Changing curriculum isn't easy! You have to sort through seemingly endless options, kick the tires, solicit input from your team, get approval from your pastor, retrain your volunteers, and on, and on, and on.
In fact, there's only one thing harder than changing curriculum and that's sticking with one that isn't working for you.
With that said, here are 5 signs it might be time for a change:
1. You're dissatisfied with the level and quality of Biblical content. Almost every curriculum will be missing something you want, rich Biblical content should NOT be one of them! Is your curriculum moralistic and behavior driven? Does it put people at the center of the Biblical story instead of God? Is it light on the Gospel? Does it bend Scripture to fit within a topic or virtue? If so, it might be time for a curriculum change.
2. The kids are bored and disengaged. It should be a crime to bore kids at church. (A misdemeanor for 1st offenders.) Parents don't want to drag their kids to church. And if the kids complain too much, the parents will keep them in "big church," or find a new church altogether. No bueno! The Bible is a God-soaked, action-packed, fun-filled adventure. So if your curriculum is a snooze-fest, it might be time for a curriculum change.
3. You spend hours each week "fixing" your curriculum. If you ever read "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," you probably remember the famous scene where Tom convinces his friends to pay him to whitewash his fence. If you're rewriting your curriculum every week, then you're a friend of Tom! You're basically paying someone, then doing all the work yourself. Even worse, it's taking away valuable time that you could be using to directly minister to the kids and families of your church. So if you're paying someone else so that you can write your own curriculum, it might be time for a curriculum change.
4. You're settling for good enough. Maybe your curriculum needs fixing each week, but you don't have the time, talent, or experience to do it. So each week you find yourself saying, "I don't love it, but it's good enough." The kids in your ministry deserve better than that. So, if you're settling each week for good enough, it might be time for a curriculum change.
5. It doesn't foster community or relationship building. Let's be honest, although creating a fun environment will attract kids, it's the relationships that keep them coming back again and again. A good curriculum should create plenty of opportunity for kids to engage relationally with their leaders and with each other. If your curriculum turns you into a talking head, it might be time for a curriculum change.
As a KidMin leader, I've personally experienced ALL of these curriculum woes. That's why we created GO! curriculum. To help other leaders avoid them. GO! is the chronological curriculum that gets kids out of their seats and into the storytelling action. It's a God-soaked, fun-filled, action-packed adventure through the Bible.
There is no one "right" curriculum for every single person, but if you're struggling with any of the above issues, then give GO! curriculum a try. It might be the fix for your curriculum woes!
