In Elementary we are getting very excited about the momentum beginning to take shape in regard to Preteen ministry (Ignite room). Anyone who has ever worked with preteens knows that that are special. They are too old for Elementary, but they are not mature enough for Junior High. But they know they are different, and that is why it is important for us to check our intentionality as we minister to these kids. For years, our Ignite room has shared the same curriculum as the Wave, and that has been great! We use an outstanding curriculum that has been transformational with the kids! Nevertheless, our burden and calling is to become missionaries who these kids are. With that said, we began to take a closer look into what they like and how they learn.Well, to stay “the results are in” would not be fitting because what we found is… It’s always changing! The biggest thing we learned is the fact that we need to be open to change!
We did realize that our current curriculum seemed to catered greatly to our 1-3rd graders, and we feel, it misses our 4-5th graders a little too much. So, we began to pray and brainstorm a program that would minister more intentionally to that infamous preteen age group. Our goals were to find something that will be engaging to them, hit the topics that is on there mind, and get them into the bible first-hand and learn how and why we use the Word. We also wanted to move to a format that will help them prepare for Junior High! That means it needs to be more relationship based with more emphases on small groups.
Good news! We think we have found a curriculum called Grapple (Group publishing) that will take us in that direction. This new program will have a different feel and a whole new format, but we think it will provide a more intentional foundation as we minister to these kids at such a vital time in there lives. Please join us in prayer as we continue to look deep into this new venture.
Here are some stuff we are looking at:
~Grapple Curriculum
~Preteen Conference for Preteens
~Preteen Summer and Winter Camp
~Good Preteen minstry book to check out Leading Preteens by Patrick Snow
Pete, signing off…