The following is an unfinished concept for a Children's Sermon, Sunday School Lesson, or Game Workshop involving things that fly, can be flung, tossed, soar, land with a thud, etc.

It was originally posted at my software website's Pentecost activities and children's sermon page.

"Faith is Meant to Fling"

For this lesson or children's sermon you will need several things to throw or launch, including toys you will buy in bulk and give to the kids. Some of the things you toss won't go very far on purpose, others will demonstrate the Pentecost proposition that "faith is meant to be flung" -- shared, given away, and you don't always know where it will land.

Use these flying things to illustrate points, then give them out to the kids and let them give them a "fling." If you do this in worship, invite the adults to "fling or fly" the items back at you. I've divided the activity/talk into "3 Acts" (steps). See notes below.  What a lot of great metaphors to expound on and demonstrate!

Here are several "toys" you can buy in bulk to demonstrate different aspects of this proposition. They can be found cheap on Oriental Trading Company.

• Balsawood gliders (very inexpensive, easy to assemble, able to draw/write on them, and they are fun to fly). What makes us Soar? Steer? Lift? Land? Where should we be going? Do we always end up where we thought we would? What if you try to fly without wings?
• Jesus Fish Flingers (found these at Oriental Trading Co. how fun!  Buy dozens for the whole congregation. Could a message fit inside? What do these represent? How can you go far and avoid a mis-fire? Who are you aiming for?
• Frisbees ("flying discs"). These can be purchased in bulk and used to demonstrate (in a safe room or outdoors) how "flinging technique" is important. You just can't toss the message out there, you need to "beautifully fling it" to get it to travel. (Demonstrate)All these objects could be drawn or written on for a full-blown lesson.
  
  

Act 1: You demonstrate various "flying things" (both those that fly well, and don't fly well). See "don't fly well" notes below.

Act 2: You talk about Pentecost, and the fact that "putting yourself out there to share" means letting the Spirit guide your flight, and never quite knowing what kind of effect you are having.

Act 3: Kids help you fling, then you invite the adults to "fling back."  Pentecost was contagious, just like our "fling fest" is. When other Christians see you sharing your faith or living out your faith, they are encouraged to do it too.

Sometimes you don't know exactly where your "flinging" will take you. (Flinging fish and frisbees is an inexact science.) You try to aim at that person over there, but you end up flinging at the person next to them. Or you think you are helping person X, but person Y sees what you are doing and is the one who is inspired by your faith or example.

Who needs to hear the message of God's love and forgiveness from you?   A sibling? friend? parent?  someone at school or in your neighborhood?  The "closer" you get to them, the easier it is for them to receive the message (you could demonstrate close vs far too).

Are you willing to be "flung" by God's Spirit? What might be holding you back? Where does the Spirit want to send you right now ? (what problem or person needs you?) What will you do when you 'get' there to where God has sent you?

Things that don't fly so well:

• A wad of paper with your "best intentions" written on it.
• A glider that has a string or weight attached to weigh it down (burdened by fear, guilt, sin).
• Never getting your faith out of the package and assembling it. (Fling a packaged, unbuilt glider.)

Corollary Activity for extended follow-up:

All these flying things need wind/air to keep them up.  Demonstrate the Spirit of God sustaining us and helping us "deliver" the message by doing this game:   (1) Write a message on a piece of tissue paper. (2) Give pairs of students two straws to blow at the tissue to try and keep it up in the air and blow it to the goal line.