(ThySistas.com) We all know that children have short attention spans. As a result, trying to teach religion in the conventional way doesn’t work. You have to make faith fun if you want your kids to get involved, which means doing away with the long sermons and encouraging games and creative methods. Here are a few ways of making more entertaining.
Mission trips and Sunday schools
Taking your kids to a Sunday school or allowing them to go on mission trips can allow them to socialise with other children, whilst being taught the values of God in a fun and interactive way. Such activities are usually divided into age groups so that the activities 
can be more focused. For example there are a number of specially focused high school mission trips for teens, whilst there are Christian daygroups for young children.
Arts and crafts
There are all kinds of arts and crafts method of teaching faith visually from Christian-themed colouring pads to drawing games. You can ask your kids what certain passages of the bible mean to them personally and get them to draw a picture. You can even get them to make their own comic strip of a certain scene.
Biblical word games
Biblical word games can also make religious learning more fun, as well as testing puzzle-solving skills. This could be something as simple as trying to make as many words as possible out of ‘Merry Christmas’ in a certain time limit, or unscrambling anagrams to work out the Biblical character. You could also encourage kids to memorise verses by getting them to fill in blanks. This site offers various other types of word games.
Plays
Children love acting so encourage their performing skills by asking them to act out passages from the bible (it’s essentially like doing a nativity play, but using other stories). If acting is a real passion, your kids may be interested in a Christian drama club. Such clubs act out scenes from the Bible and extend all the way up from early youth to adulthood.
Movies and TV
A simple but effective method is getting your child to watch a religious children’s TV programme or movie. There are lots of animated TV shows and movies that teach the lessons of the bible using a fun approach like any other film or cartoon. Some have even gone on to become big cinema hits. You shouldn’t become too reliant on movies and TV for learning and try and pass on some teachings more interactively, however for when you’re busy with housework or chores putting a Christian movie or TV programme will keep your kids occupied. If you looking for looking for other activities for your children to try out, here are ideas for church fundraising.
Staff Writer; Natasha Poole