I was raised in the church. I mean I showed up every weekend in my Sunday best, which started with broomstick flowered skirts/dresses & tights and molded into CooLots & nylons before finally settling into jeans & Birkenstocks. I attended Sunday school and Wednesday programming every week. I was a part of the “church rat” gang as my parents were super volunteers in kids’ ministry followed by a two-month interim period in youth ministry which turned into a tenure of 8 years. So yes, I learned a lot while hanging out in church.
I learned lots of stories growing up, both from the Old and New Testament. I could pinpoint these stories at various times of my childhood, but I’d say they were all in sort of a “giant pot” of stories that had no order and did not point to any one thing. In other words, the stories of the Bible were independent of each other.
Now that I have kids of my own, I’m seeing the Gospel through their eyes; and I’m noticing something. They are not only learning about stories from the Bible, but they’re learning how each story is connected to Jesus as the Rescuer and Savior. The Word is coming alive and is being connected in a whole new way!
In Berean Kids on the weekends, we go through the entire Bible chronologically over the course of three years.
That means we cover over 150 stories and topics from God’s Word. And every week, we share how that week’s particular story connects to the overall Big Story of the Gospel. We show where it lands on our Giant Timeline of the Bible. We connect the story to what God has done, who He is and what He plans to do. We point to Jesus’ power, sacrifice and glory.
We pray that the kids that come into Berean Kids see Jesus each week as they learn and grow in the Word… to see the lives of kids and their and families transformed by the power of the Gospel!
