Explorer Series by Apologetics Press (originally published September 28)

In my work with the 9th Avenue church of Christ, I have been asked by the elders to help “set” the curriculum for our classes from 5th-12th grades. If you think finding material for teens is hard, try finding material for 5th-6th graders! Most material for that very important age is either watered-down, or is way too difficult. It is sad, but we seem to have very few writers who can appeal to that age group.

However, beginning with this quarter (which started with the first Sunday in September), we have started using the Exploroer Series from Apologetics Press. After only a few Sundays, the teachers could not be any more pleased. One even told me that it was the best material he had ever seen for that age group!

As you can see from the picture, the material looks much like the well-known Discovery magazine for children. Each lesson in the Explorer Series is a short, 8-page “magazine” focusing on a particular topic. In each lesson, there are usually 5-6 articles and 1-2 pages of activities to reenforce the lesson. Some of the articles are from older Discovery magazines, but many are newly written for these lessons.

According to Eric Lyons, who is one of the main contributors to the series, two quarters worth of material is available at this time, and the third “journey” (as they call each quarter) is ready to print. They hope to eventually have 8 quarters total. The 9th Avenue congregation is already committed to using all 8 quarters when they are complete.

As an example, here are the lessons in “Journey 2–Faith-Building Answers for Kids.” (Keep in mind that each lesson is a short magazine focusing only on that topic.)

Lesson 1–The Genesis Account of Creation

Lesson 2–The Age of the Earth

Lesson 3–Man–Created in the Image of God

Lesson 4–Satan–His Origin and Mission

Lesson 5–The Fall of Man

Lesson 6–The Genesis Flood

Lesson 7–The Tower of Babel

Lesson 8–Old and New Testaments–What’s the Difference?

Lesson 9–How We Got the Bible

Lesson 10–World Religions versus Christianity

Lesson 11–Are There Mistakes in the Bible?

Lesson 12–Evil, Pain, and Suffering

Lesson 13–Faith and Knowledge

To say I highly recommend this material would be a great understatement. It is some of the best material out there for any age of young people. Besides being rich in material and well-written, each lesson is beautifully illustrated with drawings, photos and good layouts. The lessons have enough material that we use each lesson on Sunday and Wednesday. The “lesson” is mostly taught on Sunday morning and the activities are done and the final article is taught on Wednesday night.

If you have any control over the curriculum at your congregation, take a look at the Explorer Series for your 5th and 6th graders. I think you’ll be glad you did!