Get your club members thinking of sharing Christ’s love with others.
We often think of Valentine’s Day as a time for expressing mushy love, but it’s the perfect opportunity for club members to share God’s love. These projects are easily adaptable for another month, as well.
Hospital decorations. Ask a local hospital if your club can make Valentine’s Day decorations for the pediatric wing. Make posters and valentines for doors and hallways. Print public-domain valentine’s clip art from the Internet. Make garlands of yarn with hearts attached.
Love bucket. Start a love bucket chain reaction. Bake and decorate heart-shaped cookies and put them in a plastic bucket from the dollar store. Cover the bucket well and put it on the pastor’s or another church leader’s car, with this note:
This little “Love Bucket” is meant to express
Love from some kids who you’ll never guess.
Replace the goodies with a treat from you
And pass it on to someone who you love, too. 1 John 4:11
Salad lunch for seniors. Help club members host a luncheon for seniors in your church after the Sunday service. Send home notes asking parents to help their child make a salad to share. Help club members prepare to “wait on” tables. Help them practice reading poems and singing love songs from the past: “Blue Skies,” “Bicycle Built for Two,” “Side by Side.”
Puppy love. Make dog biscuits with heart-shaped cookie cutters for an animal shelter. Prepare a devotional on Psalm 104:14, 21, 24, 27-28, talking about how the club members can have a part in God’s work of giving the animals food.
Mugs of love. Have club members make posters a month in advance asking for donations of mugs and sample size toiletries (from hotels, etc.). Post the notices in church. For your project, stuff the toiletries into the mugs and deliver them to a soup kitchen, where they can be given out to people who come for a meal. Include a valentine in each mug.
Coupons for family. Plan a short devotional on 1 Corinthians 13:4. Encourage club members to consider how they do or don’t do these things in their families. Keep the focus on looking for ways to do better rather than shaming. To conclude the devotional, copy and cut apart “Love Coupons.” Let each child fill one out and decorate it for a family member.
Valentine placemats. Check with a local nursing home to see how many placemats they would need. Provide valentine-making supplies, and have children arrange them on pieces of construction paper. “Laminate” the placemats with clear adhesive shelf liner when they’re done, and trim off the excess.
With a little forethought, you can help children think of others this Valentine’s Day.
