Behind the Scenes of Missions Journey: Kids Curriculum
I have taught the Missions Journey: Kids curriculum for about eight years (I teach Children in Action at my church). So, before I became the design editor of children’s resources here at WMU, I felt like I had a pretty good grasp of the curriculum. But, boy oh boy, there is a lot I didn’t know that goes on behind the scenes to plan the curriculum, make sure it is consistent with what all the other age-levels are learning, and to ensure it is theologically sound.
I thought it might be helpful to draw the curtain back for you, too, so you can understand better what you are teaching and how it fits into a broader plan for our Southern Baptist churches. Come take a look!
How do we come up with a different children’s theme each year?
Every two years, a group of WMU leaders from different states, as well as some from national WMU, are selected to plan the WMU emphasis theme, watchword (Scripture) and objectives, and Project HELP critical issue focus for the coming two years. Their recommendation, which is then approved by WMU’s board, becomes the basis for the curriculum, a guide for state WMUs as they help equip churches, and a catalyst to address a pressing critical issue.
Over the past year, WMU’s theme has been What Joy! Our watchword has been 1 Thessalonians 2:8. Our objectives have been that we are passionate about the lost, we are compelled by love, we are generous in sharing, and we serve with great delight (joy). Our Project HELP critical issue has been mental health.
For children, our team takes the approved WMU emphasis recommendation and puts it into words children can understand. Instead of “What Joy!” children are “Loved So Much!” which is concrete and easier to explain: God loves me and shows me by sending Jesus to die for my sins. He loves others the same way. I can show love to others by telling them about what Jesus has done for them.
With regard to Project HELP: Mental Health, we have a blog series called “Fostering Healthy Minds in Children at Church.” It is our hope that the articles give leaders concrete steps to take in their own interactions with children, so their missions discipleship group supports children’s mental health while engaging them in ministry. If you haven’t already read some of the articles, I hope you will take some time to do so!
Next year, WMU will continue with the same theme, watchword and objectives, and critical issue. Children will have a new theme, but it will be based on the same watchword and objectives as WMU. The new children’s emphasis will be released in June, so be watching for it!
Where do we get the mission stories?
Around January each year, the editorial team at WMU meets together to brainstorm topics we think might make compelling stories to share with all the missions discipleship groups in the coming year.
Once we have a list, we send it to the International Mission Board (IMB) and the North American Mission Board (NAMB). They use our list to make a list of missionaries in the areas we requested who are able to be interviewed and featured. Every missionary or ministry we feature is Southern Baptist.
From there, we pray and discuss and narrow down the list to which missionaries will finally be featured in the curriculum each month. We send the missionaries a questionnaire or we interview them. This interview is then sent to the writers assigned by each age-level editor, and they do the hard work to bring those stories to life for our leaders.
Is the curriculum vetted?
Yes! You can rest assured that our curriculum is given a thorough scrubbing by many different people before ever landing in your mailbox.
After each unit is written, it comes to our editorial team, and we edit it, fact-check it, and get it ready for our readers.
Our team of readers includes leaders just like you as well as our children’s consultants. They are tasked with reading the unit with a critical eye. If an activity doesn’t make sense or it doesn’t fit the age group assigned, they let us know. Or if they see how we could improve an activity to make it tie our lessons together even better, they let us know! We love our readers!
We also have an amazing doctrinal reader who makes sure that what we give leaders to teach from the Bible is sound and faithful and that it is in line with our beliefs as Southern Baptists. We don’t want you to ever worry about what you are teaching children!
So, there you go. A little peek behind the curtain! But do you want to know about something else? Or maybe you want to help as a reader, too! We would love to hear from you. You can contact us at [email protected].
Sarah Murray is the design editor for children’s resources at WMU.
