On this page I hope to add resources that others can take a look at, spark some creative juices or simply use.

Mission: Possible Classes
Several years ago at my first full-time position I developed a program called Mission: Possible. It was a mentoring/outreach program designed to disciple kids as well as give them tools to minister. The school year was divided into 3, eleven week semesters. The K-2nd graders used a standard curriculum like FW Friends. The 3rd-5th graders however were able to choose classes to attend each semester. All the kids met together at the beginning of the evening for an introduction, games, announcements and prayer. Then the 3rd-5th graders spent the first part of the evening in ministry based classes where they developed their mind and faith. The second half of the evening was devoted to outreach based classes where kids trained for ministry tasks. In the two years I ran Mission: Possible, I had ministry classes which included Message in the Media, Message in the Media II, Character Development, Financial Stewardship, Missions, Stewardship, and a special Leadership Development class for 5th grade boys. In addition, I had outreach classes that included Dance Team, Puppets, Choir, Drama and a kids church ministry team. Below I’ve included information about each of these classes, resources and actually some of the curriculum I wrote.

Personal Critique: Mission: Possible was a mixture of great excitement and great stress. I had so much fun putting this together, but it was definitely more than I could handle. I was new in full-time ministry and very idealistic. In reality, there were more important things I probably should have focused on and I could have used “written” curriculum.” However, this didn’t change the fact that the kids absolutely loved this program. Because I was trying to do all of this myself, I found myself writing lessons for two or more classes ever week… week to week. Much of the lessons ended up only written by hand, given to teachers and are now lost (hence the reason I don’t have more posted on this page). In the final days, I began to purchase some curriculum because I was just too far behind. Due to this and other reasons, staffing Mission: Possible with volunteers became increasingly difficult. In the end, I retired Mission: Possible after two years. Years later, the kids would still ask about Mission: Possible. No doubt it was a great idea… maybe just not the right time for me.

Beware: I wrote this curriculum over 5 years ago and was usually rushed when doing so. Curriculum probably needs editing. However, it may be good stuff to tweak for your particular situation.

  • Financial Stewardship – Writtten to teach kids godly stewardship over their money. Not overtly spiritual other than teaching kids all about money and how we can honor God with our money. This class was taught by my wife and a friend who happened to be the president of a bank. FS Lesson 1  FS Lesson 2  FS Lesson 3  FS Lesson 4  FS Lesson 5  FS Lesson 6  FS Lesson 7  FS Budget
  • Character Development – Written to teach kids about developing godly character. This is probably the only class I completely finished. It was taught three times by the same teacher. So, the first semester was a little messy and the second time around I got it looking nice. CD Lesson 01 CD Lesson 02 CD Lesson 03 CD Lesson 04 CD Lesson 05 CD Lesson 06 CD Lesson 07 CD Lesson 08 CD Lesson 09 CD Lesson 10 CD Lesson 11  Lesson 03 Aid  Lesson 07 Aid  Lesson 08 Aid  Lesson 09 Aid  Lesson 10 AidÂ
  • Message in the Media I & II – Written to teach kids who to better judge the media they were watching. The format was the same every week. Kids would watch a 10-15 minute clip of a popular TV show. The teacher and kids would discuss the various characters, themes and major ideas. Kids would walk away understanding the message the shows they watched were pushing. (Due to copyright laws, I do not believe it is legal… at least the way I did it. Showing TV shows would not be covered under the license that many churches pay for to show movies). Anyone should be advised to consult a lawyer before offering a class like this.
  • Mission – This was one class I did not write since there was very good video based curriculum available. Kids Around the World is truly awesome material that takes kids to learn about children who belong to unreached people groups. This is a full, 12 week curriculum with plenty of things to do.
  • Studying the Bible – I really enjoyed teaching this class. Studying the Bible, by Karyn Henley is a powerful tool to teach kids to get familiar with their Bible.
  • Stewardship – Another great class developed by Karyn Henley (She has several 12 week classes like this available). We only used this class one time, just before I retired the program.
  • Leadership Development – A class where I invited 6 or 7 5th grade boys to participate. I gave each boy the book Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Chamber and we slowly worked though it from week to week. It was a really powerful opportunity to push these boys to spiritual maturity as they grew in self-confidence as well as to rely on the Lord.

Last of all, we offered the following outreach classes like Dance, Puppets, Choir, Drama, Community Outreach and a kids church Minisitry Team. We tried to arrange a special field trip to a children’s home every sememster so the kids could minister with the tools they had developed. Most semesters, the kids came into the adult service and performed.

Small Groups for Kids
Now, several years later I am back at it again. This time I am getting a little bit of help and not biting off more than I can chew. I’m writing a curriculum designed for small group interaction while teaching kids the basics and a little more (a lot of people say it’s a lot more than the basics… but I guess that’s a matter of perspective). The K-2nd grade is definitely a lot more hands on and based on stories from the Bible. Kids focus on one story from the Bible for a month. In addition to learning to apply what they are learning, these kids will commit nine short verses to memory during the 12 week class. Each verse directly pertains to the main point of the unit story.

The 3rd-5th grade program is a combination of large group and small group programs. Kids are divided into groups of 6-7 kids per leader at round tables. The kids talk about their weeks, go over homework and pray together at their tables. However, teaching is done by a master teacher from the front of the room. Teaching usually lasts for 20 minutes and then the remaining 20 minutes is made up for table activities within the small groups.

Attached are rough drafts of the spring 2007 semester leader guides for both K-2nd grade and 3rd-5th grade. I’ll add the fall 2006 leader guides shortly.

  • K-2nd Grade (Spring 2007) Leader Guide – This unit spent 4 weeks on three major characters from the Bible: Josiah, Isaac and Jesus.  Spring 2007 K-2nd Grade Leader BookÂ
  • 3rd-5th Grade (Spring 2007 Leader Guide – This unit covered spiritual disciplines such as praying, reading the Bible and such.  Spring 2007 3rd-5th Grade Leader BookÂ