JANUARY 2007

Welcome to WWM Talk, the e-newsletter for Walk With Me coordinators and teachers. If you have any questions about information in this issue (or anything else), give us a call at 1-800-333-8300 or e-mail us.

In This Issue

We’ve got BIG NEWS!

Over the years many of you in smaller Sunday school programs have called to share the challenge of making curriculum “fit” your situation. Others have been asking for an exciting midweek program they can use with church kids and as an outreach to community kids. First of all—thanks for the feedback! As you’ll see in a moment, your input is invaluable when it comes to shaping curriculum.

We’re proud to introduce Kid Connection! It’s a new K-6 curriculum for small Sunday schools and midweek programs!

As we designed Kid Connection we kept your needs in mind. We knew Kid Connection had to

  • work in churches with small Sunday school programs.
  • be exciting to use and easy to prepare for midweek programs.
  • use Reformed theology.
  • work with kids from diverse backgrounds.
  • encourage and support families.
  • be FUN!

We’re thrilled to report that we were able to check off everything on our list—and more! Here’s how we did it:

We chose a large group/small group format—flexible enough for both small Sunday schools and midweek programs. During the large group time all ages are combined for worship, an attention-grabbing introduction, and an exciting presentation of the day’s Bible story. For the second half of the lesson kids break off into smaller, graded groups (K–3 and 4–6) to connect with their leaders and dive deeper into the Bible story. We’ve even provided mentoring tips with each lesson for those of you working with just one child!

We wove Reformed theology into every lesson. We believe that every story in the Bible tells us about God and must be understood as part of the one story of God’s redemption and restoration of this fallen world through Jesus Christ. Each session of Kid Connectionis designed to relevantly reach kids without compromising the message of the Bible.

Each child who attends your Sunday school or midweek program is unique. Whether kids attend Christian schools or public schools, are raised by one parent or two, read the Bible every day or are learning about God for the first time, Kid Connection connects. We incorporated different learning styles and added fun games, engaging Bible story presentations, and thought-provoking discussion questions to provide you with all the tools you need to present the Bible in a meaningful way to every child who attends your program. (And we mean every child—each lesson also contains tips for involving preteens!)

Let’s face it—although the job you do with kids each week is an important part of their faith development, studies show that the people with the most significant religious influence on a child’s life are parents. And parents—believers and unbelievers—need your support! Kid Connection provides you with a wonderful way to partner with the families of the kids who attend your program. Guess What! is a monthly family/student magazine designed to link the Bible stories taught at church with what happens at home. Kids will love the games, jokes, crafts, recipes and other activities, while parents will appreciate the suggestions for family devotions, monthly activity calendars, and “Parent Connection” pages filled with practical ideas every family can use. Every issue is designed to be accessible to each of the families whose kids attend your program, regardless of biblical background!

We think that kids and their teachers should LOVE learning about God together. So we’ve built smiles and laughter into every Kid Connection lesson, along with meaningful music, conversation, and prayer. The lesson format is the same each week; the teaching methods vary just enough to keep kids on their toes and coming back for more! Beware—kids will probably start inviting their friends to come too!

As you can tell, we’re really excited about Kid Connection! And although you have to wait until Fall 2007 to start teaching it, you can view sample materials online at www.KidConnectionOnline.org. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for the new Kid Connection E-newsletter!

Questions? Call 1-800-333-8300 or e-mail Editors@FaithAliveResources.org to talk to a Kid Connection editor. We’d love to connect with you!

Guess What! We think reaching out to families is so important that we’ve made our new monthly family/student magazine available for purchase by all churches! So, whether you use Kid Connection, Walk With Me, LiFE or another curriculum, you can help families connect with God and with each other as they read and do the activities in each issue of Guess What! family/student magazine.

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