FAQ for ABC 1st Edition

Question

How can we adapt this curriculum to fit the large group and small group format? We have large group worship and learning time together, and then we break into small groups.

Answer

Thanks for your support of Answers Bible Curriculum. We pray the Lord will use it to change lives within your church families.

The curriculum can be easily adapted to a large group and small group format. The way this is done will depend on how long each segment of a given Sunday School actually is.

Our recommendations for adapting to a large group are as follows:

• Eliminate the “Come On In” section, as the students will be gathering in large group first.
• Have the large group leader present, review, and recite the current memory verse in a fun, interactive way.
• Encourage the large group leader to present the “Read the Word,” “Examine the Word,” and “Observe the Text” sections of the lesson. The students will follow along in their Bibles and/or listen to Scripture being read, and then they will answer the “Observe the Text” questions as presented in the lesson. Some lessons have more than one “Read the Word” section.
• The “Discover the Truth” (what does it mean?) sections should be covered in the small groups. This will allow students to quickly review the key verses they just heard in large group and benefit from further explanation. Again, there may be more than one “Discover the Truth” section in each lesson. They could all be quickly reviewed in the small group section.
• Each small group leader should have a set of the lesson theme posters to use during this portion of the class. The lesson will have been presented and these will be helpful as the small group discusses the lesson.
• It is critically important that the small group leader present the “Applying God’s Word” section. This quickly reviews the lesson objectives (repetition is key to learning!) and presents practical life application in the “God’s Word in the Real World” section.
• When that is finished, review the memory verse again, and encourage the students to memorize it. We want them to have God’s Word hidden in their hearts!
• If there is any time remaining, the lesson activities can be done as appropriate.

Thanks again! It is a grace of God to see the fruit of our labors as churches prepare to use this curriculum.

Question

The preschool lessons are very good, but they seem to be above the understanding level of the kids in our class. We are trying to adapt the lessons, but they still seem difficult for their level. What suggestions do you have to keep the teachers from getting frustrated with the lesson and to keep the kids interested?

Answer

Preschool can be challenging. And our PreK–K level is geared more towards 3–5 year olds. Admittedly, that is a wide range of maturity. However, we believe that starting at this tender age can only increase their wonder and fear of God as they grow physically and spiritually in the truths and promises of God.

We have tried to include bright components and pictures with the flip charts and student take home sheets to hold their attention. There are class activities that include both sitting down and movement. And we’ve found for the most part that these kids like to sing as long as you can make it fun! With God’s Word, enthusiasm, and firmness, it is possible to change the paradigm of the class from “a time to play” to “a time to learn what God’s Word says.”

It will take a couple of weeks but can be done by maintaining consistency and structure each week. Children are capable of quickly understanding the structure and adapting to it. If the lessons are too difficult, I’d say land on the lesson focus and do what you can to repeat that. We believe even children of this young age can be taught that the Bible has answers. With that in mind, they need to see someone reading the Bible and asking simple questions of the text.

If after leaving your class, they can repeat and remember that “God’s Word is our foundation,” “God wants me to study the Bible,” or “God’s Word guides us,” we’d be thrilled! It is about layering truth beginning at this young age. We must give them confidence that they can trust the Bible and God. This is often done through repetition over many years.

Question

We are in Quarter 2 of the Answers Bible Curriculum and will soon begin Quarter 3. Our church does not teach regular Sunday school during the summer. Should I skip Quarter 4 and begin in the fall with Year 2, Quarter 1?

Answer

We do not recommend you skip any of the lessons while teaching the Answers Bible Curriculum. This is a three-year chronological study. Missing any lesson would present a gap in the historical chronology of God’s history.

If you break for the summer, for holidays, for special church events, or any other reason, we recommend you take up where you left off. A church that takes the summer off from regular Sunday school should begin in the fall with Quarter 4 of the previous year. This schedule would make Answers Bible Curriculum a four-year study for you instead of three.

Question

Can I use Answers Bible Curriculum with my children at home?

Answer

Yes! Many families are using ABC successfully to disciple their children at home or as a homeschool Bible curriculum. We have developed a simple schedule showing you one way this can be done. You can download it here (PDF).

Question

Our church only uses the King James Version. Can we adapt ABC to use the KJV in our church?

Answer

Answers Bible Curriculum was written using the New King James Version (based on the Textus Receptus as the KJV was). Within the lessons, there will be very few differences since the language of the two versions is quite similar. There are instances where the teacher asks the students about a particular word in a passage. In that case, the teacher would simply need to substitute the word used in the KJV for the word used in the NKJV. This could be done as the teacher is reading through the lesson to prepare to teach, so it would not require any additional work.

The version becomes more of an issue with the supplemental materials. Student handouts (class notes, puzzles, games, etc.) are based on the NKJV. The Student Take Home Sheets incorporate the memory verses in NKJV, and various puzzles use words that may depend on the version used to get a correct answer. In addition, the Memory Verse Posters use the NKJV, so these would not be able to be put up in the classroom. While the Memory Verse Posters and Student Take Home Sheets are an important part of the curriculum, they are not essential, and the curriculum could be used without them. The student handouts, however, are used in class during the lesson, and it would be difficult to teach the curriculum without them.

These same issues would apply to any other Bible versions that you may use in your church or other teaching setting. We recognize that this presents a challenge for some churches and groups, but at this time we do not have the resources to produce the many complex components of ABC in multiple versions. We are considering how to produce ABC using other translations in the future, but that will not happen until after we have completed writing all three years of the curriculum.