All Leaders

  • 1.  Sunday School material

    Posted 06-09-2023 07:53 AM

    Our Sunday School is currently using Enduring Faith curriculum from CPH.  Teachers would like me to research alternative curriculums.  We are looking for something engaging for students and easy to prep for with teachers. Our teachers are faithful Christian servants but not professional educators and need a curriculum that has ease of instruction.  I have briefly looked at Group publications as well as Answers in Genesis.  Does anyone have familiarity with either of these?  Or do you have a strong suggestion for us to consider?  

    Thank you!

    Connie Fondow

    Park Rapids, MN



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    Connie Fondow
    St. Johns Lutheran Church
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  • 2.  RE: Sunday School material

    Posted 06-10-2023 07:00 PM

    We have the same question.  Thanks for asking.  I will await the answer.



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    Dale Eppen
    St Johns
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  • 3.  RE: Sunday School material

    Posted 06-11-2023 06:32 PM

    Hi Connie,

    What are the issues with the Enduring Faith curriculum?  We've looked at switching over to that series.  Right now, we use something that was developed by non-Lutherans so you have to be paying attention to what theology is being taught and correct the points being made.  If you haven't already, I would recommend giving CPH feedback on what's not working so they can make the product better.



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    Jay Moore
    Hope Lutheran Virginia Beach
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  • 4.  RE: Sunday School material

    Posted 06-28-2023 08:17 PM
    Our teachers feel the same! Does anyone know how to give feedback to CPH?

    Amy Hillenbrand
    Mequon, WI





  • 5.  RE: Sunday School material

    Posted 06-29-2023 12:14 AM

    Dear Connie,

    Our church uses the D6 curriculum now for the 4th year. We have been pleased with it. They offer materials and lesson plans for different age groups so potentially the whole church could be studying the same lessons.

    I was not a part of the initial process of evaluating its content in terms of Lutheran vs. other denominations. However, a thorough evaluation was done before we adopted it and Lutheranizing the content hasn't been a topic of discussion. When I taught the content to my adult small group, I didn't have any concerns.



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    Marjaana Kuivalainen
    All Saints Lutheran Church Bellevue, WA
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  • 6.  RE: Sunday School material

    Posted 06-29-2023 04:44 PM

    Amy and all - just now seeing this conversation. I would be happy to talk with anyone about your thoughts on Enduring Faith and help connect you with the proper people at CPH (disclosure - I work at CPH in marketing). We're always looking to improve the resources we produce for our LCMS congregations and your input is appreciated. Feel free to respond here or shoot me an email at ken.ohlemeyer@cph.org. Thanks.



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    Ken Ohlemeyer
    St. Paul's Lutheran - Des Peres
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  • 7.  RE: Sunday School material

    Posted 08-11-2023 12:27 PM

    I've used parts of Answers in Genesis and have used Group for VBS but only after our pastor looked it over.  I have found not all of it seems to align with us so I'm a little cautious to recommend these to teachers unless someone has the time to review it.

    I have used Enduring Faith for elementary from CPH.  I think the elementary materials are fine.  I usually use it as a base for the lesson, but I do my own activities.  (My kids like to do "popcorn" where we read the bible verses together/each reads a verse and chooses the next person to read...its super low-key/low-prep for the teachers but the students like it and they're reading the bible!)

    My middle school Enduring Faith feedback is that it may be best for middle school students who have a decent biblical knowledge base to be able to understand and get the most out of it.  If you have new believers or those without the base you may need to explain or modify it.

    I have also used The Story.  This provides a visual (artists drawing) the chronological bible events.  I like this because even kids who have grown up in the church have a hard time getting the chronology down.  It also recaps previous lessons so if you have students who miss some weeks they can still follow along.  The Story and its materials are fine but the "Believe" sequel I don't think is consistent with the LCMS so wouldn't recommend that part.  I have done The Story with middle school age.



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    Beth Jones
    Christ Our Rock
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  • 8.  RE: Sunday School material

    Posted 08-12-2023 08:33 AM

    COH has so many materials for kids of all ages. Right now, there are several different VBS options available, as well. As for Sunday School options, right now they have what looks to be a completely cohesive series for all ages to do with the different books for each age group level. Our church hasn't done that yet, but I'm hoping we will start it at some point.



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    Alyssa Hahn
    UCF Youth Group
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  • 9.  RE: Sunday School material

    Posted 03-14-2024 11:14 AM

    Our Sunday School staff likes Group so well that they've gone through all 12 quarters and are about to start over with quarter 1. Once you purchase the materials, it is always available online for future access. My wife is one of the teachers and she's my source of information. She tells me that the content is easy to adapt to class size and individual needs. Preparation is easy, too, because the same supplies are used for 4 lessons in a row. 



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    Randolph Hastings
    Head Elder
    St Mark Lutheran Church
    Encinitas, CA
    rhhastings@health.ucsd.edu
    StMarkChurch.net
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