50 Church Fundraiser ideas!

A few weeks ago, I made a "Faithful" Family Feud church game and asked 50 questions.  One of them was about fundraisers you do in your church.  I got such a plethora of answers, and I have seen the question posted (What fundraisers does your church do?) over and over again in multiple Educator facebook groups; that I decided to write a blog with all the ideas I received!  I also went through all the groups I'm in and got past answers and ideas.  Maybe one of these will spark a new idea for your church!

1.  Selling pine needles - this was big in one of my churches in NC for a number of years.  It requires a lot of volunteers, it goes on for months, but it yielded $10,000.  If you can get the manpower, it's a great option.

2. Baked goods sale - this was a hugely popular one, but when I've done it in the past, it didn't bring in tons of money.  Coupling it with another fundraiser would be a good idea.

3.  Spaghetti dinner/Dinner/Chili cook off - This was also a top answer.  I turned the spaghetti dinner into a meatball cook off at one church and this was a lot of fun!  Each table had a different crockpot with meatballs and you could go around and try each one.  You had to pay to eat, plus there were cans at each table where you used "coins" to vote for the meatballs you liked best - so a double whammy ;)  I thought "meatballs" were more kid friendly than chili - and not as spicy lol.  It ended up being a pretty good fundraiser and we gave the winner a donated giftcard to an Italian restaurant :) 

4.  Bridge Tournament - Ok, this may sound weird, but bear with me!  I heard about this somewhere and attempted it at one of my churches.  If Bridge is popular where you are (this may go over better in the south?), this is a very simple fundraiser and you make quite a bit of money.  You need an organizer that knows how Bridge is played, then you need to get volunteers to provide some yummy finger foods.  Find a nice venue (someone's house?  church?) and buy a couple of prizes for first and second place.  You charge $25 per person ($50 per team), so you earn $100 per table.  In our small-ish church, I think we had 6 tables playing so we earned $600 (minus $50 for the prizes we bought).  It was very little set up and preparation, it only lasted a few hours and there was very little clean up.  So, we earned $550 for 2-3 hours of work :)  If you have a larger church, you could easily double that!

5.  Car Wash - This was another top answer.  I'm not sure this yields much money, but it's popular and the kids/youth enjoy doing it :) lol  Saw one church actually did this during the church service.

6.  Garage sale/Rummage Sale - I'll admit.  I hate these lol.  It's SOOOO much work and preparation and sometimes you make hardly anything.  One church I worked at collected items all year and spent the entire week leading up to the sale preparing items.  They earned $5000-6000 so I guess it was worth it - but I can think of funner ways to earn that much lol.

7.  Pancake Dinner/Breakfast - this was the last suggestion that got more than five votes.  I've also done this before.  Like the spaghetti dinner, it's easy prep work and not tons of clean up.  Depending on how many you serve, this can be a pretty productive fundraiser - especially if you pair with another (like the car wash or yard sale so they eat while they are already there).

8.  Wall of Envelopes/Wall o Money - I've seen this done and, believe it or not, it's pretty effective.  We needed to fundraise for a mission trip and our organizer put up envelopes all over a bulletin board with items that we would need to purchase for the trip.  So, some envelopes said $10 Hammer, or $50 paint can, etc.  It was a great visual and people felt like they were contributing "things" and not just money.  For the first couple of years, this worked really well.

9.  Church Cookbook

10.  Flamingo Flocking - I have always wanted to do this! 😂 But I'm weird like that ;) lol  I saw one church did it with a pink toilet ;)

11.  Pumpkin Patch

12.  Auction/Silent Auction

13.  Other Food sales - Boston Butt, Soup, fudge, fish fry, bar-b-que, tacos (this probably depends on your region)

14.  Carnival - Could pair this with an activity you already do - like maybe your fall festival?

15.  Special Offering - some churches skip fundraisers and just ask for a special offering for things they need.  I saw one church who used to do a special offering for their family mission trip.  The kids would dress up in their past tshirts and walk around with big orange work buckets asking for money.  Worked pretty well :) 

16.  Children's camp/VBS - evidently some churches use profits from these camps as a fundraiser!

17.  Escape Room - this is something I wanted to do (and I've seen others talk about doing something similar), but then COVID got in the way and I never followed through.  I've written many religious escape rooms and they aren't too hard to set up (etsy link to bundle of 6 non-holiday escape rooms).  I wrote a Christmas one and wanted to set up one of our rooms at the church just for this.  Families/small groups (no more than 8-10) could sign up during the week or on the weekend to complete the escape room together.  Escape rooms tend to charge around $20 per person.  I was going to charge half that - $10 per person and then some kind of discount for a group of ten (like a maximum of $75?).  They get one hour to "escape".  If you were open 5 hours a week for 3 weeks, you could potentially make $1000.  It costs around $50 max to set up (and that's if you buy all the bells and whistles).  

18.  Christmas Store for kids - I started doing this with the kids at our church and community, because their schools stopped doing it.  They had no where to buy gifts for their families and friends!  I bought items on sale after christmas (and throughout the year) and then sold them the next year.  I didn't do it as a fundraiser - I just did it to help out our kids - but you could easily bump up the price 50 cents-$1 on items and make some money.

19.  Selling flowers - One church talked about getting flowers/hanging baskets at wholesale from a local greenhouse and they sold them at the end of August as a fundraiser.

20.  Fellowship nights - I wrote a blog of over 20 ideas for intergenerational fellowship activities.  You could charge for basically any of these and turn it into a fundraiser!  (paint night, movie night, etc!)

21.  Restaurant nights - many local restaurants are now offering 20% or so of the proceeds for one evening when people go there from your church.  Just an FYI, we took a mission trip to Peru and did one of these nights at a peruvian restaurant.  After talking with the owner (who was peruvian and was so on board with what we were doing), he ended up giving us 100% of the proceeds!  Not everyone will be this generous, but maybe try and look for restaurants that may be connected with what you're fundraising for.

22.  Coffee bar/breakfast on Sunday mornings

23.  5k Fun Run

24.  Easter "Egging" - This was by far my FAVORITE fundraiser I've ever done - because it was also an outreach <3  (see my blogpost about it for more details).  For $10 we hid a dozen stuffed eggs in someone's yard for you.  For $20 we did 2 dozen and $30 we did 3 dozen.  We gave lots of options - you could ask for only candy or only prizes (we had some with special diets), we offered baskets instead of hiding them, and for an extra $5 we would hide them Easter Eve (otherwise we delivered them the week before Easter).  We tried this during Covid, we didn't advertise much, and it was our first year.  Without really trying, we made $500!  And neighbors bought for neighbors, elderly members bought for grandkids, kids bought for grandparents, elderly bought for elderly!  It was so beautiful!  And I loved delivering them :) This was our sign up that we used if you'd like to see how we did it.  You can't see the actual sign up, but you can read our instructions.

25.  M&M tubes - A few churches said they've handed out M&M mini tubes and asked people to eat the snack, then return the empty container with quarters!  A word of caution from one Educator - do this with adults - not youth and kids (otherwise you'll get way more eaters than donaters! 😂) lol

26.  Pie in the face - the ever popular pie in the face fundraiser (or something similiar).  You put a jar out for different staff people and see who raises the most money in their jars.  Whoever does, gets a pie in the face ;)

27.  Grocery stores - I know many stores do this for schools and evidently some do it for churches or other organizations.  You connect your grocery card to an organization and part of the proceeds go to that place.

28.  Photo Shoots - if you have a professional photographer in your church willing to donate a few hours, you could offer some time slots for a price and the pics get emailed to them.

29.  Sponsor a child - (this is great for trips)

30.  Advent Boxes - many give these out to families, but you could make it a fundraiser as well!  Especially if your church does a holiday bazaar!

31.  Golf Tournament/Golf Scramble

32.  Rock-a-thon - This is another one I always wanted to do, but it never got off the ground.  It is SOOO simple and raises quite a bit of money.  It's like any other "a-thon" except it's rocking chairs :)  You form teams of 4 people and for 2 hours, one person in your group HAS to have their butt in the chair and be rocking :)  Each member of the group is asked to raise $50 worth of sponsors so each group raises a minimum of $200.  Each team gets a section of the room to decorate and there is a theme (sports teams, Bible stories, Book characters, etc).  People can go around and vote (with coins) for the best "decked out" rocking chair space and costumes :)  My old church does this and they earn $2-3000 EASY.  And it's only 2 hours of your time! no set up or clean up.  They did it after church one sunday and included a bake sale/lunch that could be bought.  Seriously great fundraiser that any age could do!

33. Movie Theater fundraiser - many theaters will let you rent out one theater for an evening.  You can pick the movie.  We did this and it cost around $500 or so for the theater.  The theater sat close to 100 people so if you charge $5 a ticket you break even.  If you charge $7 a ticket and sell them all, you make a profit.  Our local schools did this as well.  We didn't do it as a fundraiser for our church and ended up losing $150 or so - but we did it as an outreach and didn't charge that much.  At our theater, they also allowed you to sell snacks and baked goods outside the theater!

34.  Parent Night out - we started this right before COVID as an outreach and we were breaking even every night - even after feeding the kids pizza and paying for childcare!  I think you could definitely make this a fundraiser.

35.  Church shirts - We bought 50 long sleeve shirts with our church logo on it.  We bought them for $10 each and sold them for $20 each.  We sold almost all of them!  My only bit of advice is to buy more XL's than you think :) lol  

36.  Kids' consignment sale - a lot of work, but can be very profitable.

37.  Asking for donations but use a visual - The visual reminder and motivation always helps - We had a quarter tube that was 3 feet tall at our VBS to raise money for Heiffer International and the kids LOVED dropping the quarters in the tubes and begged their parents for quarters :)  I've also seen thermometers on the wall to measure how much they've raised, pie charts, etc.

38.  Soup in a jar kits/Cookies in a jar kits - kids and youth can help put these together!  Great Christmas gifts!

39.  "Noisy offering" - a few churches have posted about this and it sounds like a fun idea :)  If you are raising money for the kids' ministry, you give the kids metal cans (with lids) and have them go around and collect "noisy" money from the congregants...all the while shaking their cans! 😂  Those that have done this say the kids LOVE making all the noise and the adults enjoy it as well (and they raise quite a bit!).

40.  Selling boxed lunches after church for people to take home

41.  "A-thons!" - fish, verse, hymn, bike, etc.

42.  Raffle

43.  Trivia Night

44.  Youth wrapping Christmas fundraiser

45.  Art Auction - ages preschool - ?? can participate!  One church raised over $10,000 with this!

46.  Superbowl Sunday  - make and take pizzas or subs

47.  Selling stock - youth fundraiser

48.  Go Fund me if you're raising money for a particular object/trip.

49.  Raking leaves or other service project.

50.  Strange but easy and effective fundraiser - selling bottles of water for $1 before and after the service!

I challenge you to look through the list and see which ones you could pair together!  For example, for Superbowl Sunday, you could meet right after church to do the "rock a thon" - and make it a sports team theme where everyone decorates their area with their fave sports team.  Then, have a sub make and take where they can eat it there and/or take some with them for the big game!  Add in selling waters and a bake sale for dessert and you've got 4 fundraisers at the same time! :) :) 

Hope this helps someone!!  Thanks for all the ideas! :) 

30 Religious (and non-religious) ACTIVE ice breakers to use at church!

 

When you're gathering as a large group, opening your children's church, starting your Sunday school, or beginning your mid-week kids' group, it's nice to start with an icebreaker to warm your kids up.  It helps to get them talking - not just with you, but with one another.  There are a lot of icebreaker ideas out there, but many are "sit down".  So, I've gone on a search for ACTIVE ones.  Why?  because when they first arrive, they usually come with an abundance of energy! lol  But I did throw in a few sit down ice breakers at the end.  Some of these are secular, some are religious, and some could be both depending on how you play.  Many of the religious items need to be put together beforehand, which I've done for you if you'd like to purchase them.  There are 5 and you can get them all in my TPT store!

If you have others to add, comment below and share!

1.  Scavenger Hunt - Now, I don't mean take them outside, or through the church.  This is a hunt right there in the room.  Think about the story that you will be studying, and then print out pics or write words that have to do with the story.  Maybe 10-20.  Hide them all around the room before the kids arrive and tell them they have 5-10 minutes to find them all!  If you teach the kids a memory verse, you could hide all the words around the room.  Then, when they find them, see if they can help you put them in the correct order!  Need some help thinking of good hiding places?  Here are some...inside or under a plant, rolled up and taped on the pull cord of the curtains, under a lamp, taped to the underside of a table/chair, inside a lamp shade, taped to a picture frame.  taped to a string that is behind a frame and then attach a piece of paper that says "pull me", taped to the back of a door, on a window, or if you have a mic stand, under the stand.

2.  Speed Centers - This can be a religious activity or not - depending on your questions.  It's more of a "get-to-know-you" activity.  Divide your group into small groups of 5-8 (if your group is already small, just have one group).  Set up enough centers around the room so that each small group is at one.  I would say a minimum of 4 centers.  At each center there is a list of 5 questions that they each have to answer in 3 minutes.  They can't think about their answer - just go around the circle and say it quickly!  If you have bigger groups and need more time, then do 4 minutes.  Once their 3 minutes is up, call time and "Rotate!".  Count down from 5 and they have to hurry to the next center as the 3 minute timer will start when you get to 0!  When they've hit every center, call them together and give them a little quiz to see how well they were listening.  Can they remember their friends answers to any of the questions at each center?  If you'd like some example questions, they are included in my TPT bundle (5 questions for 5 centers - at least one religious question at each one)

3.  Line up - This is a popular game that is on everyone's list of icebreakers.  But I've seen a lot of new variations and added a few of my own.  Maybe you can think of some new ways as well!  Basically, you tell your group to line up in a specific way - by birthdate, month, year, height, etc.  But they can't talk.  We've probably all played that at some time :)  But here are some new ways to play it - 1.  blindfold a few of your kids and those kids can talk.  2.  add in some new questions - how many cousins they have, how many times they've (fill in the blank), the number of times they've moved, etc.  

4.  Bible Pairs - As everyone comes in, give them a Bible name.  You can just hand it to them, write it on a nametag, tape it to them...whatever!  Once you have everyone there, tell them to find their pair!  Take it up a notch, and have them look up their pair in the Bible and tell the group about them :)  I have included a list of Bible pairs you could use in my TPT bundle.  There are 17 pairs of people or things in my document.  In addition, I added a twist and put a 3rd word with each pair that you can write and tape up around the room.  Once everyone has successfully found their pair, then instruct the duo to find the word on the wall that fits into their Bible story!  Have some Bibles handy in case they need them :) 

5.  Write a story - This isn't as active, but sounds like fun :)  Write a prompt up on the board and tell each child as they come in, to add only FOUR words to the story.  Once everyone has arrived, read the story :)  Here are some prompts you could start with...(these are all religious ideas)          "One day, Jesus was on his way to the next city to preach, when he..."  "After David knocked down Goliath with his stones, he ..."   "A modern day parable - Love your neighbor:  I walked out of my house to get on the school bus when all of a sudden..."

6.  Get to know you BINGO - This is very popular and I'm sure everyone has used this at some point.  you can find lots of versions online to print out for free.  I have made one that is more religious if you'd like to use it.  

7.  Also, I created a Bingo game RACE where the kids have to start at the beginning of their game board and proceed in order to the end.  Whoever gets to the end first wins :)  This can be bought separately or in the bundle.

8.  This or That - this is another popular game you can find all over pinterest.  Ask your kids random questions of things they like better - this or that.  Or, use this "Would you Rather" game I made - Bible version! :) Divide the room into two parts and assign one half to "this" and "that".  I changed it up a little and created a fun, random Bible trivia game called A or B - where they have to decide what the answer is and then go to that side of the room.  The catch is, they most likely won't know the answers :)  These are weird, random, questions that I made up like:  Which is heavier?  A. the stone rolled away from Jesus' tomb or B. a hippo? :)  You can make it an elimination game and those that guess right stay in and continue.  The game goes so quickly no one is sitting out very long.

9.  Never have I ever - This has been around for a while, but it's always a group favorite!  For young children, the idea of saying something you HAVEN'T done and then answering in the affirmative may be confusing.  So, you can tell the person in the middle to say something they have done, and if those seated have also done, they get up and switch seats.

10.  Human Knot - I played this game when I was in youth group :)  If you have a large group, divide up into small groups of 7-10.  You all stand in a circle and then everyone reaches out and grabs someone else's hands (but you can't hold both hands of the same person).  Now you're all tangled up and you have to undo your knot!  It's actually possible!

11.  Hula Hoop Pass - This is another circle game.  Everyone stands in a circle and holds hands.  Two people let go of their hands and you put a hula hoop on them.  They link hands again and then you pass the hula hoop around without anyone letting go.  Have them go around the circle once and time them.  See if they can beat their record.  If you have a big group, divide into two groups and compete!

12.  Pass the gift - Wrap a small giftbox (has to fit in one hand) and have everyone stand in a circle.  Pass the gift behind your backs while someone stands in the middle with their eyes closed.  When the person says STOP, the one holding the gift tries to unwrap it very quietly.  The person in the middle has 2 guesses to name who is unwrapping the gift.  If they guess it correctly, they join the circle and the "unwrapper" goes in the middle.  You can make this relevant to your lesson by wrapping up items to introduce your Bible story!  After 3-4 rounds, see if they can guess what the story is!

13.  The Left/Right game - The way I've always seen this played is everyone sits in a circle and the leader reads the story.  Every time you hear the word "left" you move one seat to your left.  When you hear the word "right", you move one seat to your right.  Another way I've seen it played is to pass something to your right or left.  Whoever ends up with it, gets to keep it.  To make this more active, I would have them stand up in a circle on pieces of paper (or carpet squares, etc) - something to mark the spots.  Then, I would designate 2-3 of the circles/squares as "special".  If they land on one of those squares at the end, then they win!  (you can decide what they win :)   You can find lots of story ideas floating around on the internet, but I suggest that you rewrite you Bible story so that it can be introduced in this way!  I have written one as an example - Ruth!  Buy it separately or in the bundle.

14.  20 Questions - Write down the names of people or places in the Bible that your kids would know on name tags.  It's okay if some of the people have the same name.  As they enter the room, stick a name on their backs and instruct them not to tell anyone what their nametags say.  Once everyone has arrived, have them pair up (one way is to tell them to yell out their favorite disney movie and find someone yelling out the same thing).  In their pairs, they are to ask the other person up to 20 questions to try and guess who their person is.

15.  Four Corners - This is a great game to use to review a story that you've learned!  Label each corner of the room four characters from your story.  For example, if you're learning the story of Jacob and Esau, you could label one corner Jacob, one Esau, one Isaac and the last one could be Rebekah.  Then, ask review questions about your story and they have to run to the corner that is the correct answer!  If you want to use this as an icebreaker and not a story review, then label the corners, "agree, strongly agree, disagree, and strongly disagree".  Make random statements and have them either agree or disagree with you - like - Dogs are better than cats.  Math is the worst subject.  etc.

16.  Human Tic-Tac-Toe - I actually saw this played here in Peru and thought it was a really fun idea :)  Divide your group into two teams - x's and o's.  It might be easier to use colors and tie a ribbon or string to everyone's wrists so they know who is on their team.  Set up a tic tac toe board in the middle of the room - either with chairs or standing.  This can be a story review, or just random Bible trivia, or it could be a Bible exercise where the first person who finds a verse gets to enter the "board".   Call out the question and the first person who answers, gets to stand/sit on the board in whatever spot they want.  When a team gets 3 in a row - they win!  The group here loved this game and played it 3-4 times!

17.  Sheet Drop - I've seen this game used as a name game.  you divide the group up into two teams and they sit across from one another.  you hold up a sheet in the middle and call up one person from each side.  On the count of 3, you drop the sheet and the first person that names the other person wins :)  You could use this same idea but make it Biblical.  Instead of dropping a sheet, you simply reveal a word or name in the Bible.  The first person who can call out the story or scripture wins.  For example, you reveal the word "angel".  The first person that can remember a story in the Bible with an angel and call it out, wins.  The angel that visited Mary, the angel that moved the stone from the tomb, etc.  Other words you could call out - "stone" (david and goliath, resurrection, etc), "the number 3", "water", etc.

18.  Balloon burst - this is another game I played when I was in youth group, but I like the twist I found on pinterest.  First, you tie a balloon to a string and then tie it to your ankle.  Make sure the length of everyone's string is the same (shorter strings are harder to pop).  Play some music and instruct everyone to pop all the balloons!  The last one standing with a balloon wins (when yours is popped you sit out).  However, the twist I read about said to put a blessing in each balloon - making it a Blessing Balloon Burst :)  You could do something else besides blessings as well.  When their balloon gets popped, they have to find their blessing and then sit down.  At the end they could share their blessings.

19.  Circle up and draw! - This is simple but fun and can be played with any amount of people.  Give everyone a piece of paper (quarter of regular size would be good) and a pencil or crayon (no markers).  Turn sideways and face the back of the person in front of you.  Instruct them to put the paper on the person's back and draw a ____.  I did it with a pig which was fun :)  But you could instruct them to draw anything - maybe something to do with your story for the day?  The catch to this exercise is, once they start drawing, instruct them to start walking in a circle!  Let the hilarity ensue :) 

20.  Deck of Cards icebreaker - This is a no prep game!  Hand everyone a card when they come in.  If you have more than 52 kids, use two decks.  If you have less, then use just 2 suits.  Once they're all there, start calling out instructions!  Find everyone that has your number, find everyone that has your suit, find all the even numbers, etc.  Can you think of a way to make this religious??

21.  Clothespin game - As everyone enters the room, have them pin 5 clothespins on their sleeve.  Think of a "buzz word" that is a very common word and that the kids are liable to say during your opening.  example - "me", "you", "like", etc. Pair them up for different activities and have them ask each other some questions.  If they use the buzz word during their Q and A, then the other person can call them out and take one of the clothespins.  At the end of your time, see who has the most clothespins!

22.  Story Still pics - What is your Bible story for today?  Divide it up into 3-4 sections for small groups or 5-7 sections for larger groups.  Give each small group one section of the story that they have to read and then illustrate with a still pose.  Take a picture of them and then tell the whole story/lesson using their pictures!

23.  Bible Pictionary - This one may not be quite as active as the others, but you still have people getting up and moving :)  I created a new version of Bible pictionary (well, it was new to me!).  on each card is an "easy" and "hard" word.  Your kids will get 2 minutes (you can add more or take less if you feel it's necessary) to draw the "easy" word on the card.  Most likely, their team will get it pretty quickly.  When they do, they get one point.  THEN, with the time they have left, they attempt to draw the SECOND word on the card.  Yes, it is harder, BUT it has to do with the first word so that helps!  And the words all have to do with the Bible or church :) 

Here are a few ice-breaker type games that I've made that are sit down - but not quiet!

23.  Ten Dice game variations - Are you familiar with the Tenzi dice game?  I bought it for my family and we really enjoyed it.  While we were playing, I realized - I could totally make this into a Bible game!  So, here are 5 versions that I've made - Thanksgiving (not religious), Christmas (religious), Parables, Valentine's Day (not religious), Bible stories.  You will need ten dice per child OR per pair.

24.    Gibberish - You could make this more active by having kids come up one by one to read the gibberish card...and see who the first person is that can guess what they're saying!  If you aren't familiar with the game, you're given a nonsensical phrase that SOUNDS just like a real phrase.  I turned it into a religious game.  For example, "Could some hair eaten".  What do you think that is?  Say it out loud, try emphasizing different syllables, or saying it slower or faster :) Click the link to find out the answer ;) 

25.  Yell it out! - Have you ever played the board game Outburst?  This is similar - but religious.  You have one minute to yell out all 10 answers to the question - example:  Parables.  Six-seven of the 10 are pretty easy, but if you want to get all 10, you gotta think!  This is best played with upper elementary/youth.

26.  5 Second game - This is also a Bible/religious game that gives you a category and you have 5 seconds to name 3 things in that category.  Animals that may have been at the stable, parts of worship, fruits of the spirit, etc.  Some of the categories are more difficult than others.  If you're playing with younger elementary, I would go through the cards and pick the ones that you know your kids would know.

27.  Bible Zingo - I know you've all played Bingo before, but have you played Zingo?  It's a fast paced version of Bingo!  I made a Bible picture version with 50 cards so 50 kids can play at once!  Click the link for more specific instructions.

28.  Alpha to Omega - you've probably also played the popular game Apples to Apples - here is the religious version I made!

29.  I have...who has - Three Bible version of this game - books of the Bible, OT people and NT people.  Each set can be played with 20 people.

Seems I'm one short :)  lol.  Someone give me one more idea so it can be 30! ;) Hopefully you have read at least one idea that you love and can't wait to use with your group!  If you have any other ideas that I could add, please write them in the comments below so others can read it!  Thanks and God bless!

Intergenerational games and activities!

Intergenerational Fellowship and Activities!

Many churches have been leaning towards more intergenerational studies, classes, worship, and activities.  This is an awesome thing to see!  If you haven't already heard of Gen On and their resources, follow them on Facebook and check them out.  Curricula, classes, worship - tons of ideas!  This post is purely and simply about fun, fellowship activities.  Many of our churches like to have monthly or quarterly fellowship nights where the entire church is invited.  But what "fun" activity can you do with preschool up to elders?  Well, I did some asking and I did some digging (thanks social media and pinterest) - hopefully at least one of these will be new to you!  And hopefully you can add at least one of these to your repertoire of games and activities :)  If you have anything to add to the list, please comment below!

GAME NIGHT ideas:  

There are a lot of ideas and games that your group can play!  Infinite in fact!  Here are some ideas that other educators have come up with...but first, put some conversation starter cards on your tables to help your multi-ages interact!  I made some "Would you Rather" religious cards if you'd like to use them :)  (TPT here, Etsy here)

1.  Board game night - put one board game on each table and rotate.  Or, buy 3-4 of the same board game and have each table play the same thing.  A few that come to mind that every age can play (although they would need to be able to read for a few of these)...Apples to Apples (I made a religious version here), classics like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders, Tiny Hands, Telestrations, and Beat the Parents.  I also wrote a blog with ONLY a list of board games.  I asked educators for their favorites that they use in their ministry and got almost 100 ideas!  To help you out they're organized by how many can play and then age.

This is Tiny Hands...and yes, it really is that funny :) lol

2.  Play a large group game altogether or divide into two teams and compete.  Some ideas for this are:  Jeopardy, Scattergories, Charades, Pictionary, Outburst, Family Feud, Trivia, and Wheel of Fortune.  You can find Jeopardy templates online so you can make your own - personalize it!  Have categories that only those in your church might know, make a category of current popular games/toys/music and one from the 40s or 50s, etc. You can personalize Scattergories, Charades, 5 Second Rule (or on Etsy), Pictionary,  Wheel of Fortune (12 religious versions on Etsy), Family Feud (or on Etsy), and Outburst as well, or buy the actual games online.  I also made religious versions of some of them if you'd like to keep your games Biblical :)  Just click on the game and it'll take you to the page.  Family Feud also makes a parents vs kids version.  I haven't tried it, but it sounds like it could work!  Although some of these games require you to read, I've found that teaming up the littlest ones with an older person works well!  If you have your group divided into tables, then a LEGO night would be fun!  Here are some religious Lego challenge cards (or on Etsy) you could use at each table - or have everyone in the room do the same thing!

3.  Adding to the one above, make your trivia night intergenerational by making up your own questions about different time periods!  Make sure your teams have all different ages on them.  If you do a search online or in some of the Christian Education facebook groups, you can find some intergenerational questions already made.

4.  Bingo/Zingo night!  Bingo is fun for all ages - you can even find printable picture Bingo cards online so your non-readers can play.  One church made a spin on this idea and had a Sundae Bingo night!  Fun!  If you haven't heard of Zingo, it's a fast paced way to play Bingo that's really fun!  Here's a Bible version I made that has pictures so your little ones can play.  

5.  Bunco Night!  I have not personally played this game, but I've heard it's a LOT of fun and after reading the directions, I'm all for it :)  Another fun dice game you could play is Tenzi. I made some interesting versions of Tenzi - including some holiday and religious versions.

6.  Minute to Win it Games.  Just do a search online and you'll get tons of ideas.  If you want less waste and less cost, I wrote a blog of some minute to win it games using very few supplies.

7.  I liked the idea of one church that did a Carnival Night.  Different age groups were in charge of setting up games from their time period!  

8.  "The best" game.  This is a fun game I found online during one of my searches.  It's a free printable and a really funny competition game :)  When I played it with our youth group, I put all their names in a jar and pulled out two at random to "compete".  If you are sitting at tables, this would be a really fun table game!

9.  Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament.  This obviously can't be your only game for the evening :) lol.  But it's an awesome icebreaker or filler that will take you around 10 minutes to play (more or less depending on your group size).  The great thing about this game, is that when you lose, your goal is to then cheer for the person who beat you.  So, by the end of the tournament, you have two sides (loudly!) cheering on their person!

10.  I saw a lot of churches and youth groups doing "Silly Olympics" this year since we had the summer Olympics.  There are a lot of fun and hilarious versions out there - whatever theme you'd like!  

Fellowship Ideas:

11.  Movie Night is always a popular option for an intergenerational evening.  Indoor or outdoor!  But have you ever thought of some ways to spice it up a little?  One church had a scavenger hunt before the movie that introduced what the movie was going to be.  We made up a Bingo game for one movie that had to do with people/phrases you would see/hear in our movie.  When the person won a BINGO, they got a free bag of popcorn!

12.  Talent Show - but wait, this isn't your regular talent show!  There is no preparation ahead of time (unless you want to), no practices, no planning!  This is the "Weird and silly talent show"!  What strange things can you do that others can't do?  What is your weird and wacky talent?

We chose a simple owl night painting.  The teacher gave us some guidelines and then let us get creative!  They all turned out very different :) 

13.  Art/Painting Night - Do you have an artist in the church?  For less than $5 each, get everyone a canvas and some paints, and teach them how to paint a specific picture.  Search online for "simple paintings" and you can get some really cool ideas!  Combine this with dinner (pizza and painting) or desserts as well.  Or, instead of painting, make it a "Construction night".  We made this bench one VBS and each group was in charge of decorating their one piece of wood.  Then we put it all together!

14.  Along the lines of an "art night", you could also do a "My church rocks!" night.  Have everyone go outside and collect 5 rocks.  Bring them inside to decorate and paint - use inspirational words and scripture!  Once they finish decorating their rocks, have them each leave one rock somewhere outside the church so that another member or guest can find it. Then, instruct them to stop on the way home and leave their other rocks randomly in the church neighborhood or their own neighborhood. 

15.  Scavenger Hunts - there are a variety of ways you can do these.  You can make a photo hunt where they have to take pics of certain things outside or around the church.  Selfie hunts where you and your group have to be "doing" something specific in a certain place.  Or, you have to actually go around and find certain things.  

16.  Escape Room - Search online for various ideas or templates/themes.  Keep in mind ER's are best in groups of 8-12 people.  I've also created 11 religious escape rooms - for small or large groups.  (Etsy link to bundle of 6 non-holiday escape rooms)

17.  Karaoke!  Make sure you have a variety of songs from ALL the eras :) 

18.  Make it a Service Night and find some way to serve your community.  Some ideas are...Stop Hunger, put together food baskets, stuff Christmas stockings, clean up your church, etc.

18.  RAK night!  (Random acts of Kindness)  How many different RAKS can you do around your church in one night??  5?  10?  More?  Search online for some really awesome RAKS to do around your church/church community.  Years ago, my kids and I did a variety of RAKS and I wrote a blog - maybe you can get some ideas from that :)  My 4th/5th graders made these to put around the church :) 

19.  Happy Birthday :)  I love this idea that a few churches say they have done.  They celebrate all the birthdays in one night!  Each table is a birthday month, each table has a cake decorated with their month, there are decorations, hats, birthday games, and lots of fun!

Other random ideas...

20.  A "Blessing of the ...." night - I've seen a variety of "blessings" that are a fun way to interact and worship at the same time.  Most of us have seen or done the Blessing of the animals.  I lived in a rural area and there was a church that had a Blessing of the Tractors to start the planting season!  

21.  A few Christmas themed ideas - Gingerbread house decorating (one per table and then display them in your church?!) and Christmas cookie baking.  We did the cookies once in our girl scout troop.  Each table had all the ingredients needed to make a certain type of cookie.  That table was in charge of that one cookie and then they shared them!  (of course, you would need large ovens to pull this off).  Lastly, you could do "advent angels" which is something one of the churches I worked for made up.  It's a lovely service idea - that is fun for ALL ages!

22.  Spring themed idea - "Spice it up!" night :)  Buy each person a small flower pot and let them paint/decorate it (pinterest has some really fun ideas).  Once they finish, let them plant some kind of "spice" in it to take home.

23.  If you're going to have a dinner, you can add a little twist to the appetizer or dessert.  "Taste Testing".  I've done this with oreos (there are soooo many kinds!), pringles (hilarious), and different candies.  Walk around the supermarket and think of some other ideas :)  Give them a piece of paper with 5-10 numbered down the side and they have to guess the flavor of each one. 

24.  Have special 4 legged visitors!  If you have the budget for it (or perhaps you could ask for $5 donations to cover the cost), invite a petting zoo to come one night.  Every age loves animals.  OR, you could invite your local pet shelter to come and visit.  They normally bring some of their animals, talk to you about what they do, and let you pet them.  To add to that event, bring in some supplies so that each table can make some homemade animal toys or treats that the shelter can take back with them :) 

25.  Other special guest ideas?  Concert with music for all ages or a magic show!

If you would like to purchase ALL the religious games that I mentioned above(minus the escape rooms), the entire bundle is for sale in my TPT store for $60.  You get 38 religious games/activities and save $13 by buying them all together :)  

Any other ideas?  Add them below!  Thanks for all you do for your church and The Church.  Intergenerational activities and worship are so important 💙 Your creativity and efforts are appreciated more than you know!

Caterpillar to butterfly - an interactive Easter Children's message

 

Explain at the beginning of the service, that while worship is going on - that they are to color at their tables (with markers), the coffee filters provided.  At least one person per table should color one - but everyone is invited to do so.  These will be used during the children's message illustration.  Each table, besides markers and coffee filters, needs a pre-decorated clothespin for each person (to look like a caterpillar shown below) and a toilet paper roll for each person.   This craft was found here if you want more detail!

When we see a caterpillar what do we think?  (have everyone pick up a clothespin that is dull brown and that was decorated beforehand)  What words come to mind when we see a caterpillar? (put pic on screen)  Ugly?  useless?  slimy?  creepy?  Are we ever like a caterpillar?  Do we ever feel like one on the inside?  Do we sometimes feel ugly?  useless?  Do other people ever hear our words or see our actions and think that we are ugly? or mean?  I'm sure, at some point in our lives, we have felt like a caterpillar.  And I'm sure, that at some point in our lives we have messed up, and people have seen us as a caterpillar.

But what about Jesus?  Was Jesus ever a caterpillar?  We certainly never think of Jesus as ugly or creepy.  But Jesus still died FOR us, even though he was perfect and we are not.  After Jesus died, he was wrapped in cloth and laid in a tomb.  This part of Jesus' life does reminds me of a caterpillar - as it makes its cocoon.  

Take your caterpillar and clip your coffee filter in it.  Wrap it up, just like Jesus was, and place it inside the tube...which is our tomb...or cocoon.  

For 3 days Jesus was in that tomb.  For 3 days his friends and disciples grieved and wondered and worried.  Do we ever do that?  Do we worry about what is going to happen?  What has happened?  Of course we do.  Although the Bible tells us clearly "do not worry", we still do.  

But on that 3rd day, when some ladies went to the tomb, what did they find?  It was empty!!  (pull out the caterpillar/butterfly and everyone will probably do the same).  

Jesus had risen!  He was alive!  He died and rose again for US - to give us NEW LIFE so that we could be changed - like the caterpillar to a butterfly.  

We were give new life in Jesus and we should never forget that.  When we are baptized into the church, water is put on our heads, right?  The water is a symbol of being cleaned and our sins and ugliness being wiped away.  So, to remember how we become new in Jesus and to help us remember our baptism and new life in Christ, someone at your table, bring up your butterfly to one of my helpers at the front with a spray bottle.  They will spray your butterfly (and you if you want to be sprayed ;)  Take it back to your seat and watch the water turn your butterfly into something amazing!  Watch the colors run together and brighten. Watch it have new life.

(continue speaking as they get sprayed) Yes, bad things happen.  God never promises that our lives will be perfect.  Yes, we mess up.  Yes, there will be times in our lives when we feel and look like a caterpillar.  But the GOOD NEWS is that that is NOT the end!  The story, OUR story, doesn't end there.  We have new life in Christ and with the resurrection, we are given the chance to be a butterfly.  So, soak in the resurrection this year and let your colors shine through!!  Show the world your brightness.  Be the person that God has created you to be!  In the name of the father, son and holy spirit, All God's people say - Amen!

HAPPY EASTER!

Updated Apps to use in your ministry!

 Apps to use in your ministry – and their descriptions

(I called this “updated” because I wrote one a few years ago and it is pretty outdated :) it was easier to start over than to edit!)
We have 5 ipads that each class uses once a month.  I spend time developing a lesson plan, searching for "applicable" apps that would fit with the story and then writing it out.  Rarely (with David and Goliath being the exception) do the kids ever play games - these apps and lessons promote creativity, working together, writing, drawing, thinking and learning.  It brings their world into the church and shows them how to use this technology in a positive, uplifting way :)  I've developed around 15 lesson plans with around 15 different apps for 15 different stories and I've uploaded 10 so far on my teachers pay teachers store.  They're only $3 each (or 10 for $20) if you're interested.  The links are listed below the apps I used.  Have you found another app that was awesome?  let me know below!  they are infinite and forever changing :)

thanks and God bless...

-Laurie

Canva: Create beautiful designs and professional graphics with Canva. Whether it’s a photo editor, pic collage, logo, invitation or poster maker you’re looking for — Canva makes graphic design easy. Canva is available on your iPhone, iPad and computer so you can create, edit and share your designs when it suits you most

Facebook: one of the main ways I communicate with the parents in my church; make events, groups, "boost" you posts so more people see them, etc

Keynote (powerpoint):    Keynote is the most powerful presentation app ever designed for a mobile device. Built from the ground up for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, it makes creating a world-class presentation — complete with animated charts and cinematic transitions — as simple as touching and tapping.              
I actually created a jeopardy board for the story of Joseph and wrote a lesson plan  to go with it :)  

Pinterest:  Create boards with your committee members so you can share ideas with each other.  

Art Studio:   $5 
ArtStudio is the most comprehensive, sketching, painting and photo editing tool in the App Store. Completely re-designed from the ground up the new ArtStudio features a beautiful new user interface and a powerful new graphics engine to make creating works of art faster, easier, and more fun! Using advanced drawing algorithms this is the fastest and most precise version of ArtStudio to date.

Art Studio Pro:    $12

Introducing Artstudio Pro, the most powerful painting and photo editing app available for both iOS and macOS. The successor to our famous ArtStudio app has been redesigned bringing many new features and improvements taking full advantage of the latest technologies Metal, iCloud Drive, Apple Pencil, and optimized for 64-bit multi-core processors to achieve the smoothest possible workflow.

PDF Expert:   $10

PDF Expert 6 is an essential app for anyone who reads, highlights, signs and fills out PDFs on their iPhone and iPad. With an additional in-app purchase PDF Expert 6 acquires the unique superpower to edit existing PDF text, replace images and hide sensitive data. 

Adobe lightroom: 

Make amazing photos, from anywhere. 
Adobe Lightroom CC for mobile is a free app that gives you a powerful, yet simple solution for capturing, editing and sharing your photos. And you can upgrade for premium features that give you precise control with seamless access across all your devices – mobile, desktop and web.

Group Me:  

Stay in touch whether you’re separated by a hallway or a hemisphere. Get your group together. 

Remind:  

Whether you're in the classroom, at home, or anywhere in between, Remind makes it easy to stay connected to your school community.
More than 27 million educators, students, and parents use Remind in over 95% of U.S. public school districts. 

Edmodo: 

Edmodo is a free classroom communication hub that lets you engage with your classes and connect with teachers globally. 

Class Dojo: 

ClassDojo is a beautiful, safe, and simple communication app for teachers, parents, and students. 
* Teachers can encourage students for any skill, like “Working hard” and “Teamwork”
* Teachers can bring parents into the classroom experience by sharing photos, videos, and announcements
* Teachers can also safely and instantly message with any parent
Pages: 

Pages is the most beautiful word processor you’ve ever seen on a mobile device. This powerful word processor helps you create gorgeous reports, resumes, and documents in minutes. Pages has been designed exclusively for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch with support for Multi-Touch gestures and Smart Zoom.

Explain Everything:   $10

Explain Everything is a free-form creation tool that innovates getting a message from your mind to the eyes and ears of audiences, all from a mobile device.
It works like an interactive whiteboard, allowing for quick communication with students, colleagues, and customers.  Groups of any size can work together in real-time and use seamless integrations with Box, Dropbox, iCloud, and more.
ANIMATE YOUR THINKING
• Create slides using an infinite canvas, use a laser pointer, draw in any color, add shapes, text, 
math equations, videos, images and audio files
• Record everything you do within the app (even yourself while using the front-facing camera) 
to create high quality, creative and valuable content for others to learn from!

Show Me: 

Turn your iPad into your personal interactive whiteboard!
ShowMe allows you to record voice-over whiteboard tutorials and share them online. It’s an amazingly simple app that anyone can use, no matter how young or old!

Publisher:  $17

Publisher Expert - View, Edit, Convert Microsoft Publisher(.pub) to Photo, Adobe PDF and Apple Pages formats
Publisher Expert is a must-have app for anyone who reads, edits, prints and converts MS Publisher document on the iPhone. It allows you to view and edit MS Publisher document directly, export as PDF and Pages formats to reuse it.

Phoster: $2

This is a user-friendly application to create stylish posters and various invitation cards.

All-Reminder:  

All-Reminder is a lovely app which will remind you everything, may it be a Call, SMS or Email. It relieves you from the burden of remembering when to make a call to someone or send them SMS or email. 
With it, you just have to create your important schedules and at the time you specify, it will alert you through a notification. You can then take actions right from the lock screen or notification center to send SMS, Email or Call.

Green Screen – by do ink  $3

The #1 Green Screen app for the iPad in Education, now available for the iPhone too! Green Screen by Do Ink makes it easy to create incredible green screen videos and photos. Classroom-tested by kids and teachers, this app emphasizes ease-of-use and simplicity while still enabling fantastic results. With Green Screen by Do Ink, you can tell a story, explain an idea, and express yourself in truly creative and unique ways.

Splice - 

Simple yet powerful, Splice makes it easy to create fully customized, professional-looking videos on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Imagine the performance of a desktop editor, optimized for your mobile device. Just tap to trim clips, adjust transitions, add slow motion effects and more to create beautiful videos you’ll love to share. It’s never been easier to edit like a pro on the go. 

Instagram:  Great place to advertise events - be wary of posting pics    

Youtube:  create a kidsafe youtube channel that they can subscribe to and watch videos that you use in Sunday school, videos that you make, etc.

Bible Gateway:  Take the Bible with you wherever you go. The Bible Gateway App is the OFFICIAL and FREE mobile Bible reading and learning experience from BibleGateway.com.

Check – In

Nursery Alert – (mixed reviews)  $4

Nursery Alert is a simple mobile app to be used in church nurseries or classrooms. It allows churches of any size and any number of classrooms to notify parents of issues without the use of klunky, expensive beepers or pagers that get lost pretty easy.

Check in Easy –  (great reviews)

Check In Easy is for simple and fast guest registration, check-in, and management at events from 2 people to 200,000.  Honored as one of the top 10 event & meeting apps at Tech-Fest!

Kidddo Kiosk – 

(must have a kidddo account to use this app)  Kidddo is Child Check-In, simplified. Keep tabs on the kids in your church, daycare or gym, track attendance, print name labels, page guardians via SMS.

Lambslist – this is $500 a year and it seems to only have an online site…no app.

Planning center – 

You must already have an account at Planning Center to use this software.
The Planning Center Services app is the best way to access your Planning Center Services account on your iOS device. Planning Center Services is an online scheduling and worship planning application to keep your staff and volunteers connected. and if you are a musician, use the media player or attachments section to access music for rehearsals. 

Prek Games

Bible Heroes –  ranges from $1-$3

Esther, Daniel, Moses (2), David and Goliath, Noah, Joseph and his coat , Jonah – 7 interactive stories bundle for $10.  To find the bundle, go to one of the above apps and then scroll down to “more apps by Kingdom Media”.  The bundle has the icon: 

Find me in the story:  $4

Find Me If You Can brings a new one-of-a-kind experience where your child is the star! Personalized with your child’s name and photo throughout the book, Find Me If You Can provides a fresh take on the hide and seek experience. With engaging animation and sound effects, your child’s face will light up as they look for their picture hiding amongst other faces, floating with balloons, soaking in candy treats, and flying far into outer space.  This was a really cool app we used with the Prodigal son story.  You can get my lesson plan here.

Bible app for kids (download as you go, great for prek) 

Through interactive adventures and beautiful animations, kids explore the big stories of the Bible. The Bible App for Kids is a delight-filled experience designed to encourage kids to return again and again. It’s the beginning of a lifelong love of God’s Word.

Writing wizard -  $5

Writing Wizard is designed to help every child learn how to trace letters, numbers, and words through a fun system carefully designed to maintain motivation. 

Fish HD – 

A playful underwater experience with 8 educational activities, this award-winning app teaches letters, numbers, shapes, colors and more. Watch colorful fish create letters; Recognize numbers and learn to count from 1 to 20; Follow the fish as they form shapes; Touch, tap and drag to make fish and other colorful sea life do funny things; Listen to classical variations of the ABC Song. AWARDS: Parents’ Choice Gold Award; Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award. AGES: 2-5.

Mr. Potato - 

There are tons of ways to play:
- Create and customize your spud in any way you want! Create a funny face, put an arm where an ear should be, and any other crazy combination.
- Comes with two complete play sets. A one time in-app purchase unlocks 13 more play sets giving you over 200 mix-and-match parts.
- Take your Mr. Potato Head on spud-tacular interactive adventures to fantastic places with fullscreen touch sensitivity.
- Capture and share pictures of special and crazy moments!

Group Games

adventure Bible games for kids (this summer?) – at the moment this isn't available but hopefully it will be up and running summer 2018

SIX Bible Games In One App!
* Who Wants to be a Bible Millionaire! , TruthQuest, Leopardy.
* X Marks the Spot – Test your knowledge of where important events in the Bible took place by dragging flags over to the correct location on each Bible map.
* Leapin’ Lemur – Guess the missing letters to solve each Bible verse. If you like Hangman, you’ll like Leapin’ Lemur.
* Books of the Bible – Reorder each small group of Bible books on the shelf. Before you know it, you’ll have memorized the order of all 66 books of the Bible!

Kahoot - 

Play fun learning games and cool quizzes anywhere and anytime, on your own or with your friends. Kahoot! makes learning awesome - and homework, too!
I wrote a lesson plan using this app!  Find it here.

touch the sound – $1

Touch the Sound is a fun new game that allows your kid to explore the world of sounds one touch at a time.
This app focused on helping kids learn to recognize familiar sounds and match the sounds to the picture. The interface is so simple to use, that even little babies will delight in using this app.
Here are a few lesson plans that I wrote that had to do with sound.  It uses some youtube videos and a few other apps.  

Fighter verses: memorize Bible – $3

The Fighter Verses Bible memory system was created to help believers persevere in the fight of faith by arming them with God's Word. Designed for children through adults, this system allows individuals, groups, or entire churches to memorize and review at their own pace. 

puzzlemaker: Wordsearch – $3

Do you need to create your own WordSearch puzzles for your students or activity group? PuzzleMaker lets you create puzzles form scratch, in minutes, using just your iPad.
I wrote a lesson that turned out to be pretty fun with this app.  Find it here!

Bitsboard Pro –  $20

WHAT YOU GET:
• Access to the Bitsboard catalog including tens of thousands of gorgeous flashcards and carefully curated lessons covering hundreds of topics.
• Bitsboard is ideal for learning languages, mastering vocabulary, learning to read, learning to speak, becoming the next spelling champion and so much more…
• Bitsboard is fully customizable to meet your specific learning needs
OVER 25+ POWERFUL MINI GAMES / STUDY MODES IN 1 APP I

Bingo Board Generator -
Save time! You can create and print your own custom BINGO cards in minutes.
Save paper! Decide exactly how many BINGO cards to print per page.
Save money! Download hundreds of existing Bingo cards for free from our catalog
Every Bingo card is randomly generated so if you have 30 kids in your class, each will have a unique Bingo card.
Keep kids engaged! Kids will love hearing a familiar voice and seeing familiar words and photos while playing Bingo.

Bible Trivia - 

Bible Trivia is the most fun you'll have studying the Bible!  This app is ok – if you just want something to fill time together as a group…but the reviews aren’t super.

Our Faves

Toontastic 3D – 

3… 2… 1… ACTION! With Toontastic 3D you can draw, animate, and narrate your own cartoons. It’s as easy as play. Just move your characters around on screen, tell your story, and Toontastic records your voice and animations and stores it on your device as a 3D video. Toontastic is a powerful and playful way to create interstellar adventures, breaking news reports, video game designs, family photo albums, and anything else you might imagine!  you can find a lesson plan I wrote with this app here.

vittle –  free or upgrade ($3?) this is the lite version; once you get it upgrade to the regular version

Vittles combine your photos, handwriting, and voice into engaging screencast videos that can be instantly shared with anyone.
I LOVE this app and have used it with a few Bible stories.  Here is a lesson plan for one of them.  And here is a youtube video of my 4th/5th graders' final product spliced together :)

My storybook creator school edition –  $5

Storytelling is a fantastic way to promote literacy, comprehension, creative thinking, and self-driven learning. My Story is an amazing way to engage your K-5 students.
* Create and share ebooks and movies of your stories by adding drawings, photos, and stickers. Export to iBooks!
I've used this app (there are other story maker apps) for multiple stories.  Here is my lesson plan.  And here.

comiclife 3 –  $5

The Most Powerful Photo Comic Creation App Available.  Packed with fonts, templates, balloons, captions, and lettering art, Comic Life is a fun, powerful and easy-to-use app that makes creating comics easier than ever. And now you can build your comics anywhere you like! 

felt board –  $3

Design scenes, dress up characters and let your imagination soar as you invent your own stories with Felt Board. Especially designed for imaginative play, storytelling and learning, Felt Board is perfect for children, families, teachers and therapists.  You can find a lesson plan I wrote with this app here.

showme  - 

Turn your iPad into your personal interactive whiteboard!
ShowMe allows you to record voice-over whiteboard tutorials and share them online. It’s an amazingly simple app that anyone can use, no matter how young or old!

sock puppets - free or $4

Create your own lip-synched videos and share them on Facebook and YouTube. Add Puppets, props, scenery, and backgrounds and start creating. Hit the record button and the puppets automatically lip-synch to your voice.

bible word search puzzle (Giant Bible word search) – 

word searches for different books of the Bible and different scriptures and different characters/ stories

Jigsaw puzzle - 

Create your own puzzles!

aging booth – 

What will you look like when you’re old? And what about your friends? Find out with AgingBooth, an easy to use and amazing face aging machine on your iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad.

Colorfy – 

The ORIGINAL coloring book! Join over 25 million users in a relaxing experience. Paint mandalas, patterns, animals, florals, and thematic images from our artists - or upload your own drawings and give them even more life!

Chatterpix - 

Chatterpix Kids can make anything talk -- pets, friends, doodles, and more. Simply take any photo, draw a line to make a mouth, and record your voice. Then share your Pix with friends and family as silly greetings, playful messages, creative cards, or even fancy book reports. And best of all, it’s FREE! AGES: 5-12

MORE APPS…

stop motion – 

create beautiful stop motion animated movies anywhere instantly on your device. Everything you need is right at your fingertips. No computer needed. It's simple to use, deceptively powerful and insanely fun to play with. Create fantastic movies your friends will enjoy or share it with the world on YouTube, Facebook and other sites. Cool themes, titles and sound effects are easy to add, too

Beginner Bible (six free stories and pay for the rest) -  

The bestselling Bible storybook of all time with over 6 million copies sold is now available in an iPad app that includes enhanced audio with compelling narration, music, and sound effects that help bring 94 Bible stories to life like never before.
With Bible characters you can touch, coloring pages, puzzles, and games, this special iPad edition of The Beginner’s Bible brings God’s Word to children ages 2-6 in an engaging and interactive way.

QR reader for ipad - The most simple & easy QR Reader - 100% FREE. Now scans QR codes, barcodes, documents and puzzles.

Look & Find Bible (one story free for OT and NT, $3 to unlock all)   

Look, find, and learn with search-and-find illustrations from five adventure-filled Old Testament stories. While searching for hidden items, kids can explore Noah's amazing ark, the Israelites escaping across the sea, the walls of Jericho, David's battle with Goliath, and Jonah being swallowed by a big fish. Also a NT version.

youtube kids - 

Plants by Tinybop – $2

Discover nature’s wonders! Explore the forest, desert, and grasslands. Play and learn as plant and animal species spring to life in ecosystems around the world. Observe seasons, experiment with weather, see how creatures live, and more. (great for creation) 

Skyview – 

SkyView® Lite brings stargazing to everyone! Simply point your iPhone, iPad, or iPod at the sky to identify stars, constellations, satellites, and more!

David and Goliath

David versus Goliath – 

Cheesy little game J

David vs Goliath – 

The epic story of David vs. Goliath from the Bible! Help David go from shepherd to hero with tons of slinging, lion fighting and lyre practice along the way! Can you get him ready to face Goliath?

David and Goliath Story – 

Experience the Breathtaking Bible Tale of David and Goliath Like Never Before!  Join David, Goliath, King Saul, and the armies of Israel and the Philistines as They Battle. Educational games inside: puzzles, matching games, shapes, counting and more!

My lesson plan for David and Goliath is here.

CHRISTMAS

Sing along Christmas carols (3 free, pay $4 for 50 more) – 

Love to sing along to Christmas Carols, but can't always remember all the words? Or simply wish you knew more carols to sing? Then get our handy little Christmas Carol karaoke-style app.

a Charlie brown christmas by loud crow interactive – $5

 Play Schroeder's piano, finger paint with the gang, and go carolling with the Peanuts choir. Participate in the Spectacular Super-Colossal Neighborhood Christmas Lights and Display Contest to unlock decorations for your very own Charlie Brown Christmas Tree! With something to discover on every page, this is one interactive Peanuts adventure you won't want to miss this holiday season!! (totally worth the $5!)

Best Christmas app for toddlers andkids (xmas around the world) - $2

Takes your child “around the world” for a special view of Celebrations in other Continents and cultures! Select countries, find all hidden animations, and be surprised at how they react! It’s a superb mix of learning and entertainment... 

Life of Jesus: Virgin Birth –  $3

For kids: 
One of the only apps that seamlessly integrates story and activities to create a truly engaging and interactive experience for hours of great Bible instruction and fun! 
For parents: 
A unique “Parent Portal” that helps you take an active part in your child’s Bible learning. Browse our Parent’s Discussion Guide for ideas on helping your kids apply Scripture lessons from the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Interactive Books - wanderful

Berenstain Bears: Get in a Fight and Afraid of the Dark

Noah's Ark - Little Ark Interactive storybook

The Story of Creation - Little Ark Interactive storybook in English

Daniel in the Lion's Den - Little Ark Interactive storybook in English

The New Kid on the Block - interactive storybook of poems in English

Ruff's Bone

Arthur's Teacher Trouble

Arthur's Birthday

Harry and the Haunted House

Little Monster at School