Faced with the challenge of witnessing to illiterate children and adults, children's evangelist,. E.P. Hammond conceived the idea of the wordless gospel which associates colors with the five essential elements of God's plan of salvation. Crafts for salvation beads make use of the colors of the wordless book to help children understand the gospel message. The color association makes it easy for children and non-readers of any age, race or culture to remember the story of God's love and desire for all to come to salvation.
Wordless Gospel Colors
The black bead represents sin and the darkness of separation from God. The red bead stands for Jesus' shed blood that covers a person's sin. White or clear beads are for being washed clean of sin when a person asks forgiveness and accepts Jesus; as well as the sinless nature of Jesus and His resurrection from the dead. Green represents the believer's need to learn and grow in faith. Yellow or gold stands for the eternal reward of God's presence in heaven for all who accept Jesus as Savior. Some add a blue bead to the original design to represent baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit to empower a believer to live a godly life.
Salvation Jewelry
Beaded salvation bracelets or necklaces are probably the most common wordless gospel craft used by Sunday School teachers. Provide a supply of the bead colors and yarn, string, ribbon or plastic or leather cording. Students string the beads in color order as you tell the story of salvation. Tie the ends off to secure it around the child's wrist or neck. Children can make several to give to friends to help them witness the gospel to others.
Salvation Pins
A beaded pin craft is another way to wear the testimony of the gospel and create a conversation starter for sharing Jesus with a child's friends. Open a safety pin and slide several black beads on the arm. Close the pin. Repeat for each color of the wordless gospel. Arrange the pins in color order according to the story of salvation and slide the heads of the beaded safety pin over the open arm of another safety pin. Hot glue the horizontal support pin to a pin back and attach to the child's shirt.
Wordless Gospel Keychain
A wordless gospel keychain keeps the plan of salvation close at hand to remind you of God's love as you are coming in and going out as in Deuteronomy 6. Knot one end of a cord around a keyring. String five beads of each color in order. Cap the end with a cross or fish symbol bead and tie off. Another option is to intersperse color beads with letter and heart beads to spell out "Jesus Loves Me."
Wordless Gospel Bookmark
If a child has friends who love to read, a wordless gospel bookmark can be a thoughtful and practical gift that tells the story of salvation. Thread a cross or fish pendant onto a 12 to 18-inch length of beading wire and secure it in place with a crimping bead. As you give the message of salvation, have the children string 10 to 20 beads of each color in story order. Seal the end with another crimping bead. A second pendant is optional. Feed any loose wire back through the bead chain to hide the sharp end.
Tags: color order, each color, story salvation, wordless gospel, beads each