Recently, I've been reading Children's Ministry in the Way of Jesus by David Csinos and Ivy Beck and it has me thinking. The authors recommended Telling God's Story curriculum by Peter Enns; a big surprise.
About three years ago our pastor asked the Children and Youth Ministries committee to review this material to be used for Sunday school. At that time, it didn't seem doable and we continued to use the DWELL curriculum (preschool through eighth grade). However, we are coming up short with Sunday school volunteers for the 2019-20 program year and our class sizes have seen a steady decline over the last three years. So, I've been reviewing Sunday school curriculum and had narrowed my search to Walk With Me and Kid Connection. But, now I'm wondering about using the material written by Peter Enns.
I have only been able to find homeschool reviews about Telling God's Story. Are any churches using the curriculum by Peter Enns during the Sunday school hour? How do you use it (rotation, large/small group)? Do you have a scope and sequence for year 1 and year 2?
Comments
I would highly caution you of using anything written by Peter Enns. You can do your own research on his theology, but with as many as great resources that are available now a days, I would give a hard pass on anything from him. AND, if you have a source that would endorse Enns and his theology/hermenutic, then I would also be suspicious of those sources as well.
Hi Mary,
I know David Csinos, have attended workshops led by Ivy Beckwith and have found their book Children's Ministry in the Way of Jesus to be a very helpful resource. Although I'm not familiar with the Telling God's Story curriculum, I can point you in a few directions which might help as you do your research and determine what's best for your church. The first resource is this Ten Question Tool for Choosing Curriculum. It's an easy to use tool which will assist you in drilling down to the heart of the curriculum you're considering. This video version of the tool might be something to share with your team as well.
Second, Faith Formation Ministries of the CRCNA has put together a wonderful online Children's Ministry toolkit which contains reviews of other curriculum (both Reformed and those which aren't Reformed) and many other excellent resources to use in your ministry. You can access it here.
Finally, as a CRC you have access to free Children's Ministry support---no matter what curriculum you use! Your go-to person for that help is Mimi Larson. She's available to answer your questions and to support your team via email, video meetings, phone conversations---whatever works for you. You'll find Mimi's contact information in the Children's Ministry toolkit.
I hope that helps!
Hello...
Thank you for your thorough reply. I have had an opportunity to interact with the materials provided on the Faith Formation Ministry website in committee work, when talking about children at the table, and reviewing curriculum. In addition, I appreciate the Children's Ministry support that I have received from the Faith Formation team regarding Children and Worship material and the DWELL curriculum. Finally, I am grateful the denomination has put together a concise website of resources and tools to equip lay leaders in the Christian Reformed Church.
Kind Regards...
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