We believe that it is absolutely essential for children to hear and understand the gospel as they grow up. Why wait for them to grow older before beginning solid discipleship that results in knowing and following Jesus? When we look at Scripture, we don’t see a different version of Christianity for children. However, we do see a simple and clear gospel that a child can understand and live out.
Heroic Life Discipleship exists to facilitate building the next generation into men and women who are passionate for God’s glory, know and treasure Christ supremely, live in victory and joy, and effectively disciple others.
Here’s the story of how, motivated by this vision, Heroic Life Discipleship came into being.
Our Story
In the summer of 2012, the leadership at The Church at Ellerslie called our team together and asked us to lead their weekly children’s program. As we prayed and planned, there were a few key objectives that we desired for discipleship:
- An accurate and complete gospel presentation, yet simple enough for a young child to comprehend
- An engaging structure for children, without an entertainment focus
- A curriculum that is simple and intuitive for teachers
- Discipleship that leads to genuine application, not just hearing the Word
After considering these things, we decided that the best fit for us would be to develop our own curriculum. This began a long process of studying Scripture, writing outlines, leading the church’s weekly children’s program, and continually going back to the drawing board to implement the lessons we’d learned on the ground as we taught.
As time went on, we saw incredible fruit come from first, building our ministry on prayer, and second, making the above goals a priority.
Children were understanding the gospel. They were growing in love for God and His Word. Throughout the week between discipleship nights, they were applying the truths they were learning.
This was the case for students from 4 to 14 years old.
As we continued to put time into curriculum development and continued to see the Lord bring fruit through the ministry at Ellerslie, we decided that we wanted to provide our curriculum as a resource for other homes, churches, and ministries to utilize.
Over the last couple years of curriculum and ministry development, there are three primary areas that we’ve decided to focus on:
Curriculum
Our curriculum, designed for use in a weekly (or other periodic) children’s program, is our flagship resource. Every aspect of it has been tailored to accomplish the objectives outlined above.
Other ministries have seen our curriculum effectively accomplish this vision too, including weekly church programs, inner city ministries, international missions, after school programs, and family devotions.
The Heroic Life Discipleship Curriculum is divided into eight semesters, each semester containing fourteen lessons. Our first semester, Foundations, focuses on the nature of God and why we can trust the Bible. The following semesters progress chronologically through Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, giving a clear picture of the gospel and how it practically applies to our daily lives.
So far we’ve published three our of our eight semesters, and will publish the remaining semesters throughout 2017 and into the first half of 2018.
Workshops and Training
We desire not only to provide curriculum to churches and ministries, but to equip them to utilize our materials to the highest potential. As a result, we’ve developed two avenues for training:
Online Leader Training
Our online Leader Training course is designed to prepare your team to effectively use the Heroic Life Discipleship curriculum. In it, we cover mindsets behind our ministry and curriculum development, and practically walk through ways to best implement each aspect of the curriculum.
Live Workshops
We’ve also developed several workshop tracks that we present live to ministry teams. These can each be customized to suit your specific ministry needs.
We’ve conducted workshops covering topics on encouragement in spiritual growth, ministry leadership, practical tips on teaching and classroom management, and more.
Family Discipleship
As we’ve connected with many people across the country who are passionate about raising their children for Christ, we’ve seen the need for a resource that simply and conveniently facilitates discipleship within the family context.
Imagine a tool for your family that is Biblically sound yet also simple and intuitive, that requires little prep time, that inspires deep discussion around the truths being taught, and leads to practical application.
This is what we’re working to provide through our Family Discipleship Curriculum. It’s currently in the development stages, and we’re hoping to launch it in August. As time goes on we’ll be letting you know about more exciting details and ways you can be involved in development!
Meeting the Goal
Our deepest desire is for Christ to be glorified and the Kingdom of God to be advanced as a result of this ministry. We pray that the resources we provide will come alongside and support you as you follow Christ’s command to make disciples.
