member, check out today’s early deals here.

Snack: Pretzel Fishing Poles

After practicing your memory verse or going over the discussion questions, let your little ones have some fun fishing for their snack with these fun and easy Pretzel Fishing Poles. Follow the link for step-by-step instructions on this snack recipe.

Crafts:

For this week’s crafts, we are making Bead Fish Necklaces and Paper Plate Fish. Both crafts are sure to be a hit with your kids.

Bead Fish Necklace:

If your child loves jewelry, animals, fishing, or just being crafty in general, they’ll love this super easy Bead Fish Necklace craft. It requires very little supplies, can be personalized to each of your kids’ creative tastes, and is the perfect craft for this week.

The fish symbol is often used to represent Christianity in general as it originated as a secret symbol early Christians used to proclaim their affiliation with the faith. It can also be a reminder of the feeding of the 5,000 or Jonah stories in the Bible, and like we’re focusing on this week, it can represent our call as Christians to go and be “fishers of men”. Follow the link for easy step-by-step instructions for this craft.

Paper Plate Fish:

For our second craft this week, we’re making these adorable and colorful Paper Plate Fish. This one involves glue and can get a little more messy, but if your kids are like mine, then the messier the craft the more fun it is. Follow the link for an easy step-by-step guide.

Activities:

With our theme this week “Fishers of Men” here are a few extra ideas for activities to do with your children. Feel free to come up with your own ideas as well:

Find some sticks outside and some yarn to make your own pretend fishing poles.
Visit a local pet store or aquarium and enjoy looking at the fish.
If the weather is nice where you live, play with a pool or water table outside. Here are some fun fish toys I’ve used with my kids that they really enjoy.
Make a list of all the people in your life who you could share Jesus with.
Invite a friend to church, youth group, or a church event.

Parenting Tip of the Week:

One easy way we can help our children build a strong foundation of faith is through the music we listen to in our homes and in the car. It can be such a passive activity having music on in the background while we cook dinner, while they play with their toys, or while we drive them to school or practice, but it can make such an impact. Fill your home with praise and worship music whenever possible. You’ll see the greatest effects of this when you suddenly hear your children singing along to the words of your favorite worship song. Check out my Spotify for playlists I’ve created specifically with Christian Songs for Kids and My Current Worship Favs to play in our home!

Christian Songs for kids Spotify playlist

Prayers:

Lastly, I like to end each Weekly Fun Plan with some example prayers for your week. One is to pray with your kids, maybe before they get on the bus in the morning, before a meal, or before bed, and the other prayer is for you, the parent, to pray over your kids throughout the week.

Prayer to say with your kids this week:

Dear God, thank you for sending us Jesus! Help me to be like him as I go out and share your good news with everyone. Amen.

Prayer to pray over your kids this week:

Dear God, thank you for (child’s name) and for entrusting him/her into my care. Lord give me wisdom, patience, and compassion for him/her as I disciple him/her and prepare him/her to go out and make disciples himself/herself. Lord, give my child the courage to share your good news with everyone he/she encounters, and continue to give me the courage to do the same as I aim to set an example for him/her. In Your name, I pray, Amen.

Have an amazing week and don’t forget to subscribe to my email list and follow me on Instagram @faithfilledfun to stay up to date with the blog!