John the Baptist's Special News Report

What was it like to hear John the Baptist announce the coming of a Messiah? This activity gives students a chance to be creative by acting out a news report about the story of the prophet who proclaimed Jesus's arrival.

The children will be able to identify John the Baptist as the last prophet to proclaim the arrival of Jesus.

• Bibles
• Pencils
• Writing paper

• Remind the children of how the Old Testament tells the history of the People of God as God prepared them to receive the Messiah.
• Then ask the children to form groups of three or four and provide each group with a Bible.
• Ask the groups to open their Bibles to a passage about John the Baptist in Mark 1:2-8.
• Allow time for the children to read the passage aloud with their groups.
• When the children are familiar with the story, ask them to create TV news reports, reporting John's message about the coming of a Messiah.
• Suggest to the children that two group members can act as reporters, taking turns telling the story. The other group member(s) can introduce the report, act as eye-witnesses to the event, or act as John the Baptist.
• When the groups are ready, invite them to present their news reports to the entire group.

Allow the children to be as creative as possible with their news reports. If possible, have props available for the children to use in their presentations. (For example, a hat and blazer for the reporter, something that resembles a microphone, a notepad and pen, and so on.)

As the children work on their presentations, walk among the groups and answer any questions that may arise.

Be aware that some children may not feel comfortable role-playing in front of an audience. If a child is having a difficult time with this, allow the child to work behind the scenes. Perhaps the child can write note cards for the reporters and witnesses, and he or she can hold them up during the presentation.

Image credit: Titian. Public Domain via Wikimedia.