Dramatising stories

When you have to do a Bible story on the spur of the moment an easy way can be to tell a story. I've put a few quick setup ways below, but whatever works for you.

Dressups box

• old tea towels make great head dresses
• a toilet roll for simple bandages or burial clothes
• several hats (to put signs on)
• old bed sheets to make tunics etc
• pegs - to hold the dressups together (don't use safety pins. They may sound easy but parents do not like it when their children get pricked.)
• paper masking tape also helps hold dressups together

signs

• If you have access to hats, stick signs for the characters on hats instead of dressing up.
• Stickytape a piece of string to make a strap to go around the neck for a sign.
• Hold an A4 piece of paper for a sign.

Group design

Photocopy a story from the Bible (the simpler version, the better) or give each of the children a children's Bible marked at the same story. Divide the children into groups or 4-6 children (an more and fights often start). Get the children to act out the story. How they want to do it is up to them. My 9-12 year olds did an interpretation of Pentecost in a Narnia setting. After 10-15 mins get the children to act out their story to the class.

Role reversal

When you have no preparation or resources, this is a good idea to get children involved and hide your lack of preparation.

Choose one child or more children to read out the story from the Bible or story book, pausing after every verse or paragraph. Have the leaders being the actors and get the children to tell you what to do. They love being able to tell leaders what to do, especially if you ham it up a bit.