What Makes Grace Curriculum Distinct?
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Many Bible-teaching curriculums aim their instruction entirely toward the student. Frequently, the teacher is bypassed because the curriculum was not designed with teachers in mind. As a result, many curriculums, especially at the children’s level, are taught word-for-word from the teacher’s materials—as if the teacher could be replaced altogether. But at Grace Curriculum, the teacher’s instruction is the priority. Our goal is to bring the teacher to such a depth of understanding that they can effectively teach their students from the fruit of their study.
Curriculum according to God’s design
This goal—to enrich the teacher’s study—springs from a biblical conviction regarding the local church. Any Bible-based curriculum, whether its application is for children or adults, must be developed according to God’s design for the local church. Ephesians 4:10–12 says that Jesus Christ has given teachers to build up the saints for the work of the ministry. Christ has given Spirit-filled people to edify His church. But when a curriculum becomes a mere script, the person God has spiritually gifted is cut out of the process.
Therefore, the goal of Grace Curriculum is not to replace the teacher—it is to help the teacher maximize his spiritual giftedness by providing quality study materials. To do this, we offer a full commentary for every lesson packed with relevant Scripture references and accessible illustrations. We also include Teaching Tips videos to help teachers summarize and grasp the lessons and put together their teaching notes.
Parents can teach their children
When it comes to children’s curriculum specifically, we create our resources knowing that parents have a God-given responsibility to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4). Therefore, we design our children’s curriculum so that parents can teach their children in the home setting. In other words, Grace Curriculum’s children’s products are not limited to use in the local church alone. In many cases, the parents themselves become their children’s only teachers. This is another reason why we focus on teacher instruction. Parents especially will understand how to apply the truths of God’s Word to their children’s needs. We seek to provide rich and accessible study materials to build up anyone who takes on the teaching role.
Maximizing the teacher’s spiritual growth
Admittedly, this philosophy places a greater expectation and responsibility upon the teacher to study than many curriculums require. But anyone who has spent time diving deeper into the study of God’s Word knows that the fruit of godly meditation is worth the time and effort. God’s Word is perfect, sure, right, and pure (Ps 19:7–8). His Scriptures are sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb (Ps 19:10). We hope that Grace Curriculum will be a valuable tool to parents and teachers in the local church by enriching their hearts in Scripture. As they go deeper in God’s Word, they will grow up to equip and evangelize those who sit underneath them. On the one hand, we want teachers to be confident that they can simplify complex truths. On the other hand, we want teachers to have engaging answers for students who wish to know more.
With these things in mind, we design our products to maximize the spiritual growth of the teacher, knowing that God has placed them where they are for His purposes. We trust that as God’s Word goes out through Spirit-filled teachers to their students, it does not return empty but accomplishes what pleases the Lord (Isa 55:11).