Jonah

Teaching point: We must be surrendered to do the will and the work of God.
Jonah is in period costume. The actor should be made up to appear as very old. He should have a long gray beard and walk with a staff. In spite of his age he should walk upright and strong.

Although forceful he must take care not to frighten or intimidate the children. Jonah must stay in character at all times so must be careful not to look around at, or notice, anyone in the congregation as he comes in or as he leads the children out of the church. In addition, it is extremely important that the actor conduct himself in such a way as to be entertaining and exciting but he must be very careful not to come across as a "comedy act". This drama is meant to inspire stimulating, arousing interest yet with a theme of dignified, sober sincerity.

Actor should thoroughly read from Jonah, the entire account of this story.

Run-Time: 3-4 

Cast Number: 2

• Pastor
• Jonah

Sample of script:

Prior to Jonah entering the sanctuary, the pastor invites the children to come to the front of the church.

Pastor says: One of the great things about Children's church is that you get to learn about God and about people in the Bible who have served God. And this morning we have a special treat for you! We have a very special person coming to talk to you in Children's Church this morning.

Jonah enters sanctuary from side door:  Good morning! My name is Jonah. I'm sure that all of you have heard of me. This morning we are going to go to your Sunday School room and talk about how things were when I lived on earth.

Now, can anyone tell me what a whale is? ............ That’s right. A whale is a big, big fish. Many years ago I was actually swallowed by a whale and I lived in the whale's stomach for some time. What do you think it would be like, being inside a whale? . . . . Do you think you would be frightened? . . . . Well, I was very frightened too! What do you do when you are frightened? . . . . .

Well, I prayed to God, that He would rescue me.

Now let's go to your room and we will talk about my experience with the whale. And we will talk about how all of us, young or old, must be ready to do what God expects of us.  Also, we will talk about how all people need to know about God.

Before we go, though, let's pray. "Dear God, I thank you for these children and for their interest in learning about You. Bless these children and their families. We pray in Your name. Amen."

Jonah takes the hand of a couple of the smaller children and leads them down the aisle and out the back doors of the sanctuary.  Jonah reads to the children from the Book of Jonah, an account of his experience.

Jonah says: One day when I was resting, God came to me and asked me to do something for Him. Foolishly I decided not to listen to God. That's where all of my troubles started.

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