Small churches form the heart of The United Methodist Church with nearly 68 percent of congregations of 200 or fewer worshippers on Sundays (2005 General Minutes of The United Methodist Church). While integral to American church life, smaller membership churches struggle to find resources that fit their budgets and style. “We continue to look for ways to support congregations as they engage children on their faith journey. It’s important to provide engaging, Biblically sound, and fun resources at a great value to assist in this journey,” notes Ed Kowalski, VP of Sales and Marketing, Cokesbury. “All-in-One Bible Fun: 13 Lessons for Busy Teachers (August 2009) offers an exciting curriculum option that will work for small churches and within the stretched budgets many are experiencing today.”The children’s ministry at small churches often may have one class a month or a very small group of children attending each week. The goal with All-in-One Bible Fun is to provide a program that is workable in this environment. The design of the Sunday school program allows teachers to plan complete lessons without having to purchase additional components that larger children’s ministries utilize. “The cover of the program states ‘includes everything but the cookies.’ We want it to be easy to use by providing everything – the opening, story, activity, and craft – all in one book,” says Tammy Gaines, VP of Abingdon Press.
Available for both preschool and elementary age children, All-in-One Bible Fun will be published in four books for each age group. The first book, Stories of Jesus, will be released in August. The remaining books, Favorite Bible Stories, Heroes of the Bible, and Fruits of the Spirit, will release over the rest of the year.
“We know that children are a vital part of churches. They are part of the life and health of the church. We have created an affordable resource in All-in-One Bible Fun to help churches with the faith development of their children,” concludes Gaines.
About Abingdon PressAbingdon Press is the publishing imprint for The United Methodist Publishing House. Abingdon Press has a distinguished record in religious publishing for a broad ecumenical audience and specializes in products for church leaders, as well as scholars and students engaged in theological education and the practice of ministry. Abingdon Press offers a wide array of quality academic, professional, reference, and devotional titles published each year.
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