Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Leon Blanchette
Project Type
Honors Program project
Scholarship Domain(s)
Scholarship of Community Application, Scholarship of Faith Integration
Presentation Type
Presentation
Abstract
United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five weekly lessons, and a resource list. The weekly lessons include an introduction, a leader note and devotion, preparation instructions, opening activity ideas, the large group lesson, prayer and reflection stations, a closing, and family take-home sheets. The curriculum was reviewed by seven practitioners and professors and revised according to their comments. The goal of this curriculum is to be a valuable resource to churches, parachurch organizations, and families as they seek to point children to where God is already at work in their neighborhoods and how they can make Jesus known there.
Permission Type
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
A Curriculum Designed to Teach Elementary-Age Children in Diverse Settings the Kingdom Concept of Loving One's Neighbor
Fishbowl
United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five weekly lessons, and a resource list. The weekly lessons include an introduction, a leader note and devotion, preparation instructions, opening activity ideas, the large group lesson, prayer and reflection stations, a closing, and family take-home sheets. The curriculum was reviewed by seven practitioners and professors and revised according to their comments. The goal of this curriculum is to be a valuable resource to churches, parachurch organizations, and families as they seek to point children to where God is already at work in their neighborhoods and how they can make Jesus known there.