|
 |
You use the word "family" a lot. Is this tool only intended for churches with whole families who attend together?
No! The Big God Project is for any church that is seeking to pass on faith to the
next generation. Whenever you see the word "family", think of your church family. The materials you will find
on this site are designed to get the whole church family on the same page and able to talk about their faith
in a way that is authentic, vibrant and relevant.
|
|
|
We only have a few children in worship every week. Will the Big God Project work for us?
Yes! The Big God Project is specifically designed to work with as many children
as you have. There are many ways to put the materials to use in a church with a small number of children. You
can hand out the question and journal pages as the children arrive, so they are already engaged in the theme
from the very start of the service. If you have someone to prepare the supplies for the Sunday School activity,
you can use a tablet or laptop to play the "Activity Time with Miss Erin" videos for your young ones, and then
let them work on the craft or activity as a group. You can even play the games and videos on weeks when you have
no children at all! Your adults and seniors will enjoy the activities and get just as much out of it as your
kids!
|
|
|
Do we need to have Sunday School teachers to use the Big God Project?
No! One of the reasons we include the "Activity Time with Miss Erin" videos is
so that churches without a dedicated Sunday School teacher or staff can still provide a full Sunday School
time. You just need a tablet or laptop and someone who is willing to prepare the materials needed for the
craft that week. The kids can learn directly from Miss Erin's videos.
|
|
|
Do we have to use every component of your tool to make it useful?
No! There are 7 different components to the Big God Project. The most important components are
the theme and the teaching video. The rest of the pieces can be moved around and mixed-and-matched to fit with your serice.
However, we strongly suggest you want the How To Videos in order to understand how the components
are designed to work together as a whole. You may find yourself using more than you thought you would!
|
|
|
Can I see a sample of your curriculum?
Absolutely! Simply visit the Curriculum page, and then register for a free
account. Once you are logged in you will find a preview of all the materials for every week, including the theme
and scriptures for every week of the season.
|
|
|
Do we need to have a screen and a sound system in the sanctuary to use the Big God Project?
Yes, you will need either a TV or a projector, as well as a way of getting the
sound out from the tablet or computer to the whole sanctuary. The story videos are a key component of the
Big God Project, and it is important that they are played as part of the worship service to the whole congregation,
typically during the "Children's Time" (or "Family Time"!). That way, everyone in the congregation learns the stories together.
|
|
|
Will our adults and seniors get anything out of the videos and other components?
Yes! We find that our adults and seniors get just as much out of the videos and
games as our kids do (although they might not always want to admit it!). Many times our adults can lose track
of how the different stories of scripture fit into the larger picture of God's redeeming story of creation. The videos
help to put the pieces back together in a way that is fun, accessible and enlightening. And the games are a great
way of making sure everyone is engaged and connected to what is going on. In fact, you might want to keep
playing the videos and games even on weeks when you have no children present!
|
|
|
Do you go through the same stories every year?
No! The Big God Story is designed to touch on different stories and to highlight
different aspects of the Bible every year. In a similar way to a lectionary, the Big God Project points the spotlight on
different parts of the story every year. However, we always start with creation; we always line up Christmas with
Christmas and Easter with Easter; and we always end with the promise of Christ's return and the new heaven and new
earth promised by Scripture. That way, no matter what year a person first starts attending your church, they will
always get the whole picture by the time they have been with you for a year.
|
|
|
Do we have to follow your curriculum week-for-week?
No! You are free to move around lesson, or even remove certain weeks if you have
other events going on, as long as you keep them in the same order. For example, you may also find that starting
in July is difficult for your church, at least in the first year, so you may want to remove some weeks between
July and December. That's why we indicate which weeks are "optional" in the curriculum. These are the weeks you can remove without affecting
the overall story arc. This will help you customize the weeks for your purposes.
|
|
|
We have trouble finding volunteers for Sunday School. Will this help?
We had the same problem with volunteers, which is one of the reasons we created the Big God Project!
We found that our parents didn’t feel comfortable teaching scripture. So we moved the teaching time into the
worship service with videos that teach scripture faithfully but accessibly. Then we created videos called
“Activity Time with Miss Erin” that demonstrate how to do the activities. We then created a tool on the website
for sending the videos to our volunteers, so they could watch the activities in advance. Our Sunday school
coordinator gets all the materials together, and the video teaches the lesson. All they have to do is show up
and mirror what they saw in the video! It has helped us to mobilized many more of our parents as Sunday
school teachers!
|
