Church Busy Bags for Kids: What to Put in Them

Use this checklist to fill church busy bags for the kids who stay in the worship service with their parents. Some churches call them quiet bags. It is written for the volunteer who puts them together, and it covers what to put in each bag, which printables work best, how to make 20 on a small budget and how to tie each bag to the sermon.

The free Bible Alphabet Coloring Pages have 26 sheets, A to Z, with one big letter and one Bible word on every page. They are best for preschool and early elementary. Print one letter a week, or print the whole book at once.

What One Church Puts in Its Busy Bags

One church wrote us about the busy bags they hand out on Sundays. Each bag holds crayons, coloring sheets, a find-a-word, a maze and a couple of quiet fidget toys. When there is no Sunday school teacher, a lesson coloring sheet goes in the bag. It also helps kids who stay in the service with their parents. A local pharmacy gives the church its leftover seasonal items when each season ends. That keeps the bags full.

What Church Busy Bags Are For

A busy bag gives a child quiet things to do with their hands, so they can stay in worship with their family.

Children belong in worship. When Ezra read God’s Law, the crowd was men, women and all who could understand (Nehemiah 8:2-3). When parents brought little children to Jesus, the disciples tried to send them away. Jesus welcomed the children, took them in His arms and blessed them (Mark 10:13-16).

A busy bag is not a babysitter. Its job is to help a wiggly child hear about Jesus a little at a time. Busy hands can free up listening ears. For more on kids in the service, read Big Church, Little Church: Which to Choose for Kids? and 5 Ways to Engage Children in Church Service.

Church Busy Bag Checklist: What to Put in Each Bag

Keep it quiet, flat and simple. Here is a checklist for one bag.

1. A bag that closes. A gallon zipper bag or a cloth drawstring bag works well.
2. A small set of crayons. Crayons are quiet, and they don’t stain like markers.
3. Something hard to color on. A clipboard or a piece of stiff cardboard makes a lap desk.
4. One or two coloring sheets.
5. A find-a-word puzzle.
6. A maze.
7. One sheet tied to the sermon. See the section on the sermon below.
8. One or two quiet fidget toys. Pick soft ones that make no noise, like a pipe cleaner or a stress ball.

What to leave out: anything that rattles, rolls or squeaks. Skip snacks, since crumbs and food allergies cause trouble. Leave out glue and scissors too.

Free Printables for Church Busy Bags

Put one coloring page, one puzzle and one sermon sheet in every bag. These free printables work well.

1. Bible alphabet coloring pages for little ones. The Bible Alphabet Coloring Pages are drawn big and open, so the youngest kids can color inside the lines.
2. Books of the Bible coloring pages for older kids. The Books of the Bible Coloring Pages have 66 sheets, one for every book. The line art is fine and detailed, so put colored pencils in those bags. The pages are landscape.
3. Bible word searches. Try these 13 Free Bible Word Search Puzzles, each on a Bible story.
4. Bible mazes. The Noah’s Ark Maze has kids lead the animals to the ark.
5. Worship bulletins for kids. Ministry-to-Children has a page on children’s worship bulletins. These illustrated activity sheets come from a partner site in ages 3 to 6 and 7 to 12, and the page links to a free 20-bulletin sample pack. This site has an older post on the same bulletins: Children’s Worship Bulletins.

How to Assemble 20 Church Busy Bags on a Budget

Make them all at one sitting, with a few helpers and a long table.

1. Count your kids. Then add a few extra bags for visitors.
2. Buy crayons in bulk and split them. Four or five crayons in each bag is plenty.
3. Ask the church for supplies. Put a note in the bulletin asking for crayons, zipper bags and old clipboards.
4. Ask a local store for leftovers. One church gets end-of-season items from a pharmacy. It is worth asking a store near you.
5. Print in black and white. Coloring sheets don’t need color ink.
6. Set up an assembly line. One person adds the bag, the next the crayons, then the board, the sheets and the fidget toy.
7. Label each bag. Write the church name on it so it comes back.
8. Store them by the door. Keep all the bags in one tub by the sanctuary door, where families walk in.

How to Tie Church Busy Bags to the Sermon

Add one sheet each week that matches the pastor’s Bible passage.

1. Ask the pastor for the passage early in the week.
2. Print a coloring page on that Bible story. Search this site for the story name.
3. Add a “listen for” card. Write three words the pastor will likely say, such as “Jesus,” “love” or “God.” Kids make a mark each time they hear one.
4. Add a “draw the sermon” box. Kids draw one thing they heard.
5. Talk at the door. Ask each child to show you what they drew.
6. Point to Jesus. Choose sheets that show what God has done, not only what kids should do.

How to Clean and Restock Church Busy Bags

Collect every bag after the service. Restock it before next Sunday.

1. Collect the bags at the door. Let kids take their finished sheets home.
2. Toss used and torn sheets. Add fresh ones.
3. Wipe the fidget toys and clipboards. A disinfecting wipe works.
4. Check the crayons. Throw out broken stubs and refill.
5. Wash cloth bags once a month.
6. Swap in seasonal sheets. Add Advent, Christmas and Easter pages when those seasons come.
7. Give one volunteer the job. When one person owns restocking, the bags don’t go empty.

Share Your Church Busy Bag Ideas

What’s in your church’s busy bags? What has worked for your wiggliest kids? Leave a comment and help another church get started.