I recently had a look back over the year 2023 and wanted to share some of that review here.  God is good!

I sometimes receive emails thanking the Mission Bible Class “staff” or “team” for providing resources. It often surprises people to know that the only staff or team member is me (Mary Nelson).  From time to time, I have had short-term help from interns. Churches and individuals have also made the work financially viable.  But, as for the published material you see here on this website, it has all been done by me from my laptop. It has been a joy!

For at least the next two years, I will not be working alone.  Gina Nored will join me in helping equip Christians around the world to value and spiritually nurture children.

Gina recently graduated from Lipscomb University, Honors College (Nashville. Tennessee, USA). She holds two degrees.  One degree is a Theology and Ministry, B.A., and the other is in Interdisciplinary Education, K-5; B.A.

Gina has already had some experience in missions as a team member at Next Generation for Christ, where she has written children’s Bible curriculum and, among other things, managed Christian camps in Croatia.

Gina will be coming to New Zealand as part of the Helpers in Missions (HIM) program. This program and Mission Bible Class share the same sponsor: The Memorial Road Church of Christ in Edmond, Oklahoma.  It is great to have them come on board as well.

I am excited to see how God will work through Gina in the next couple of years.  Watch this space!  As this story unfolds, you’ll hear more about Gina and Mission Bible Class.

Calling all Bible teachers…

Do you struggle to find time to prepare for your lessons?  I know I do.

I call myself a “Bible Teacher”, but sometimes, when I’m in a rush, I find myself spending less time studying the Bible and more time gathering craft supplies, planning activities, and preparing my classroom.  If I’m honest, I really want to study the Bible first and then get to the glitter and glue after that.

This is where the Bible, Glitter and Glue Podcast comes in. 

Each week we invite you to join two teachers as we study from the Bible and exchange ideas for creatively sharing God’s Word.  Episodes are 20-25 minutes in duration and directly connect with the bible lessons on this website. This means you can begin preparing for your class as you travel, while you are exercising, or as you are preparing dinner.

We’ve started at the beginning of the New Testament and our aim is to cover each of the 172 bible lessons on the website.  Check out some of our episodes below.

Podcast Co-Hosts

I’m so excited to be co-hosting a podcast with my husband, David. This is something new for both of us and we’ve been on a huge learning curve.

Mary (that’s me) is the founder of Mission Bible Class, a ministry that provides free resources to people who want to share stories from the Bible with children (that’s you).

Her interactive games, crafts, visual aids and teaching instructions are designed to be used without purchasing expensive supplies or printing volumes of paper.

David W. Nelson (that’s my husband) has been involved in Christian ministry for his entire adult life.  He has served as a preacher, a teacher, a missionary and an elder in his local church congregation.

David teaches various bible-related subjects at the South Pacific Bible College in Tauranga, New Zealand.  His qualifications include a Diploma of Preaching, a Bachelor of Religious Education, and a Master of Arts (Christian Ministry).

God has blessed me with an opportunity to travel through Greece over the next week. Along the way I’ll try to send some pictures and thoughts you might like to share with the children you teach.

Today I’m in Athens and typing this from the top of Mars Hill (the Areopagus).

There are ruins of temples in many places. Seeing all the temples around makes me really appreciate the Apostle Paul and how he stood on Mars Hill and shared the Good News of Christ with philosophers. You can read about that event here.

The steps leading up to the top of the rock have been worn smooth because of the millions of people who have climbed them over the years. I snapped a picture of my daughter-in-law, Olivia, climbing these treacherous steps today. These would have been the same stairs Paul would have climbed!

I think kids would enjoy scrambling over the huge rocks and picking the little yellow flowers growing between them.

I watched two little Arabic-speaking girls crying out “Abba, Abba” in worried voices to their dad as he leaned over a dangerous edge gathering two of the little flowers to give to them. They were all smiles when he was safely back with them and gave them the flowers.

The children in our mixed-aged Bible class last Sunday created some awesome pictures using marbles and paints.  The lesson for the day was about when the Lord spoke to Moses from a Burning Bush 

We talked about how God was concerned about the suffering of his people and was giving Moses the important job of rescuing them.  After the lesson we gathered our supplies and made these lovely pictures.  Younger children needed more help and the older ones were able to do each step on their own.  Of course, the best part was being able to chat about the story as we worked on the craft!

Supplies

• A baking pan or shallow box with sides (one for each child or take turns)
• A large paper cut to the size of the bottom of the pan or box
• Crayons
• Paints in fire colours like red, yellow, orange, brown and black (tempera or acrylic works well)
• Marbles (heavy ones work better and we had 3 per child)
• Tape
• Damp paper towels or items of choice for clean-up

Method

1. Children draw a free-style bush on the paper using the crayons.  This is the best time to write names or titles on the drawings, too.
2. Place the paper in the tray and secure the edges with a few pieces of tape.
3. Sparingly dot the paper with various colours of paint (thick globs don’t work).
4. Place the marbles on the surface of the paper and move the trays around slowly in a rolling or gentle wave-like motion.  As the marbles roll around they will pick up paint and distribute it over the paper.
5. Remove the marbles and hang the pictures to dry.

Other Stories for this Craft

Use this same method and different colours of paint to create effects.  Generally, the student will draw the main picture and then use the paints to create the effect.  Alternatively, you could provide a printed colour sheet and then have the children create the paint effect over it.

• Fire using red, yellow, orange and a bit of brown, black and white.
  • The Lord Speaks from a Burning Bush
  • Nadab and Abihu
  • Elijah and the Contest at Mt. Carmel 
  • Elijah and the Whirlwind 
  • The Fiery Furnace 
• Storms, Water or Waves using blue, green, white and a little black as needed.
  • Crossing the Red Sea
  • Baptism of Jesus 
  • Jesus Calms the Storm 
  • Jesus Walks on Water
  • Paul’s Shipwreck
  • Day 2-God Created Sky & Water
  • Noah Builds an Ark & Loads Animals
  • The Flood and God’s Promise 

• Wind using white and a little black on gray paper.
  • Sermon at Pentecost  (Draw the people or steps of the colonnade and then create the wind with paint)
• Mood or Feeling using multi-colours on coloured or black paper.  This is more abstract but can be very effective.
  • Creation Story
  • Transfiguration 
• Plants using green and a few dots for flowers.
  • Day 3-God created land and plants (Experiment with green and then colours)
  • Birth of Moses (Draw the basket and then hide it with the green paint)
• Light using white or light yellow on black paper.  Fill the page with the colours of light.  Add some glow in the dark paint for fun.
  • Day 1-God Created Light
• Fire and Brimstone using red, yellow, orange or just use yellow and white with a little red to highlight the brimstone.  Draw the city first and then create fire and brimstone with paint.
  • Sodom and Gomorrah
• Hair using brown or black.  Draw Samson’s face first and then create the hair with paint.
  • Samson and Delilah

How to Use on Any Story

Create a frame around any verse or picture by taping a paper over the centre of the paper (where the words are written) and only leave a blank space around the edges of the paper exposed.  Once the painting is complete then remove the paper.