Living Out Our Faith Together This Lent
As we begin our Lenten journey, 40 days of preparation and renewal leading up to Easter Sunday, we have the opportunity to deepen our faith and strengthen our relationships with God, ourselves, and one another.
Lent invites us to slow down, reflect, and intentionally focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Let’s lean in with our students, creating moments of connection to Christ’s love and our community.
Faith Footsteps | Walk in Faith
Supplies: Footprint templates (or draw footprints), pens, markers.
Gather students and invite them to reflect on how they can “walk in faith” during Lent. Discuss ways to practice faith daily while awaiting Easter Sunday. Distribute the foot templates, or have students trace their footprints. Ask them to write one step they can take to grow closer to God (examples: acts of kindness, extra prayers, fasting).
Display the footprints in the classroom to create a path that leads to a cross or Easter display. This serves as a meaningful visual reminder throughout Lent of our commitment to walk in faith and grow closer to God.
Kindness Countdown | Love Others
Supplies: 40 slips of paper, a jar or basket
Work as a class to create 40 slips of paper, each listing a kind act to show love to others during Lent. Examples: giving a classmate a compliment, writing a letter to someone who inspires you, or thanking cafeteria staff. Encourage creativity as students add their ideas.
Each day, draw a slip and challenge the class to complete that act of kindness. At the end of the week, reflect on how these acts impacted others and deepened your faith. Discuss ways to continue practicing kindness throughout Lent and beyond.
Lenten Reflection Journal and Prayer Partners | Growing in Faith Together
Supplies: Lenten Reflection slide deck, writing paper, pencil/pen
Encourage middle and high school students to start a Lenten Reflection Journal as a way to deepen their faith. Use prompts like:
What is one act of kindness you can commit to today?
Where did you notice God’s presence today?
How can you deepen your relationship with God this Lent?
How can you give your time, talents, or resources to help others?
What meaningful sacrifice can you make, and what support do you need to stay committed?
After journaling, pair students as prayer partners to support and encourage each other during Lent. Partners can meet weekly to reflect on their faith journeys and discuss questions such as:
How did you grow in your faith this week?
What acts of kindness or service did you do, and how did they impact others?
How are you managing your Lenten sacrifice, and what challenges have you faced?
What are you grateful for this week?
How can I pray for or support you in your Lenten journey?
At the end of Lent, invite students to revisit their journals, reflect on their growth, and share insights with their prayer partners or the class. This activity fosters both personal reflection and meaningful connections as students grow closer to God and one another during the Lenten season.
Prayer cube | strengthen our relationship with god
Supplies: Prayer cube template for each student, scissors, pencil
Invite students to cut out the downloadable template. Fill in all sides of the cube with people or things they can pray for during Lent. Once students have filled out all sides, they will fold and glue the cube together following the template outline. Invite them to roll the cube daily and to spend time praying for the person or the thing that they rolled on. This activity will hopefully create space for students to intentionally spend time in prayer during Lent.
For younger students, teachers may prefer to make one Prayer Cube for the whole class. Invite your students to help you fill out each side with their ideas. Each day, you can roll the cube for the class and offer up prayer intentions together.
My Lenten Promise | Strengthen our Relationship with Self
Supplies: “My Lenten Promise” download, pencil, crayons
Lent is a time of personal and spiritual growth. During Lent, we often make a Lenten Promise. What is something we can do or maybe something we can give up that will strengthen our relationship with God and as a result, with ourselves?
Invite students to color the worksheet and to complete the sentence stem at the bottom:
For older students, invite them throughout the Lenten season to reflect back on their Lenten promise through discussion or journaling. Below are some guided prompts you may consider:
What are ways you can uphold your Lenten promise? What are some steps you can take to keep it?
If you are struggling with upholding your Lenten promise, what can you do? What are some ways you can remain committed?
Name two people you would like to share your Lenten promise with. How could they support you?
After Lent → Reflect back over the past 40 days. How did your Lenten promise deepen your faith?
Class Prayer Jar | Strengthen our Relationship with your Teacher and Class
Supplies: a jar (any jar will do!) and 40 slips of paper
Let’s pray with and for each other during Lent. Let’s create a Class Prayer Jar!
Divide up the 40 slips of paper among you and your students. This is a great activity for the teacher to join in on! 40 slips of paper for 40 days of Lent.
On each slip of paper, write a prayer intention. There is no right or wrong way for students to write their prayer intentions. They can be personal, anonymous, as well as general intentions like praying for our world, etc!
Once your class has filled out all 40 slips of paper, place them in the Prayer Jar. Each day, make it a part of your routine to draw a few prayer intentions from the jar. Pray together as a class over your intentions.
High School Activity: Reflect, Remember, Respond | Examining Our Faith and God’s Purpose in Our Life
Supplies: Writing paper, pencil/pen
A daily reflection is an opportunity to allow ourselves to:
Step away from things that distract us from God and recognize God’s presence in our lives
Offer our gratitude for the blessings in our lives
Name and acknowledge our emotions
Remember our misgivings and failures, and ask for forgiveness
Make a plan to guide your next day on a path of truth, beauty, and goodness
Challenge your students to spend time this Lent making this a part of their daily practice. Here are some guiding questions to help:
Where did you see God today?
What are you grateful for?
How did you feel today?
What was challenging today and how can you learn from it?
How can you make tomorrow better than today?
We hope this activity will provide an opportunity for your class to pray with and for each other during this season.