Everybody is unique.
Some people do not drift along with the crowd, they push through on things they believe are right.
Because of this, some are remembered throughout history for what they achieved.
Table of Contents:
1. Teacher’s background information.
The lesson plan will look at a young girl from history.
She was not great at sports, she did not invent something wonderful, but she did go to extraordinary lengths to get a Bible.
This made her famous in history, her name was Mary Jones.
Some famous Christians from history.
There have been hundreds of famous Christians, but here is just a handful that might appeal to adults:
- J.S. Bach (1685 – 1750) A great musical composer.
- William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833) Campaigner for the abolishment of slavery.
- Florence Nightingale (1820 – 1910) Raised the standards of nursing and hospitals.
- J.R.R.Tolkien (1892 – 1993) Best-selling author, The Lord of the Rings, etc.
- C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) Author of the Narnia Chronicles, etc.
- Eric Liddell (1902 – 1945) Olympic 400m champion.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 – 1945) an influential critic of Hitler and Nazism and was executed in 1945.
- Mother Teresa (1910 – 1997) – Devoted life to the care and service of the poor.
- Abbe Pierre (1912 – 2007) founded the Emmaüs movement, which helps the poor, homeless and refugees.
- Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968) A pioneering leader of the US civil rights.
- Desmond Tutu (1931 – ) Campaigned against apartheid during the 1970s and 1980s.
- Cliff Richard (1940 – ) British rock and pop star over the past 50 years.
- Simone Biles Won five medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics – the most decorated American gymnast in history.
- DeVon Franklin (1978- ) A movie producer including Miracles From Heaven, The Karate Kid, Hancock, etc.
- Tom Hanks (1956- ) Actor.
- Denzel Washington (1954- ) Actor.
- Carrie Underwood (1983- ) Actor.
- Karrueche Tran (1988- ) Actor.
More recent famous Christian sportsmen and women.
And for the children, here are some Christians from the sporting world:
- Usain Bolt (1986- ) Athlete. The world’s fastest man.
- David Wise (1990- ) Olympic gold medallist snowboarder.
- Daniel Sturridge (1989- ) Liverpool and England striker.
- Christine Ohuruogu (1984- ) Athlete.
- Gerry Lester ‘Bubba’ Watson Jr. (1978- ) Professional golfer.
- Lewis Hamilton (1985- ) Formula One world champion.
2. Lesson plans and resources for Famous Christians.
Famous Christians – Mary Jones lesson plan
Other famous Christians – RE lesson plan – Coming soon due to changes in the RE syllabus.
Videos of Christians in sports.
Attention – by clicking ‘play’ your browser will load all of the Youtube Cookies.
Clicking ‘play’ means you are consenting to these Cookies.
[1] An overview of Christians who play sports professionally.
[2] Jenny Tait, an international volleyball player speaks briefly about her faith.
[3] A Welsh Rugby World Cup player shares a piece of his faith.
[4] Ultramarathon athlete Donnie Campbell answers a question about his faith.
[5] Peter Browne, a professional rugby player, says how Christianity shaped his life.
3. A free children’s song about us being unique.
This song by John Hardwick can be used in R.E. lessons, assemblies, collective worship, church children’s talks, Sunday schools, etc.
Attention – by clicking ‘play’ your browser will load all of the Youtube Cookies.
Clicking ‘play’ means you are consenting to these Cookies.
Nobody’s A Nobody – Kid’s Praise Song.
This song has a simple message ‘Nobody is a Nobody – Everybody is a ‘Somebody’.
Every single one of us is unique, there has never been another you and never will be another you and you are loved by God.
It’s a fun action song that the children enjoy because it gradually gets faster and faster.
4. How to fulfil the locally agreed syllabus on ‘Famous Christians’
Hopefully, you will be able to match your local agreed syllabus with what is here which satisfies eight councils:
These lesson plans are based on the Progression Documents of The Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education’ Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Peterborough, Rutland County Councils. This is in the light blue text.
The green text is from other Councils: Lewisham Borough, West Sussex, Hull and East Riding.
Here are the main aims for the visit:
- Explore some stories about Christians e.g. historical figures such as Mary Jones or well-known current figures from Christians in Sport.
- Find out about examples of cooperation between people who are different.
- Share ideas and examples of cooperation between people who are different.
Key vocabulary: Bible, Christ, Christmas, Disciple, Faith, God, Jesus, Prayer.