Do Your Kids Know the ABCs? (And I Don’t Mean the Letters)

A few weeks ago, I received this testimony about AiG resources from Kathy, a senior pastor’s wife in Nevada.

I really want to encourage you, Dr. Purdom, and the work you are doing with Answers in Genesis. We, at Calvary Chapel Lone Mountain in Las Vegas, are preaching and teaching the same fundamental truths from the same starting point and are thrilled with your new resources! Currently, we are doing the Foundations course as a class for our church (men, women, & teens), and having special break-out sessions for the teens to give them opportunities for mock debates to learn how to graciously and intelligently defend their faith. They are thriving and loving it!

We are also using the AIG Sunday School Curriculum. Dr. Purdom, I want to encourage you with what I am seeing. Even though the curriculum is designed to reach the intended age audience, what we are experiencing is that our teachers are so excited about what they are learning, their enthusiasm about the content and how it is presented is transforming our children's ministry (hence, teachers -> students -> Church -> etc!). To God be the glory! The teachers are so stoked about what they are learning that they cannot contain themselves! God is totally blessings the work of your hands. There is so much fruit, and it is fruit that will remain for all of eternity! Praise God!

It is so thrilling to receive testimonies like this one! I know how much work went into developing the Foundations DVD series and Answers Bible Curriculum (ABC), and those efforts are sowing a great harvest that will be reaped for generations to come.

A few weeks ago, I started teaching Sunday school for kids age 8–12 in my church, and we are using ABC. I have taught Sunday school in the past, so I am fully aware of the material that is available. What a joy to have a curriculum that is so biblically sound and theologically rich! I also love the fact that it takes me a few hours to prepare the lesson. No more of that feeling of looking at the lesson and thinking glumly, “Wow, that will take a whole five minutes to read and prepare.” The background reading for the teachers in ABC focuses heavily on the Scripture and also gives great historical and apologetics context.

I like the focus of each lesson on a few verses and really digging deep into those. It teaches kids how to study and understand the Bible for themselves. They even have to use their Bible during class. Sadly, this is a rarity in most SS curricula. Each lesson builds on the previous one and there is a lot of repetition to reinforce the major ideas being presented. The kids also learn big theological terms like immutable, omniscient and hermeneutics in ways that they can understand.

The take-home sheets are truly unique. One of my biggest complaints before I taught SS was the frustration of not really knowing what my daughter was being taught, so I couldn’t reinforce those ideas at home. The ABC take-home sheets have a whole section just for parents to help them apply what the kids are learning on Sunday at home throughout the week. There is also a daily Bible reading section to encourage children to devote time to reading Scripture. I especially like the apologetics question-and-answer section to get kids thinking how they might respond to friends that ask them questions about God, the Bible, etc. I’m thinking of staging a mini-debate at the middle and end of the quarter to see if they can apply what they are learning to real-life situations.

I echo Kathy’s sentiments about the curriculum—as a teacher you learn a lot, too! Since I face many of the questions discussed in the curriculum on a daily basis, it is a great reinforcement of what I already know as well as learning some new things at times. It has definitely helped me be better equipped to defend God’s Word in the few weeks that I have taught.

The most important part about this curriculum to me is that it is equipping children to study, trust, and defend all of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16). We are living in a world in which “nones” (no religious identity) are on the rise, and we need to prepare our children for the battles they will face. The Bible is their best weapon, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

I strongly encourage you to check out Answers Bible Curriculum (ABC)! It can be used not only in a church setting but also in a homeschool or Christian school setting, or even for family devotions. As adults (parents, grandparents, SS teachers, pastors) it’s our job to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6), and it’s great to have biblically solid resources to help us do it.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!