I was a little league umpire.
For one game.
One.
Probably the most stressful few hours of my life.
I was awful. I don’t even think I got paid the $12 that was typical for your first game. I mean I was THAT bad.
As an incessant people-pleaser, making decisions is always tough for me. It’s even tougher when there are kids involved. It’s outright heart-wrenching when their parents are watching over my shoulder.
Thankfully, curriculum choice isn’t (usually) as instantaneous as calling a strike. But the stakes are still high. As you’re planning for your upcoming KidMin year, curriculum choice is looming. It’s always easier to stick with what you’ve always done. But maybe God wants to shake things up a bit.
(In no particular order) Here are 20 questions to help your decision-making:
- Is it rooted in scripture?
- Does it resonate with the families in our church?
- Does it represent my natural teaching style?
- Can I train others to teach it?
- Is it intuitive to kids? Leaders? Parents?
- Will it stretch our kids? Families?
- Is there anything built-in to give parents?
- Can we afford it? If not, how can I find funding?
- Does it fit with our church’s vision?
- Will a child with little faith experience “get it?”
- Can I talk with someone who’s used it?
- How can we prepare families for this?
- What will we do after this is over?
- What other resources will we need? (tv? speakers?)
- Does the Bible translation match what we typically use?
- How much prep time should I plan for each week?
- Does this require small groups?
- Will I have to print anything regularly?
- Will there be any cost to our families?
- Does this fit our church size or culture?
Here’s to a great season behind the plate 😉
Any questions you’d like to add?
