August has arrived! If you’re a church leader, you may be looking for a curriculum for your small group, adult study classes, or youth group.
In the words of Pastor Christy Knetsch, whose congregation in Grand Rapids has recently used several of these curricula,
“The Christian Reformed Church is committed to equipping congregations. I am so glad that we have been able to utilize these resources so that we can ensure that not only the head, but heart and hands are empowered to promote justice in the square inches where God gives us influence.”
The Christian Reformed Centre for Public Dialogue and Office of Social Justice work to support churches as you seek to follow the call to do justice in your communities. Perhaps one of these 5 curricula is a good fit for your church.
Number of sessions: 10
Live Justly is an in-depth scriptural and practical study to help people live justly in 6 key areas of life: advocacy, prayer, consumption, generosity, creation care, and relationships. The curriculum is designed by Micah Challenge USA, and the Canadian version from World Renew will be available for the first time later this month.
From a past participant: “For our summer high school Bible study, we also decided to help empower all of our teens with age appropriate language to learn what it means at their age to advocate for justice. This led to us choosing the use the Live Just.ly curriculum. If it weren’t for our denomination’s commitment to providing both biblically focused education as well as opportunities to act in solidarity with those who are oppressed, we would not have had these resources to equip our congregation, particularly our young people, with the tools to put their faith into action.”
Number of sessions: 7
If you’ve participated in the Blanket Exercise or have been hearing about the joys and challenges of Indigenous people in Canada through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and are looking for next steps in learning and relationship, the Living the 8th Fire series is designed for you. The 8th Fire videos and this curriculum draw us into this journey of reconciliation in a friendly and moving way. The curriculum is designed by the Centre for Public Dialogue and the Canadian Aboriginal Ministry Committee.
From a past participant: “It’s time that we talk. The 8th Fire is about us all coming to the fire together. These things happened…now what? What does reconciliation mean? The Apology for residential schools happened…now what? Read more: http://www.cpj.ca/living-8th-fire
Number of sessions: 6 + post-trip materials
Changed for Life equips short-term mission teams, the hosts who receive them, and the congregations who send them to craft a well-organized mission experience with the potential to bring about lifelong change. The curriculum is designed by CRC and RCA development and missions professionals.
From a past participant: “We wanted to send our young people to have an experience where they were intentional to go and see where God was already at work in and through the leaders who were called to join God in the work of transformation. The CRC has invested its resources, time, staff, and passion into providing resources that help to change the conversation from “going and doing for others” to “working together to learn from one another”.”
Number of sessions: 4
Church Between Borders is a 4 part interactive workshop that sparks thought and discussion for Christian groups interested in engaging immigration from a Biblical perspective. Participants will reflect on the Biblical mandate to welcome the stranger and consider what that means in our current context.
From a past participant: “Church Between Borders takes away the politics and gets at the human and Christian elements of this issue.”
Number of sessions: 4
For millions of subsistence farmers in Kenya, climate change is not a political debate. It is a reality in which adaptation can mean the difference between life and death. The Climate Conversation: Kenya video series is a chance to move past the white noise and to get up close and personal with the issues of climate change and environmental stewardship. It is a chance to meet people, not statistics; to hear stories, not arguments. It is an invitation to a conversation.
[Image: adapted from original from Pexels]
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