Choose Wisely

The topic of today's post is youth curriculum. I think two things are important when it comes to this topic. The first is choosing what to teach the kids, choosing the actual curriculum but perhaps more importantly is what I like to call the curriculum map. With kids learning subjects in school ranging from calculus and geometry to chemistry and computer science. I believe it is well past time to adjust our student ministries curriculum to challenge our students on what they believe and why they believe it. They are longing for the truth that can be applied to their lives and they are being pushed in school to achieve great things academically so why not challenge them at church by teaching things like theology and apologetics. When it comes to choosing curriculum there are lots of good ones to choose from. The Fuel Series by Lifeway would take a couple years to complete. Also there is LXVI and Explore the Bible by Lifeway. InQuest ministries also provides a number of studies. Then there is Student Life which offers six awesome studies for students and the Reverb series in particular has been recommended to me more than once. NavPress would be the other resource that I would look at to disciple students.

Choosing what students will study week in and week out is important but the best way to do it, I would argue is to develop a curriculum map that shows what your students will be studying from the time they enter student ministry in 6th grade until they graduate from high school. The concept was shown to me by Matt Lawson at FBC Woodstock and you can find his curriculum map at:

http://revolutionspeaks.wordpress.com/resources/

The curriculum map covers books of the Bible and topics like Spiritual Disciplines or World Religions. The map should also be evaluated and changed to best fit the needs of your students but the age old proverb says, "Failure to plan is a plan to fail." Know what your going to study and why, then develop a plan and get to work. God Bless!