Tag: children's ministry
4 weeks in November? What do I do with that?
Last week, we announced that the first 4 weeks of What’s in the Bible? curriculum will be released November 15. Your first reaction may have been, “YAY! Sounds great! Can’t wait.” And your second reaction may have been, “Huh? What the heck do I do with only 4 weeks of curriculum in the middle of November?!”
If these were your reactions, a couple of ideas:
- Use the 4 weeks as a January series for K-Grade 5 on Sunday mornings. It’s fresh, and fun, and contains great Biblical literacy content that follows the Christmas season nicely. DVDs 2-4 release at the end of January, so if you like what happened in your children’s ministry in January, you can carry on with the What’s in the Bible? curriculum for an additional 12 weeks (4 weeks / 3 DVDs).
A Sample Schedule:
JANUARY 9, 16, 23, 30: In the Beginning (DVD 1)
FEBRUARY 6, 13, 20, 27: Let My People Go (DVD 2)
MARCH 6, 13, 20, 27: Wanderin’ In The Desert (DVD 3)
APRIL: EASTER SERIES (Easter is April 24, 2011)
MAY 1, 8, 15, 22: Battle for the Promised Land (DVD 4)
- Use the 4 weeks as a perfect midweek series. Following a similar schedule as above, the curriculum is perfect for Wednesday night programs. Instead of taking a break for Easter, you’ll have 16 weeks that will encourage children at church, and families at home!
- If you already have your curriculum planned from now until summer 2011, first: congratulations! And second: consider using the 4 weeks during “in between weeks.” You know, those tricky weeks between Christmas and New Years, or the week after Easter, or Memorial Day weekend. Since the focus of the curriculum is Biblical literacy, it’s relevant any time of year, and can be used 1 week at a time.
What else? How are you planning to use the first 4 weeks released in November?
The What’s in the Bible? Curriculum is coming in November!
Not every Sunday School Lady (or Gentleman!) has a magic flannelgraph … and those that don’t will soon be able to have the next-best-thing to teach children about the Bible!
Sunday School Lady, Buck Denver, Clive & Ian, and the whole What’s in the Bible? crew will be available to come to a Sunday School near you starting November 15, 2010.
DVD 1 will release November 15, and DVDs 2-4 will be ready in January 2011. Each DVD features 4 weeks of lessons and will be available physically or digitally.
Here are some highlights:
- Videos, music and more from Phil Vischer
Each lesson features videos from Phil Vischer’s new series What’s in the Bible? as well as music and interactive games. See an example at the bottom of this page.
- Bible literacy
Bible literacy-focused lessons aim to teach children more than just Bible stories, but how all the little stories fit together to tell one BIG story of God and what He’s done for us.
- Comprehensive and chronological
13 DVDs will walk your class through the Bible from GENESIS to REVELATION! It’s a comprehensive and chronological look at God’s Word.
- Flexible format
The flexible format means you can use What’s in the Bible? in the way that works best for YOU! Large group-small group? Just large group? Either one works! You can also download and customize the lessons to suit your class.
- Mobile access for leaders
Leaders will have access to a mobile web site to help them prepare for each week’s lesson from anywhere. They can also lead from their smart phone on Sunday mornings using the online leaders’ guides.
- Family interaction
Families can interact with the What’s in the Bible? characters, videos, and lessons online. Family activities and a weekly “Big Question” will help parents keep up with what their kids are learning at church and give families ways to learn more about the Bible together!
Here’s a sample video from the DVD 1 Curriculum:
Guest Blog: Family Movie Night with What’s in the Bible
Our awesome friend Sherry Domer, who blogs over at Sundayschoolpages.com, recently hosted a family movie night featuring What’s in the Bible?. She kindly agreed to guest blog for us to share with all of you about the event and how it went. As Sherry mentions, this is a great idea for families who want to get together on a Friday night, for special nights at church, even for extended family get-togethers and after-school parties! You can also watch it with your own immediate family and enjoy laughing and learning together.
Here are Sherry’s thoughts about the experience:
I love community. I enjoy gathering with friends and family. But with my large busy family, I struggle to make time for that important component. I am always looking for ways to make it easier for families to gather. Family Movie Night with “What’s in the Bible?” was born out of my desire to fellowship and grow with other families. Our church encourages this type of event, so it was a great place for us to hold our movie night. Besides, what child hasn’t thought about how cool it would be to come to church in their PJs? I had a secondary objective. As a Sunday School teacher, I think “What’s in the Bible?” is the type of series that should be in every family library. This is a great opportunity to get the parents to see how wonderful the videos are, before they buy them.
Family Movie Night with “What’s in the Bible?” could also be a great neighborhood gathering time in your own home. It is a great tool for evangelism. It addresses a lot of the popular Bible myths prevalent in our culture today. And it’s not just for the kids, many adults need this too. This is what makes it a great event for the whole family.
Know your audience. The first time we held our movie night we watched both half hour segments on the disc. My media deprived children were able to enjoy it all. But there were some folks that felt this content rich time was a little too long. If you need to, I suggest combining two great movies (meat and milk).
This is how it works: Set a date and invite families! Dress the kids in PJs and bring their blankies and special stuffed animals. Make lots of popcorn and enjoy the show! We happen to have a “no sugar policy” near bedtime, but we do offer corn dogs for those who can’t get dinner before they come. This is meant to make fun community events as easy on the parents as possible. Water and/or sugar free tea are good drinks to wash down the popcorn. Stress free fellowship and learning for all!
What is What’s in the Bible?
It is a DVD series starting with Genesis and they intend to go the whole way through to Revelation. Phil is really on fire for Jesus! His commitment to reach children with the message of Jesus has reached new heights of excellence. VeggieTales told cute Bible stories that made you laugh. But “What’s in the Bible?” is solid food that children can understand. This is solid content that most adults don’t know, repackaged to delight children as well. Simply awesome! It’s what I always wanted, but couldn’t find.
Sherry also sent us some cute pictures of kids enjoying their What’s in the Bible? Family Night:
Do you have any ideas about how to use What’s in the Bible? as a family? Or how to share it with other families? Let us know!
iPad, you Pad, we all Pad…
Okay, I got an iPad. On day one. It wasn’t my plan… I don’t know what happened. I was going to wait and let other people go first – let other people remind us why we shouldn’t buy “generation 1″ of any new product. But then the glowing reviews started to hit… then I found myself in the vicinity of a Best Buy… found myself calling just to see if they had any left (they did)… found myself looking for justification (“I’m going to by one eventually anyway…”).
And then, boom. There I was, walking out of Best Buy with an iPad in my hands. And I really, really like it. My kids and I were all snuggled in bed the night before last, watching “The Muppets Take Manhattan” streamed directly from Netflix to my iPad. Whee! This morning I was thumbing through today’s issue of USA Today on my iPad while eating my cereal. (Honey Nut Cheerios, if you’re interested.) We’ve been taking it out to eat with us, and we’ll all play shuffleboard on the iPad together while we wait for our food to come. Unlike a little iPod Touch or my iPhone, the iPad games just yell out “play together!” It’s family fun. And I think it’s going to catch on.
Why is that relevant to this blog? Well, maybe it isn’t. But technology is always changing, and we need to figure out how to use what’s next to help kids learn about God. So as we adapt What’s in the Bible to be used in Sunday Schools, one of the ideas being kicked around is creating activities to support the teaching that leaders would walk kids through on an iPad. Maybe we’re ahead of the market there, but an iPad is cheaper than a laptop, and much easier to use and more interactive than a tiny little netbook. So we could be on to something here.
By the way, thanks again for all the Big Bang – Genesis 1 comments, and the continued civility of the discourse. I’m not going to jump in to the discussion with more opinions of my own, because fundamentally what I’m trying to do with WITB is teach the essentials of our faith, and recognize when there is an area that is unresolved. Genesis 1 is an unusual genre of Scripture known as “exalted prose” and has been confounding theologians since the time of Augustine. Once the majority of conservative Evangelical scholars come to agreement on how best to interpret this tricky bit, I’ll present their conclusion clearly and with zest! Until then, though, in the words of the leading Intelligent Design proponent Philip Johnson, when there is a controversy, “teach the controversy!” We’ll talk about the major positions and let you decide which you believe is correct. Hope you don’t mind!
On that note… here’s a really nice review of What’s in the Bible we just came across today… (click here to read it).
Curriculum Questions Answered
FAQs about the new curriculum from Amy of LemonLime Kids:
Wow! We are thrilled that you are so excited about the upcoming What’s in the Bible? Curriculum! We are having a lot of fun developing it – and are really to show it to you!
Thanks for all of your great comments, and for your passion for kids to learn the Bible! You asked some great questions in your comments and we wanted to take a minute to answer each one. And, please keep asking questions! We’ll answer as many as we can.
How much will the curriculum cost?
Great question! We know budgets are tight both at home and church – that’s why we are creating the curriculum so it’s affordable. And by affordable, we mean that we are creating the curriculum so that you chose how much or how little you want, and can afford. You can buy a complete curriculum package if you want every component, or you can buy individual components for a smaller price and add it to the curriculum you’re already using! You are the expert because you know the kids in your church and home best, so you decide what curriculum components are best for your context!
What age is the curriculum geared towards? Will there be a preschool component?
Because of the depth of Biblical content, the curriculum is geared toward elementary ages (K-5th grade). Right now, we don’t have plans for a preschool curriculum, but some of the pieces we create could certainly be used in a preschool class.
Are you planning apps only for Apple’s technologies or will apps also be available for the Android and Blackberry?
Great question! Currently, we are in development on children’s ministry activities intended for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. But, we know that many children’s leaders use Blackberry devices in their everyday lives, so we are hoping that our volunteer tools will be designed both for Apple and Blackberry.
Will the curriculum contain any extra videos?
Yes! We know the current length of the What’s in the Bible? DVDs are too long to run in a children’s ministry Sunday morning program, so the curriculum mostly will include shortened (edited) videos from the DVDs. But, we are creating a few additional short videos that you (and the kids, of course) are going to absolutely love!
Will you be at any upcoming conferences?
Yes! We will be at the Orange Conference, April 28-30 in Atlanta, GA! Be sure to stop by the What’s in the Bible? booth and say hello!
How can I stay updated about the curriculum?
Sign up for our church/curriculum email list here!
Announcing the What’s in the Bible Curriculum!
So many of you have asked, and we’re so excited to finally be able to announce the What’s in the Bible curriculum is in development!
We’re partnering with the lovely ladies from Lemon Lime Kids, Amy Dolan and Lori Bethran, to develop a curriculum that will be great for church elementary programs. Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, special events, whatever you need!
Each DVD will feature a corresponding 4 weeks of curriculum. We will start by launching (tentatively) the curriculum package for DVD 1 in June 2010.
The curriculum will feature several key distinctives:
1. Excellent Quality: Creativity, Storytelling, and Biblically Sound
2. Customizable: Options for children’s leaders to customize the lessons for their specific church context: size, location, denomination, and theology
3. Innovative Technology: iPad, iPhone, iPod touch apps, and At-Home Web applications, just to name a few!
4. Easy to Use: Several format options will provide every church with the ability to use the curriculum, regardless of technology available
5. Distinct Teaching about the Bible: Content including Bible history and stories from all the books of the Bible!
We’re excited that this curriculum will encourage Biblical literacy in a new generation of Christians, and will provide a great format for children’s ministry leaders to implement.
Have ideas? Concerns? Thoughts? We’d love to hear them!
Phil speaks at NACMC Part I
As you may have read on the blog a few weeks ago, the What’s in the Bible? team spent some time at the North American Children’s Ministries Conference in St. Louis during the first week in March.
Phil spoke during the General Assembly one night and then later that evening we premiered the first (and later, by popular request, the second) episode of DVD 1: In the Beginning. Phil took some questions and we all enjoyed listening to the crowd’s reactions to the series. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing some videos from the conference on the blog. Enjoy!
Here is Phil speaking at the General Assembly:
Our Conference Debut!
What’s in the Bible? is making it’s conference debut this week at the North American Children’s Ministry Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.
Check out our awesome booth:
We’re playing DVD 1 on loop on that giant 52″ television. My goal is to have every word memorized by the end of the day … It just might happen.
Phil will be speaking tomorrow night and we’ll do a screening of DVD 1 with Q&A late tomorrow night.
It’s been a busy week, with the official launch of the DVDs in store and getting ready for the conference. Speaking of the launch, we now have a store on the site! Check it out – the first 500 people to order “Buck’s Bundle” (DVDs 1&2) will get a FREE sing-along CD. You can also get the DVDs at your local Christian bookstore or at christianbook.com
A Few Friendly Reviews
What a great weekend we had!
Our team spent Friday out in Colorado Springs and Denver meeting with some people who are VERY EXCITED about What’s in the Bible? and hopefully we’ll be able to announce some things soon. Let’s just say that important people are catching the vision for our series, and we truly believe that it will make an impact on the Church and the next generation.
While we were gone, we had several people review our DVDs on their respective blogs. Here is what some of them had to say …
“What the What’s in the Bible videos do is teach children about the word of God- literally from cover to cover. I can tell already that they’re not planning to take the easy route. In the first two videos, they took on issues like ‘Why does the Catholic Bible have more books?’ and ‘Was the world created in 7 literal days?’- I have to admit I held my breath, just waiting to see HOW IN THE WORLD they were going to do it. The answers were perfectly, beautifully, excellently addressed, focusing not on the details of the stories but the Author of them. I found myself smiling, nodding, and WAIT FOR IT…. learning! (…) If you have elementary- aged children, you can’t afford not to add these videos to your library. This is not a paid endorsement… but it is an endorsement by a girl who, after 19 years of studying, teaching, and ministering to kids thinks these DVDs are pretty much the the coolest thing she’s seen in a really long time.”
“I’m here to tell you that Vischer’s newest show is AMAZING! What’s In The Bible tackles the mission that is long overdue: to create a kid’s video series to really take children through the Bible. All of it. Not just Genesis, Exodus, and then Jesus. Everything. … The best way I can describe it would be a Christian version of The Muppet Show.”
Children’s Ministry and Culture
“The goal of these videos is to help kids understand the structure of the Bible, its overarching message, and to give kids a comfort level that will let them dive in on their own. I watched the disc with my kindergarten and fifth-grade boys. In spite of their age differences, they were both hooked on it. (…) I loved the diversity of the puppets. There’s a priest in a collar, a doughty Sunday School teacher, and an African American preacher. Much attention went into making sure these videos would appeal to children in a variety of cultures and faith traditions.”
