Game · 4+ yrs
The Shepherds Spread the News
A 15-minute Christmas group game for Sunday school or family (Luke 2:8-20): the news passes from one to the next until everyone knows
In Luke 2:8-20, an angel announces to some shepherds in the fields that the Savior has been born, and after seeing the baby they tell what they had heard about the child. In this 15-minute game, the group lives that night in five moments: the fields, the angel’s announcement, the trip to Bethlehem, the news passed from one to the next, and the review. It works with 3 to 30 children and needs almost nothing. Goal: children notice that the angel called the birth of Jesus "good news of great joy" (Luke 2:10), because Jesus is the Savior, and that today they too can tell this news to other people. With 4- and 5-year-olds, stick to the gestures and the short sentence "The Savior is born!" (at the end, the adult says the whole news and the group repeats it); with 9- to 12-year-olds, ask a pair to read Luke 2:8-20 in the Bible and play the angel.
🧰 Materials
- •1 Bible, open at Luke 2:8-20
- •1 cardboard box or basket with a cloth inside (the manger)
- •1 folded cloth or a doll wrapped in a cloth (the baby)
- •Optional: a phone flashlight, for the angel’s moment
📋 Step by step
In the fields, at night (2 min)
In a corner of the room, the children sit together: they are the shepherds spending the night in the fields, keeping watch over the flock. If you like, dim the lights a little. Read Luke 2:8 and ask softly: "What would it be like to stay awake all night looking after the flock?"
💡 Half-light, never total darkness, and no noises to scare anyone. If a child does not like the low light, turn it back on: the game works just the same.
The angel’s announcement (3 min)
Turn on the flashlight pointing at the ceiling, or simply stand in front of the group: now you are the angel. Tell Luke 2:9-12 in your own words: the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds and they were very afraid, but the angel said: "Do not be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy for all the people: for there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Teach the sign with gestures: a baby wrapped in cloths (arms rocking) and lying in a manger (hands laying the baby down). Then everyone stands up, like the multitude of angels in Luke 2:13-14, and says together: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace!"
💡 The shepherds’ fear is in the text, and the angel’s first words are "do not be afraid." Point this out: God’s news comes to bring joy. The light never goes straight into anyone’s eyes.
Let’s go to Bethlehem! (2 min)
The shepherds say to one another: "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us!" (Luke 2:15). The group hurries to the other side of the room, where the manger is. Read Luke 2:16: they found Mary, Joseph and the baby lying in the manger. Let the children look at the manger in silence for a few seconds.
💡 Hurry, but walk: agree on "shepherd feet, not racing feet." The group keeps the pace of whoever goes slowest, including anyone who uses a wheelchair or crutches.
The news, one to the next (5 min)
Now comes Luke 2:17-18: the shepherds told what the angel had said about the child, and everyone who heard it was amazed. One child starts as a shepherd: they go to a classmate, say the news ("In David’s city the Savior has been born, who is Christ the Lord!") and make the gesture of the baby wrapped in cloths. The one who heard makes an amazed face, takes the shepherd’s hand, and the two go together to tell the next one. The chain grows until the whole group is holding hands, and then everyone says the news together. Nobody has to speak alone: a shy child can just make the gesture, and those already in the chain help with the words. For a child who does not speak or hear, the gesture is the whole news.
💡 Large group (more than 20): make two or three chains, each with a helper, that meet at the manger. Small group or at home: the adult is the angel and each child tells the news to someone else in the house or to a stuffed animal.
Treasure and praise (3 min)
Sit in a circle. Read Luke 2:19-20: Mary treasured all these things in her heart and thought about them, and the shepherds went back praising God for all they had heard and seen. Tell them that eight days later the baby was given the name Jesus (Luke 2:21). With a hand on their heart, each child says one word they want to keep from the story (angel, baby, manger, joy...); anyone who prefers can just point to the manger. Review with three questions: "Who did the angel bring the news to?", "What did the angel say when the shepherds were afraid?" and "What did the shepherds do after seeing the baby?". Today we are the ones who tell it: Jesus is the Savior God sent. Finish with a praise song the group knows or a short prayer of thanks for the birth of Jesus.
💡 For parents (on the board or in the class note): "Today we played shepherds. Ask at home: who can we tell the Christmas news to this year, and how?"
"For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:11