We would like to introduce you to Hearts Alive, a church-wide children’s curriculum that offers Sunday school and children’s church lessons for preschool and elementary-aged kids. The goal of Hearts Alive is to ignite the hearts and minds of the next generation. Hearts come alive as children learn the truth of Scripture and experience Jesus’s love and grace.
Hearts Alive is written by Bible Study Media. Their writing team is led by dedicated Christian educators who craft each lesson with students’ intellectual and social abilities in mind. Storytelling, drama, crafts, games, and even science and math problem-solving contribute to an engaging and immersive experience.
The Opening Elements
In this post, we will look at the opening pages of a Hearts Alive lesson. The opening pages of every lesson are the same, whether for Children’s Church or Sunday School.
These beginning elements will help leaders get ready to bring young hearts alive to Jesus. Our curriculum gives teams everything they need, step-by-step, to equip successful Sunday School or Children’s Church leaders.
The first page of every lesson gives the theme. Leaders will find the title, the Bible passage, and three simple helps.
The first help is the big idea. It answers the question: what’s the big idea we want children to take away?
The second help is the memory verse—the part of God’s Word that children can hide in their hearts to help the lesson stick. Some lessons include an activity to help teach the memory verse. All the lessons include the memory verse on the “take home page” for children to learn at home.
The third help is the lesson overview. It takes the big idea and expands it, giving a broader picture of what the lesson aims to teach young hearts.
These three helps—the big idea, the memory verse, and the lesson overview are the “what” of the lesson—what it’s all about.
The “how” of the lesson is the lesson chart—how leaders will teach the lesson. It breaks down class time into parts—such as the welcome activity, worship time, the lesson itself, a game or craft. Each part tells the approximate time it will take, the supplies needed, and what to prepare ahead of time.
Next, let’s discover the “why.” We call this section the Bible Background. The good news is, leaders, or whomever is teaching the lesson, do not have to be experts on the Bible in order to teach the Hearts Alive lessons effectively. The Bible Background gives all they need to know about the day’s passage. It explains why the lesson they’re teaching is important—how it is rooted in the Scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments and, most importantly, how it relates to the Gospel message —that’s the true “heart” of every Hearts Alive lesson—the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Learn more
You can watch the rest of this four-part series on Bible Study Media’s blog.
Part 2: The Closing Elements
Part 3: Sunday School Elements
Part 4: Inside a Children’s Church Lesson
Click here to learn more about Hearts Alive, including an FAQ, a scope and sequence, and sample lessons.
This article was originally posted on Bible Study Media’s blog.
Hearts Alive
Hearts Alive provides liturgical congregations a high quality, three-year children’s curriculum that combines captivating content, lectionary alignment, and gospel focus for students ages 3-12. Join our Hearts Alive Community to learn more about the curriculum and connect with others using it in their congregations.
