It can be challenging to find baptism crafts for Sunday school. Let’s discover 5 new Bible crafts based on this important event in every believer’s life. Below is a collection of creative ideas and a couple of Sunday school crafts that you can use in children’s church. Whether you are teaching the kids about the baptism of Jesus or your church is having a baptism Sunday, there will be an option from the list below that can work for you.
Remember that children’s ministry is more than entertainment or games. Even though there are beautiful and fun ways that we can teach kids, we need to always make sure our heart is in the right place. Are you going into Sunday with the expectation that kids will encounter God? How are you preparing yourself (and your volunteers) to be discerning what the Holy Spirit wants to do in your time with the kids? Can you pray over the classroom or meeting space beforehand?
Quick Assessment
Why does your prayer life keep falling flat?
It's usually one of four things — and each one needs a completely different strategy to break through. This 2-minute assessment tells you exactly which pattern is blocking you.
Before you scroll down and dive into the crafts and activities below, I want to encourage you to pause and ask God to guide you to choose the best one for your specific group. He knows the name of each child you are working with and He cares about what you are going to teach them.
5 Baptism Crafts for Sunday School with Activities
1. New Life Plant Signifying Baptism
The complete Sunday school lesson that accompanies this activity can be about how we get a new life when we are baptized. It is based on 2 Corinthians 5:17: “When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world.The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new!” (ERV) This is one of my favorite baptism crafts to use in Sunday school or kids’ ministry. It teaches kids how we come to life when we encounter God. It’s like we were sleepwalking up to that point, because we are suddenly alive to our true purpose and the meaning of life.
Free Resource
Get Your FREE Prayer Guide Now
and join the Daily Way Devotional: Join 25,000+ Subscribers
Hand out paper or styrofoam cups and let each child write their name on it with a permanent marker.If you have more time, they can decorate the cups with pant or craft supplies. Add some soil to the bottom of the cup and let the kids plant seeds. You need to teach them how to tend to the seeds so that it can sprout and grow. Alternatively, you can also propagate plants or sprout seeds beforehand to plant on this day. This craft is great for young children of any age.
This craft is based on the Holy Spirit descending as a dove at the baptism of Jesus. In your Bible time, read Mark 1:9-11 in the Easy-to-Read Version: “John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the sky torn open. The Spirit came down on him like a dove. A voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with you.” You can also consider speaking this over the kids as well: God loves you; He is pleased with you. Hearing these things helps them see God for who He really is. He is not mad at them or distant.
Teach the kids that the Spirit of God also dwells inside each one of them. The lesson here is that the Holy Spirit is God-with-us. Use paper plates to make a simple white dove. A dove template can be found here. It’s always a good idea to make an example before class so that the kids can see a visual representation of what they’re expected to make. Toddler groups might find this craft a bit too advanced.
Consider focusing on the perspective of John the Baptist for a unique Jesus’ baptism craft. Older children will particularly enjoy this one since it’s a bit different from what they’ve probably done a million times before. John’s story is quite unique and it is a fun one to explore with kids. This craft helps children recognize the humanity of Bible characters, which in turn connects them to Jesus more – like, He was a real human being; fully God and fully man!
This is not so much a craft, but it is a great way to teach something in a way that middle school children will understand. A creative way to teach the kids the story of John is to focus on his diet of grasshoppers and honey. Take a sugar cookie and drizzle some honey over the top. It is optional to add some gummy sweets in the shape of bugs on top. Focus on Matthew 3:11 ““I baptize you with water to show that you have changed your hearts and lives. But there is someone coming later who is able to do more than I can. I am not good enough to be the slave who takes off his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (ERV)
Focus on the fact that Jesus’ baptism kicked off His public ministry. Highlight the need for new birth and that we should not try to do things for God from our own strength. Switch things up on this day and do the craft first, turning your usual program on its head. Doing so will teach kids about how the baptism came first in a very practical way. Using a glue stick and some magazines, have the kids make collages of the baptism story. They can include all the elements like the river, the other people, John the baptist, the dove from Heaven, and so forth.
You can give more detailed instructions depending on the age group you are working with. For example: High school students might be challenged to create a portrait picture of John the Baptist or something like that. Other groups might cut out letters or words to craft their own poem about baptism. Perhaps a few brave ones can read their poetry out loud to the rest of the group.
This printable activity can be printed on any blank page. It is a very simple activity suitable for any age group. This craft encourages independent work and might introduce a great window of opportunity for volunteers to move through the kids and pray with individuals as they color in. Draw the kids’ attention to certain details in the picture by asking them questions.
Older children can be challenged to take a Bible and copy the text of the baptism story onto their page. In the past when I’ve wanted to challenge my kids ministry group, I’d encourage group activities. For example: You can print this coloring picture on a big page (A2) and instead of handing out 30 individual pictures, the whole group can work together on one picture. This challenges kids to move beyond an individualistic mindset towards a collectivist one, which teaches them about loving their neighbor and having patience.
Photo by Robert Collins
Final thoughts on Baptism Bible crafts
These baptism crafts for Sunday school are sure to break the box a little bit. Each activity or craft can actually be fleshed out a bit, and then you have a free Bible lesson based on baptism! Children can grasp the true meaning of baptism and how it is the place where everything is made new. If you are still unsure how to teach the meaning of baptism, the following Scripture is a great place to start:
“Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ Jesus when we were baptized? In our baptism we shared in his death. So when we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and took part in his death. And just as Christ was raised from death by the wonderful power of the Father, so we can now live a new life. Christ died, and we have been joined with him by dying too. So we will also be joined with him by rising from death as he did. We know that our old life was put to death on the cross with Christ. This happened so that our sinful selves would have no power over us. Then we would not be slaves to sin. Anyone who has died is made free from sin’s control. If we died with Christ, we know that we will also live with him Christ was raised from death. And we know that he cannot die again. Death has no power over him now. “
– Romans 6:3-9
Let us know if you used any of these ideas and how it went. Also, feel free to share some prayer requests for your Sunday school or kids ministry in the comments below. We would love to come around you and support you in this important task of nurturing the faith development of young ones. If you found this post useful, let us know what other Sunday school resources you would like to see from us.
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a Masters-level Practical Theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children's content and she illustrates children's books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
You can follow Eljoh on LinkedIn or Instagram.
