Some may wonder why the adults and students follow one study plan while the kids follow another.
When Explore the Bible was introduced in 1978, student and adult resources were included. The promise was to examine the main themes/passages of every Bible book. The first two cycles were 9 years in length. The third cycle was 11 years which was followed by an eight year plan. You can tell the response to the 11 year plan by the duration of the following plan. The response to the 8 year plan is seen in the next cycle….another 9 year plan.
We understand the value of everyone studying the same passage, so when the kids’ resources were introduced in 2014, the adult/student plan was followed by them as well. Hebrews was the first Bible book we studied in that new plan that began in the Fall of 2014. Thirteen weeks in Hebrews was great for students and adults. Some even wanted to spend more time there, but realized doing so would impact the larger plan.
Preschool leaders had a completely different experience. Thirteen weeks in the book of Hebrews with four-year-olds was a challenge. Some were willing to continue with the plan thinking they just needed to get accustomed to the approach. Then we got to the Summer of 2015 and a study of John’s Epistles and Revelation. We became even more aware of the challenge and the position the kid’s leaders were being placed.
We did not want to compromise the promise established in 1978 nor turn our backs on a plan with a proven track record. We have years of input about the study plan followed by students and adults. No plan is perfect, but the input received gives us a good idea of what people believe to be fair to a Bible book and yet doable. The decision was made for the kids to follow a different study plan that took into account their needs and development. As a result, we ended up with two plans.
We affirm the role of the parent in the spiritual life of their child and we needed to find a way to bridge that gap. Explore the Bible at Home became that bridge. This resource identifies the passages being studied by the parent and the adult if both are using Explore the Bible. Daily readings are included for the family and ideas for studying together as a family are also provided. These reproducible handouts are available in the Kids Leader Kits (look for the “Music and Print Extras”). These pages are also included in Explore the Bible Kids on Ministry Grid.
Want to know more about the study plans?