It’s Fun Friday! Today’s free download is an Activity Page from The Gospel Project for Kids.
You can learn more about The Gospel Project for Kids by reading the latest Kids Ministry 101 magazine.
Fun Friday: The Gospel Project for Kids Activity Page
Fun Friday: Christmas Gift Tag Download
Use the tags below to add a little touch of Christmas cheer to all your presents. Download and print on card stock, then attach to gifts using twine or ribbon. Merry Christmas! Download tags here.
When My Homeschooler’s Bible Lesson Was For Me
The following is a guest post from Scarlet Hiltibidal.
My oldest daughter is a high-achiever who’s SUPER serious about WINNING and is fully dressed and groomed before I even get out of bed every morning. She is also homeschooled.
Ever Grace is so driven and it has been a joy teaching her to read and write and identify the different parts of the axial skeleton (I don’t actually know much about the axial skeleton). But, the coolest part of homeschooling has been the opportunity to teach her about the real-life, everyday power of the gospel.
Let me tell you about what happened the other day.
I was being a very subpar mom. The frustration of tantrums from my younger daughters and scheduling and laundry had me snappy and impatient. But, it was a Tuesday, so I knew that no matter how I felt, I still had to educate my child.
So, with a too-loud exhale, I rattled off the bolded question I was supposed to read for the day in our Gospel Project Home Edition curriculum. The question read, “In the Bible, there are stories of people who God used to do great things for His glory. Can you think of any?”
The examples the book gave were David, Samson, Daniel, Moses and Elijah.
Half listening, I looked away from the book and pulled a few plates out of the dishwasher.
Ever said, “The woman at the well.”
I didn’t say anything at first, because I was genuinely confused by her answer. I, a professional gospel-centered writer and an unprofessional gospel-centered homeschool educator, basically forgot the gospel and didn’t understand her answer.
“The woman at the well?”
She said, “Yeah. Because Jesus forgave her and then she went and told people about what Jesus did for her.”
Crazy. How breathtaking, right? And how mind-boggling, that eight-year-olds can understand the beautiful mystery of the gospel even better than the adult, “mature” Christians who teach them.
Ever Grace didn’t answer the way I would have answered. She didn’t pick the Bible characters who “accomplished great things.” She picked an unfaithful woman who was recorded in the Bible for doing nothing more than meeting Jesus and telling people she was forgiven.
That’s it.
That’s the whole gospel. We can’t accomplish anything on our own. We’ve got nothing to offer and everything to gain. The greatest thing we’ve ever done is needing what Christ has done for us. We are all “the woman at the well.” And we are all loved.
I’m thankful for a curriculum that’s questions don’t just point my young daughters to the true and beautiful gospel and how it is the centerpiece of every Bible story and every life moment. It also teaches me. It reminds me. It corrects me and comforts me out of my homeschool huffs.
While I was unloading the dishwasher, steeped in selfishness, God used my eight-year-old to remind me that nothing I have failed at today and nothing I might win at tomorrow has any bearing on Christ’s love for me.
At our worst and at our best, we are to-the-cross-and-back loved. We can have to-the-skies joy. And we can embrace and extend the out-of-this-world forgiveness that is ours now and ours forever.
Learn more about The Gospel Project: Home Edition here.
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Scarlet Hiltibidal is a very professional wife and mother. She is the author of Afraid of All the Things and He Numbered the Pores on My Face. She also writes a regular column for ParentLife Magazine. Scarlet loves sign language with her daughters, nachos by herself, writing for her friends, and learning how to be a pretend-farmer with her husband in Middle Tennessee.
6 Things Kids Leaders Should Know about Curriculum: Part 4
When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them that I help produce Bible study curriculum. But, of course, it is so much more than the way I feed my family—it is a passion and a privilege, one I seek to steward well. With that deep care for curriculum in mind, I want to share six things that I wish every kid’s leader knew about curriculum. Knowing these things, I believe, can transform a ministry, which more importantly, can transform lives.
So far we have covered:
- Every curriculum is crafted around a set of core values.
- The goal is to teach the Bible, not the curriculum.
- There is no perfect curriculum.
Today …
- Teaching God’s Word takes work.
The points made on the last two posts require this one. Teaching the Bible is not easy, nor should it be really. It takes work. You can’t expect to put minimal effort into teaching and expect maximum impact. Saturday preparation doesn’t lead to the best Sunday execution. I realize that I may have just stepped on some toes here, but there is no way around this. Teaching others is too important—far too weighty—not to talk about this (see James 3:1). If you are a teacher, you need to be prepared to roll up your sleeves and invest time, energy, and effort into preparing to teach.
The best teaching comes from the overflow of our grappling with the text. We take the leader guide and hold it up next to the Scriptures and use it, with the Spirit’s guidance, to discern what God is saying in the text, what it meant to the author and original recipients, and how we are to understand it and live it out today in our context. None of that sounds easy because none of it is. It isn’t meant to be. It takes effort, which is what our God deserves, what our kids need, and what we are called on to do as teachers.
But this doesn’t mean that you get extra credit for working needlessly harder. The old adage certainly holds true: Work smarter, not harder. Here are a few tips to help you do that.
First, do some heavy lifting up front to help you in the long run. We talked about this in the first post, but to state it again, one thing you will want to do (perhaps need to do is more accurate) is take some time to understand the values of the curriculum you are using. What are you after? Again, to call on a popular adage: If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?
Beyond that, familiarize yourself with the resource as much as you can. How is it designed? What is the logic and flow of a session? What other items and materials are available for you to use in a session (e.g. posters) and how do you access them? I talk to people all of the time who aren’t aware of the various items available to use each week as part of The Gospel Project for Kids. Know about all the tools that you can have available in your tool belt, why each exists, and how you can use them all.
Finally, know of the extra teaching helps provided for you. Many curriculums provide plenty of additional materials to help prepare leaders. The Gospel Project provides blog posts with additional resources, weekly teacher training videos, and more. These are all provided to help you as a teacher dive deeply into the Bible story so that you can teach each session the best as possible.
Questions for reflection
- What is your normal rhythm of preparing each week? Are you investing well into your calling?
- What additional resources are available to help you that you might not be taking advantage of?
Next time: The best teaching experiences include activities and group interaction.
Brian Dembowczyk is the managing editor for The Gospel Project. He served in local church ministry for over 16 years before coming to Lifeway. Brian earned an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his family live in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
See, Show, Share, and Compare Lifeway Kids Curriculum
Comparing Lifeway Kids curriculum resources is easier than ever thanks to a brand new collection of easy-access resource guides available online now at teachkids.lifeway.com. The new TeachKids webpage lets you quickly and easily see, show, share, and compare leader guide samples, scope-and-sequence study plans, and the underlying philosophy-of-ministry frameworks for Bible Studies for Life: Kids, Explore the Bible Kids and The Gospel Project for Kids. These fast and simple samples are formatted as digital flipbooks that you can instantly review, reference, compare, and share using your smartphone or computer without filling out a form or downloading files.
Curriculum Sampler
Each resource includes a digital flipbook that lets you instantly flip through curriculum samples for Kids and Preschool versions, including teacher guides, activity pages, family resources, and worship options so you can examine and evaluate each resource on-demand. Pages inside each flipbook contain embedded links that connect you directly to product pages on lifeway.com where you can see product details and prices.
Study Plan
Quick access to Study Plan flipbooks allows you to quickly assess the scope and sequence of each resource so you can know exactly what kids and preschoolers will study throughout each three-year study cycle. Here you’ll find suggested use dates, the key Scripture passages for each session, and volume, unit and Bible story titles.
Framework
Each Lifeway Kids curriculum resource is informed by an underlying philosophical framework that influences the writing and editing of every session. These frameworks are not curriculum; they are foundational approaches to teaching biblical truth to kids that are designed to inform teachers and parents of the learning strategies upon which each resource is built. Once you determine which of these three distinct approaches to teaching you prefer, you will have an easy time choosing the curriculum resource that aligns with your preferred philosophy. Details on each of these frameworks as well as printables, apps, and training videos are available free from Lifeway Kids.
Bible Studies for Life: Kids is based on the Levels of Biblical Learning®; a scholarly guide based on the idea that kids learn and comprehend concepts differently as they grow in maturity, therefore, we must teach biblical truths in well informed age-appropriate ways. The Levels of Biblical Learning outlines how children can best understand 10 different biblical concepts at different age levels.
Check out the Levels of Biblical Learning flipbook now at http://teachkids.lifeway.com/bsfl-framework/ or view the Levels of Biblical Learning details page at http://LifeWay.com/LOBL
Bible Skills for Kids is all about the promotion of biblical literacy and Bible familiarity and informs the Explore the Bible Kids resource. Bible Skills for Kids identifies various Bible skills that children can grasp and master at various stages of development, such as identifying Old and New Testament books, memorizing the books of the Bible, matching people in the Bible to the book in which they appear, and memorizing a wide range of scripture verses.
Check out the Bible Skills for Kids flipbook now at http://teachkids.lifeway.com/etb-framework/ or view the Bible Skills for Kids details page at http://LifeWay.com/bibleskillsforkids
Big Picture Questions and Answers for Kids undergirds the Gospel Project for Kids. It outlines 76 theological concepts in six overarching categories formatted using a systematic easy-to-understand question-and-answer approach and includes a “Seeing Jesus in the Bible” section that explains how the whole Bible is one big story that’s all about Jesus and the Gospel. Check out the Big Picture Questions and Answers for Kids flipbook now at http://teachkids.lifeway.com/tgp-framework/ or view the Big Picture Questions and Answers details page at http://LifeWay.com/BPQA
The Quiz
If you want help determining which resource best matches your personal study style you can take the What Kind of Kids Minister Are You? quiz. This 5-question quiz helps direct you to the resource that teaches the way you like to teach.
The new TeachKids webpage was designed with you in mind, making it easier than ever to compare curriculum samples, study plans and foundational frameworks for Bible Studies for Life: Kids, Explore the Bible Kids, and The Gospel Project for Kids. Now you can see, show, share and compare these trustworthy resources from one easy-to-find place: TeachKids.LifeWay.com. Check it out today and share the link with your teachers, volunteers and partners in ministry as you evaluate which Lifeway Kids curriculum you’ll choose to use.
Where Are My Extras Helps?
If you are like most people, you love the idea of getting a little extra for your money. That principle is true whether you are shopping for groceries or Bible Study materials. You have the Lifeway Bible Study resources, but do you know about our extra online helps, supporting content, and interactive communities we provide? These are all extras worth knowing about. Check out the following links and share them with fellow teachers, directors, ministers, and other leaders in your ministry and church.
Bible Studies for Life
Product Page: http://biblestudiesforlife.com/kids
Blog: https://blog.lifeway.com/biblestudiesforlife/category/age/kids/
Facebook Group: http://facebook.com/biblestudiesforlifekids
Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/560190337752194/
Ministry Grid Training Videos: http://ministrygrid.com/biblestudiesforlife
One Conversation: http://biblestudiesforlife.com/oneconversation
Levels of Biblical Learning: http://www.lifeway.com/LOBL
Explore the Bible
Product Page: https://www.lifeway.com/en/shop/explore-the-bible/kids/
Blog: https://blog.lifeway.com/explorethebible/category/blog/kids/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ExploreTheBibleKids/
Ministry Grid Training Videos: www.ministrygrid.com/web/explorethebible
Bible Skills for Kids: https://www.lifeway.com/en/product-family/bible-skills-for-kids
The Gospel Project
Product Page: https://www.lifeway.com/en/shop/the-gospel-project/kids
Blog: gospelproject.com/blog
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/thegospelprojectforkids/
Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gospelprojectforkidscommunity/requests/?notif_id=1541422957027297¬if_t=group_r2j
Ministry Grid Training Videos: minstrygrid.com/gospelproject
Big Picture Questions and Answers: https://www.lifeway.com/en/special-emphasis/big-picture-questions-and-answers
Please let us know other ways we can support your ministry through our resources or the extras that we offer!
William Summey is the Publishing Team Leader for Bible Studies for Life: Kids. He is a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Vanderbilt University. William lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Christy, and their two sons.
One Big Story
Few would argue that storytelling is a highly useful tool when working with or teaching kids. The availability of hundreds of thousands of children’s books gives testimony to the commonly understood reality that kids connect with stories. In fact, it’s not just kids. Storytelling is a powerful means of communicating with just about everyone. Whether you are 9 months old, 9 years old, 39 years old, or 90 years old, nearly everyone loves a good story.
Of course, there are stories, and then there is The Story—that is, God’s one big story. While we should be very careful not to place the stories of the Bible next to fictional stories of many children’s books, we can redeem the craft of storytelling for helping children begin to see and understand the most important story of all. It is to the next generation’s advantage that we lead children to begin understanding the Bible as one story with Jesus as its central figure. We must see the Bible as God’s story with a beginning, middle, and end. There is one focus throughout the narrative. His name is Jesus.
In Gospel Centered Kids Ministry, Brian Dembowczyk notes, “Jesus interpreted Scripture, not as a collection of random stories but as one big story about Him.” (p. 34) And just as Jesus began “with Moses and all the Prophets … [interpreting] … the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures,” we should too. (Luke 24:27) Jesus was communicating to the disciples of Luke 24 that it is only by understanding the whole story that we can truly understand His work on our behalf. In his article “4 Reasons to teach the Bible’s Storyline,” Trevin Wax put it this way: “The story of the Bible gives context to the gospel message about Jesus.”(1) To begin to grasp the fullness of our salvation, we must understand—and help the kids and families we serve to understand—that every story points to the One, making the Bible one big story about Jesus.
When we see the Bible as Jesus’ story, we are freed from implying (or outright expressing) kids carry an unrealistic, unhealthy, and impossible burden of being more courageous or more faithful or even more obedient on their own. We will begin to see God’s immeasurable grace radiate off every page as we look to His Son who loves us, took the punishment we deserve, and now empowers us to live holy lives for His glory. We will see that God is faithful to carry on what He began in the garden to its completion in the new heavens and the new earth—creation’s final restoration.
Toward this goal, we want to help kids ministry leaders and parents have a framework by which to read the Bible this way, as one big story. We have included a section in our new resource Big Picture Questions and Answers for Kids called “Seeing Jesus in the Bible.” In this resource, we have included six “lenses” that can help us when studying individual stories of the Bible. Each lens gives readers a way to understand both Old Testament and New Testament stories in light of the gospel. We pray this resource will be another tool your ministry toolbox as you point your kids to Jesus.
Jeremy Carroll is the team leader for Lifeway Kids Discipleship Resources. Before coming to Lifeway, he has been active in local church ministry for nearly 20 years in TN, TX, and AL. Jeremy earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Middle Tennessee native, he and his family live in Murfreesboro, TN.
Other helpful posts:
Four Reasons to Teach the Bible’s Storyline
Impacting Visual Learners with the Gospel
If you haven’t read William Summey’s part 1 of this post, you can find it HERE.
Having great visuals seems to be critical to effective teaching today. Some kids may be more prone to be engaged visually than others, but well-designed visuals, as William describes, can be an incredible way to engage kids of all ages as they consider the people, places, and events of the story each picture represents. In addition to using teaching picture visuals to help connect kids with Bible stories, many resources also include larger visuals. Sometimes these are large posters to place in a foyer or hallway, or maybe they are smaller posters that can be placed side-by-side almost like puzzle pieces. Whatever format these larger visuals take, they can be a major asset in helping kids connect to Bible stories.
Large visuals can provide a larger-scale wow factor. When space permits, using large versions of curriculum visuals can really make a space pop. Because of their size and bright colors, large-scale visuals will draw the attention of both kids and parents. They can be great discussion starters for parents to connect with their kids. If you don’t have space for the largest versions of available visuals, you can often use a piece of a poster set in your space to give extra cohesiveness between your space and what your kids are learning.
Large visuals often attempt to give a broader understanding of the content being studied. Like connecting pieces of a puzzle, large-scale visuals often try to tell a bigger story than what their classroom-size counterpart is able to do. Large visuals can tie together sessions into a bigger picture.
With the Fall 2018 release of The Gospel Project for Kids Volume 1, we are excited to include two brand new large visuals: (1) Giant Timeline and Genealogy of Christ and (2) our Small Group Timeline and Map Set. Each of these resources is beautifully colored, graphical poster sets to help remind kids (and adults) that the stories we are learning are about real people who lived in real places at a real time in history.
With The Gospel Project for Kids’ Giant Timeline, children can begin to see God’s one big story as it unfolds from session to session and volume to volume. Children can track the progress from Genesis to Exodus and all the way to Revelation. Each volume is on its own poster so if space does not permit displaying all 12 posters, a single volume’s poster can be used in a common space. Our new Genealogy of Christ four-poster set is included with the purchase of our Giant Timeline. This poster set graphically depicts Jesus’ family line from Adam and Eve down to Joseph and Mary. It’s a large four-poster set that shows both Matthew and Luke’s accounts of Jesus’ family line.
With The Gospel Project for Kids’ Small Group Timeline and Map Set churches can equip classrooms with 36 11-by-17-inch posters to display in classrooms. With each unit on a page, leaders could use one page at a time if space is limited or display all the posters side-by-side for large-scale impact. Our brand new oversized Map Set comes with four different maps: two for the Old Testament and two for the New Testament. In addition, a sheet of pin drop icons is provided to be able to place on a map and track the real places events occurred.
Most people, and it seems kids in particular, are drawn in by things they see, and there is so much information fighting for their attention. When we can make use of large-scale visuals to bring focus and cohesiveness to our teaching sessions and kids ministry space, we are able to help drown out the noise with a more singular focus, even if only for an hour or two.
Jeremy Carroll is the team leader for The Gospel Project for Kids. Before coming to Lifeway, he has been active in local church ministry for nearly 20 years in Tennessee, Texas, and Alabama. Jeremy earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Middle Tennessee native, he and his family live in Murfreesboro, TN.
Missions Moments in Kids Ministry
With Vacation Bible School, camps, and mission trips during the summer, many of our ministries naturally include some sort of missions emphasis. And this is good. But if the generation of kids we serve is going to see themselves as being “on mission,” the missions strategy within our ministries needs to be more intentional and year-round, when possible.
Many KidMin leaders see value in educating and training the kids in their ministries about mission work, both locally and globally, and desire to equip kids to live on mission in their homes and schools, on their sports teams, and in their neighborhoods.
But the problem is that this needed information is not readily available to most children, and most children do not find this subject matter itself engaging enough to seek out on their own. So the question stands before us: How do we raise awareness about and equip kids for the kingdom work happening around us? The answer, at least in part, is for us to be intentional about looking for ways to create regular missions moments in our kids ministry flow.
Here are a few suggestions listed from most involved to least involved.
- Implement a full missions education program. With this approach, you would allot one of your program times each week to a full missions education curriculum. Every week kids in your ministry will get a concentrated dose of seeing God’s mission at work all around the world.
- Integrate a missions component as a part of your ongoing curriculum/program. In this strategy, you build a mission moment into the regular flow of your existing curriculum during one of your program times.
- Continue to use summer events to emphasize missions. Summer events are a natural time to talk about missions with kids. If you do not have the ability to employ one of the two methods above due to time or structure limitations, strategically make the most of your summer emphases to raise awareness of God’s mission work.
As you consider how missions education or missions awareness fits into your ministry, remember that we, as Christians and even more so as church leaders, are called to be faithful “managers of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2). In other words, we have been entrusted with the gospel and commanded to “make disciples of all nations,” and we should work diligently to help the generation of kids we serve to see their role in God’s mission work. A question I have had to ask myself: if I don’t tell them, who will? As KidMin leaders we will serve the next generation well by strategically and intentionally encouraging kids to live on mission.
One of the key distinctives of The Gospel Project for Kids is that we hope, as kids learn about God’s one big story as told through Scripture, they will be saved and energized to actively join in God’s story as they live out their lives. With our new 3-year study plan launching this Fall, we have completely revamped our included missions awareness strategy. During each unit, preschoolers and kids will learn about a missionary or people group where mission work is being done. Each session will contain a “missions moment” that may include videos or activities related to that work. We have built this strategy directly into the flow of each session to equip church leaders with a method of helping children see what God is doing all around the world.
God’s one big story is still being told throughout the world. God’s mission is happening now and He invites us, and the kids we serve, to be part of it.
Jeremy Carroll is the team leader for The Gospel Project for Kids. Before coming to Lifeway, he has been active in local church ministry for nearly 20 years in TN, TX, and AL. Jeremy earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Middle Tennessee native, he and his family live in Murfreesboro, TN.
3 Ways Q&A Format Encourages Learning
Many KidMin leaders agree that it is critical for us (adults) to begin now helping lay a solid theological foundation in the kids we serve. We want kids to have a right understanding of who God is, what He has done, and what He is doing according to solid biblical truths. But how?
One approach to systematically teaching theology that has seen renewed interest over the last several years is a return to a question-answer format. In this approach, kids are taught to respond to a specific question with a formulated, concise answer. For example, when prompted with the question “Who is God?” Kids would respond with “God is our Creator and King of everything.”
Is a question-answer format the right approach for you? Here are three reasons a question-answer format encourages theological learning.
- A Q&A format leans into a child’s inquisitive nature. Children are naturally inquisitive, curious, and are passionate pursuers of answers. Many children seem to ask questions incessantly and feel a great sense of accomplishment once they’ve run through their gambit of questions to get their answers. A question-answer format draws kids in by feeding this part of their nature.
- Memorization and repetition are bridges to understanding. When we commit biblical truths to memory, they become a resource for the Holy Spirit to use in our lives for real-life transformation. Few ideas will truly change us if they are not deep in our hearts. A systematic Q&A approach is built on children memorizing answers. As children mature, these memorized statements can be fleshed out with deeper understanding and application. “I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)
- A Q&A approach gives a systematic framework for processing both simple and hard-to-understand ideas. Our Bibles contain so much information that it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start and how teach it. Though a Q&A approach is not intended to teach the Bible comprehensively, using a simple question-answer format, like Big Picture Questions and Answers for Kids (see below), provides both a starting point and a structure that become manageable for adults and kids.
Bonus: Employing a Q&A approach can be fun for kids. With just a little bit of effort, a Q&A format can quickly:
- Be made into various games.
- Be made into a rhythmic beat.
- Be used in creative call/response ways like using different voices, volumes, and so forth.
Bonus +
- Adding hand motions for kids to do while saying the answers can add another layer of fun while further helping memorization by including physical activity.
To equip church leaders and parents who want to implement a question-answer format for teaching theological truths, the team behind The Gospel Project for Kids has developed Big Picture Questions and Answers for Kids. This resource contains over 70 big picture questions and answers organized into six categories: God, People, Jesus, The Bible, The Church, and The Christian Life. Click here to learn more about Big Picture Questions and Answers for Kids.
Jeremy Carroll is the team leader for The Gospel Project for Kids. Before coming to Lifeway, he has been active in local church ministry for nearly 20 years in TN, TX, and AL. Jeremy earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. A Middle Tennessee native, he and his family live in Murfreesboro, TN.
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