Author Archive

Strengthening Families with Bible Studies for Life: Kids

katie2One of the things we love most about the new Bible Studies for Life: Kids are the elements created specifically to strengthen families and encourage discipleship at home.

  • Kids study the same biblical concept, or “Life Point”, each week as the rest of their family – from babies to adults.
  • All-church alignment, twice per year – In addition to studying the same concepts each week, twice a year kids studies fully align with students and adult resources to make church-wide campaigns even easier to do.
  • Every Kids Activity Page is filled with a helpful overview that connects the content from the adult, student, and kids session. Bible Studies for Life: Kids makes it easy for parents to keep the entire family engaged in “One Conversation” surrounding Scripture.

To learn more about Bible Studies for Life (for all ages!) and to preview three lessons of the material for free, visit biblestudiesforlife.com.

And this week only, (contest ends at 11:59 PM CDT) enter to win a year’s worth of Bible Studies for Life for your church.

Do you want in on that giveaway? Click here to learn more. Hurry! The giveaway ends tonight!

 

Bible Studies for Life Brings a Christ-focus for the other 51 Weeks of the Year!

The following post was written by Bible Studies for Life: Kids team member Erika Scrimpshire. Erika attends CrossPoint Church in Nashville, TN where she is involved in various ministries. A former high school teacher, Erika has taught Bible studies to kids, students, college students, and young adults. In her spare time, she can be found sharing coffee or dinner with friends, jogging in a local park, or at a dog park with her schnauzer, Bella.

I remember sitting in “Big Church” as a kid holding a slingshot I made Sunday School to remind me of the story I just learned about David and Goliath. Dismissing the inevitability that the kids would slingshot church bulletins across the sanctuary, the pastor began to preach about Jesus and what He has done for us. I remember thinking, Jesus seems awesome, but what does He have to do with David and Goliath? I understood that God did great things through David, but I could not connect the stories of the Bible with the amazing things I was learning about Jesus.

Among the many new enhancements of our Bible Studies for Life: Kids curriculum, each lesson is equipped with a short phrase, called a Christ Focus, that is designed to do just that—focus on Christ. We acknowledge that the Old Testament points to Jesus and the New Testament reflects Him. So, in each session, leaders are provided with a short phrase to help kids answer the question, “What does this story have to do with Jesus?”

The answer: It has EVERYTHING to do with Jesus!

Karl Barth was a Swiss theologian that, in the midst of two world wars, fought the Nazi establishment of a “German Christian Church” and devoted his life to writing about Scripture during the early part of the 20th century. He was once asked by a reporter to give a summary of his life’s work. Barth simply replied, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” We agree. It’s all about Jesus.

Make sure the kids in your ministry are hearing how amazing and awesome Christ is EVERY week– not just during VBS!

Click here to learn how you can win Bible Studies for Life for an entire year plus an iPad mini! Hurry! You only have until Thursday to enter!

NEW! Bible Studies for Life: Kids

katie2You’ve heard us talk about it before– coming in the Fall, the same trustworthy content you love is coming to your Sunday School classes in a new and improved format. Bible Studies for Life: Kids is focused on discipling kids and strengthening families. It’s great as a stand alone resource to strengthen families in your kids ministry, but it’s also the perfect choice if you want to align the biblical concepts your kids, students, and adults are studying each week. Multiple translations are available (view options here) and it will be available in print and digital format to make things easier for you!

Throughout the week, we’ll be telling you more about the new changes and neat features you can expect to see when Bible Studies for Life launches this fall.

And to celebrate the upcoming launch, we’re giving away an iPad mini plus an entire year of Bible Studies for Life for your whole church!

Do you want in on that giveaway? Click here to learn more. Hurry! The giveaway ends this Thursday night!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for VBS??

katie2aIf you’ve been around kids for any amount of time, you know they can be LOUD!  What’s more fun than to be a little loud during VBS?

This year, make sure you don’t miss these super fun Screamer Balloons.  They’re long balloons that make a crazy “screaming” noise when you let the air out!

Check out this funny video of some of our LifeWay Kids team trying them out for the first time.

Catching a New Vision: VBS 2013

photoHappy Thursday, VBS friends!

I love Thursdays, don’t you?  If you’re anything like me, (busy!) you’re looking forward to the weekend and a couple of days of rest, but you’re thankful to still have two more days in the week to get everything on the “to-do” list done!

How’s your planning coming along so far?  What are you working on right now?

I’ve got a couple projects on my plate right now (including a brand new social media feature for sharing ideas you guys are gonna LOVE!) that I’m really excited about seeing come to fruition.

Speaking of seeing… do like my new specs?

Even though these Fun Glasses don’t have special lenses, I think wearing them is helping me catch a new vision for the work ahead. Maybe you could use a pair to help your team catch the vision for VBS 2013?

And of course, if YOU have them, your kiddos are going to need a pair for themselves, too!

 

Foto Friday and a Giveaway!

katie-thumbHey VBS’ers!   Who is getting ready to join us for a VBS Preview event in Nashville or Kissimmee?  We can’t wait to see you and share the excitement of Colossal Coaster World!  Get ready for a wild ride!

Did you know we’ve been sharing lots of photos from each event on our Facebook page?  There, you can find lots of creative ideas for decorating, snacks…and even some fun costume ideas!  We’ve been updating the album with photos during each event so that you can experience the whole thing with us!

741096_10151420332574948_122765358_oIf you have or will be attending a preview event, make sure you upload your photos, as well!  We really want our Facebook page to be the hub for sharing ideas for VBS 2013.  But that doesn’t work unless everyone shares!

And because it’s Friday, how about we give a little something away, huh?  Be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter form below to win some great Colossal Coaster World gear!

Enter below to win your very own Colossal Coaster World vendor apron, visor, collectable buttons, viewer keychains and headboppers!  You’ll be super stylish!  (If you win and you’re headed to Preview, you’ve basically already got your costume together so that you can enter to win a spot to the 2015 VBS Think Tank.  Woohoo!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway