Forgiveness Crafts for Children

Teaching children about God's forgiveness in no easy task; however, helping the children understand through entertaining crafts is much more effective than having them sit and listen to a sermon. Forgiveness is a core value that children should learn and appreciate at a young age. Read the verse Colossians 3:13, which says, "Forgive as the Lord forgave you," aloud to the children before beginning the crafts.

Easy Crafts

Give each child a sheet of construction paper and have him write down the Colossians 3:13 verse. Have the children write down what forgiveness means to them on the sheet of paper. After everyone is done, have them sit in a circle and share their thoughts. For added fun, you can award small biblical stickers and bookmarks to children with good answers. Another idea is to print forgiveness-coloring pages from the website Sermon 4 Kids (see Resources) for the children to color.

Chalkboard Crafts

Ask the children to use chalk to scribble on small chalkboards. Small chalkboards are available online and at many retail stores. After the children scribble on the chalkboards, have them erase the boards. Explain to the children that scribbles represent bad things and God "erases" the scribbles away when we ask for forgiveness. If you don't have small chalkboards, allow each child the chance to scribble and erase on a large chalkboard.

Seven Times 70 Crafts

Read the story in Matthew 18:21-35, which talks about how many times we should forgive. The number is seven times 70 (490) so the children can do a few crafts with this number. For a simple craft, have the children write or draw an illustration that represent seven times 70. For a classroom craft, place a large piece of butcher paper on the ground. Give the children uncooked noodles or dry beans and have them make a chart that shows seven times 70.

Picture Crafts

Have the children work in groups to find pictures in magazines of people forgiving each other. For example, they can find a picture of two people hugging, shaking hands or talking. After each groups finishes, have them share their pictures with the group and give a reason why they think the picture represents forgiveness. Alternatively, have the children draw pictures of forgiveness instead of finding the pictures in a magazine.