During this time of uncertainty and social distancing, engaging the children of your congregation with the four churchwide Special Offerings has never been more important. There are numerous ways children can connect with the Pentecost Offering, especially considering this Offering celebrates how God’s Spirit works in the lives of young people. We have a number of resources available online to help you as you connect with your young people, whether you are able to gather together in person or are touching base virtually.
This year’s curriculum was written by Becky D’Angelo-Veitch, Certified Associate Christian Educator and Director of Faith Formation at Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, New York. This includes:
- Lesson Plans
- Activities
- Children’s Message
Through these lessons and activities, children will be able to place the story of Pentecost in context of the Biblical story, learn about the ways the Pentecost Offering supports ministries for young people, and start to connect God’s teaching and care for us with our call to teach and help care for others.
We are excited to be partnering with Illustrated Ministry LLC in 2020. Illustrated Ministry LLC will be creating stained glass art for the second bulletin insert for each of the four Special Offerings. The illustration is also available to download as a coloring sheet. We invite you to use this coloring sheet in the lead up to the Pentecost Offering, and share your masterpieces with us on social media using the hashtag #LetsBuildGodsHouse!
Finally, inspired by the design provided by Illustrated Ministry LLC, we have put together our very own Pentecost Offering display. Follow these easy instructions and you too will have your very own Offering display in no time. These instructions can also be adapted and used to create beautiful artwork at home, just as a couple of our Mission Specialists did!
If you use any of our materials in promoting the 2020 Pentecost Offering, we invite you to share feedback on how it was received. We are also available to answer any questions you might have about these or any other Special Offerings resource. Feel free to reach out to us at 800-728-7228 ext. 5047 or specialofferings@pcusa.org.
If we all do a little, it adds up to a lot!
PS – If you don’t have many youth under 18 in your congregation, you can get creative and engage your more seasoned members in any of the activities above! Fun and learning are for Christians of every age!