Christian Crafts for Teens

Making matching youth group t-shirts for a special Christian youth event or activity serves as a team building activity as well as a fun craft project for teens. Plan the t-shirt activity with the group so that they have a buy in on the shirt design. Decisions will need to be made about theme, color to tie dye or leave the shirts plain. If the decision is made to tie dye, then this activity will take two different meeting times to complete.

First tie die white t-shirts by knotting, twisting, and putting rubber bands around different parts of the shirt. Then set the shirts in a big tub of water and dye, carefully following the directions on the dye package. Be sure to have enough dye for all the shirts. The longer the shirts sit, the deeper the color. After dying the shirt, untie the knots and take off the rubber bands. Let the shirt dry. Washing the shirts in a solution of vinegar and water may prevent some fading. Work with the youth to come up with a catchy logo or use the name of the group. Make a stencil out of thin plastic or tag board of the logo. Use material paint to paint the logo on the front or back of the shirt. A youth group will have fun painting their youth group logo on plain white t-shirts and wearing the shirts to a variety of events. They can record the event and date on the shirt, along with friends' signatures.

Christian teens who are preparing to be involved in a community outreach, Vacation Bible School or are preparing to go on a mission trip will love learning the Wordless Book in the bracelet version. Before beginning this craft, teach the teens the story of the Wordless Book. The story tells the plan of salvation using colored pages. With this Christian craft, the teens will make one bracelet to wear. The bracelets are easy to make so teens can quickly teach the kids they meet how to make the bracelet for themselves or make bracelets to give away after telling the story of the Wordless Book.

For each bracelet you will need a10-inch piece of leather lace thin enough to fit through pony beads, and six pony beads in the following colors; gold, black, red, white, blue and green. Tie a knot on one end of the bracelet then add each bead in the order listed. Tie a knot on the opposite end of the bracelet. Then loosely tie the two ends of the bracelet together with a square knot.

When explaining the wordless bracelet, remember the gold bead stands for the glorious place Jesus has prepared for us with streets of gold. But you cannot go to heaven if you have sin in our life. The dark bead reminds of the sin in our life. The red bead reminds you of the good news that Jesus died for you and paid the price for your sin. The white bead tells that when you ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, you are made pure and clean of all your sins. The blue bead reminds you of the water of baptism. Baptism is the public testimony of the desire to follow Jesus. Then as a Christian keep growing in your faith. The green bead reminds you to growing in your love and commitment to Jesus.

Tie a fun craft, painting rocks, to your Bible message for the teens in your Christian youth group. A lesson on the standing stones based on the following scriptures; Gen. 28:18 to 21, Gen. 35:14 to 15, Exodus 24: 2 to 4, Joshua 4:2 to 9, and Joshua 24:27 may be an excellent lead in to this activity. Another possibility could be the found in the following scriptures: Psalms 62:7, Psalms 27:5, Psalms 40:2 or Deut. 33:4. The teens will paint, decorate and write a scripture on their rock as a remembrance of an important scripture that applies to their lives. This rock can be used as paper weight, yard decoration or a door stop. Encourage the teens to memorize the scripture, so that when they see the rock they will be reminded of the words from the Bible.

This is a great camp activity if you are in a location where medium size rocks are easy to find. It can also be done over several youth group meetings. Have one rock per teen. Use acrylic paints to paint each rock a bright base color. Let the base coat dry. Then have the students carefully paint the scripture on the rock. Follow up the scripture painting with decorations around the scripture. Some teens may wish to make their rock into a creature like a ladybug or a bee. The scripture can then be placed on the underside of the rock.