Questions about Trek?

Chris Marchand, Program Director, Youth Ministry department, answers some questions about Trek curriculum.

In order to begin the Trek update, what challenges rose to the surface?

Anytime you go about updating anything it’s going to have challenges. Even when I try to update my phone or computer operating system there are challenges. One of the biggest challenges was that in the beginning, our intention was to just make a minor program update. We used car terminology in the beginning, and our intention was to just upgrade the transmission and maybe some struts and shocks while leaving most of what was under the hood still intact. However, you cannot help but pop open the hood and take a look. When we did that it became clear in our process that we needed to update more than just a few components because we want our students and leaders to have the very best resources that will help them know, love, and serve Jesus Christ.

However, we did not have a very long timeline in order to accomplish this task. The challenge was to complete a large program update in a short timeframe and, do it with a team that has been together for only ten months. However, in the end, I think you’ll see through the result that God has blessed AwanaYM with a fantastic team of talented and passionate people who love challenges and love doing what they do.

Can you give us some insights into the process of doing a Trek update?

Sure! I remember during my first week here at Awana (I’ve only been here for ten months) and seeing a sea of Trek material laid out all over my desk. My first task was to read and mark up everything. I read everything related to the Trek program. I read the Bible Studies, the Compass Points, the Leader Guides, Parent Guides, Topical Studies, Game Books, etc. Then I met with some of our people internally at Awana and listened to their thoughts and the history of the Trek program.

Then, as a team, we went to the whiteboard and spent some time thinking through the potential design of the new Trek update based on feedback we have received over the years. However, the turning point for me was when we began to ask the leaders themselves what they thought needed to be updated. So we sent out a survey to current Trek leaders and received 390 responses. The data we received was confirmation that our ideas relating to the Trek update were right on track.

With enough research and time spent listening to those who have a high level of commitment and investment into the program, we began to build. Once we were far enough along we needed to put out a pilot program and get even more feedback from leaders and their students. We put together a program where 60 churches participated in a national field test of our four-week curriculum sample. Jeremy Pettitt and I also flew around the country hitting all four corners where we sat down with leaders and students and asked them what they thought. The feedback was so important and as I told some of the students, “You’re a part of our team and your thoughts are going to make an impact that will impact many students after you.”

So to wrap up my thoughts on the process of the Trek update I would say that the most valuable part was listening to those who are highly vested in the program. We spent time listening to the voices of the people who show up every week and pour into the lives of our students. We’re so appreciative for their service and in the end, I feel that this update is not just the combined efforts of a few but that hundreds of voices spoke into its creation.

What would you say are the top two improvements to the Trek curriculum?

For the top two improvements to the Trek curriculum, I would say that one is the design of the curriculum. We simplified the approach for the students and the leaders. The art and the content mesh well together. They’re learning with their eyes just as much as they are processing with their minds and hearts. The curriculum invites the students into a creative and analytically rich experience that’s so much more than just getting the answers right. We’re asking them to tell their stories and bring the uniqueness of their story as they discover God’s story into the curriculum experience.

A second improvement of the Trek curriculum is the addition of the daily devotions. We’re inviting students to spend time in God’s Words every day and dive deep into the Scriptures. Then we’re inviting our students to share their sacred time alone with God with the rest of their group. And since the daily devotion questions are the discussion questions in the leader guides and discussion guides I think you’re going to see a deeper leader to student connection, as well.

How should the new Trek material impact parent/student interaction?

For the parents and students, I feel like this new Trek update will give them an opportunity to bring God’s story into their living rooms. It will help them ask the question of how should God’s story impact our family? I feel that adults would get a lot out of this new Trek update and not just from the Parent Guides. I would invite an adult to pick up a copy of the Bible Study or the Essentials and do them alongside their student. The questions included in the daily devotions are questions that every adult and parent should think about. If parents wrestle with these questions alongside their students, it’s going to make their conversations about spiritual things so much better and help foster a deeper and more consistent spiritual connection in their families.

For leaders and students, this new Trek update is giving them space to slow down and start asking some deeper questions. For our students, this is the perfect time in a student’s life to begin to wrestle with some of these foundational questions. I think students are finally going to be invited into a discussion rather than a lecture. So many students just feel they are being talked at rather than invited into the discussion.

This update provides an opportunity for leaders to get a sense of what their students are thinking. The interactions and activities will also give the students a lens into the lives of their leaders. When it comes to relationships with leaders, I always will gravitate to the leaders who are not afraid to tell me stories about their lives. When I was a student it gave me hope for the journey ahead, and I think this Trek update will help foster that depth of discussion and relational connection between students and leaders.