This newly revised edition of the Leader’s Guide is similar in overall size to the original, but reflects considerable streamlining of content in some areas, as well as a significant amount of new material, according to Bruce Lawson of the Department of Christian Formation, who serves as project coordinator for The Journey project.
The Leader’s Guide is one of four elements in The Journey program, which also includes two student journals – Old Testament and New Testament – and a Mentor’s Guide. The student journals were extensively revised last year, with the new Leader’s Guide revision bringing the student and leader material into harmony.
“All of the pieces work together,” Lawson notes. “The student journal itself is incomplete without the Leader’s Guide,” he points out, as the Leader’s Guide is intentionally designed to engage the students in the material and in discussion of the concepts. “Similarly, the Leader’s Guide is incomplete without the Mentor’s Guide,” he adds. “They all are carefully designed to work together to complement the broader educational objectives and the Christian formation of the student.”
Changes in the revised Leader’s Guide include:
• All lesson handouts have been graphically redesigned to be more appealing to junior high/middle school students
• Leader’s Guide sessions are now directly connected with the student journal assignments – the questions the students are answering are included in the Leader’s Guide discussion time outlines
• Building Block sections are now fully integrated into each lesson – if addressing the question of Who is God? for example, students might be asked to identify the qualities of God reflected in the Building Block material, with the Leader’s Guide following up with questions like, “Which qualities of God are easiest (or more difficult) for you to relate to?”
New elements have been added as well:
• Guidelines for making class time more effective
• Ideas for helping make The Journey experience a great one
• Ideas for encouraging students during their “Time with God” while journaling
• Discussion guides (in appendix) to supplement lessons in exploring the “Going the Extra Mile” segments
“These new discussion guides provide one example of the way in which overall content has been revised to provide more continuity and encourage students to go even deeper in their exploration,” Lawson says.
“You have the Building Blocks that provide excellent material for the students to think about,” Lawson points out. “The student journal deals with that Building Block content to some extent, but we realized more was needed. So last year we added the ‘Going the Extra Mile’ segment to provide a more complete explanation of the theological concepts being presented. This year, the new discussion guides help the teacher lead the students much deeper in exploring the Building Block concepts.”
Plans call for all of the revised handouts to be available as quickly as possible for downloading from The Journey section of the Covenant website, Lawson says, with graphic elements also to be made available so that local churches can customize the material even more.
The newly revised Leader’s Guide is available for online ordering through Covenant Bookstore, with the material to be shipped as soon as the finished copies are received from the printer, currently scheduled before the end of the month.
For all orders received no later than 5 p.m. CDT on Friday, August 17, those ordering will receive by email a special Journey Starter Kit that will allow teachers to get a jump on planning and beginning their fall classes. The free kit includes:
• A background article suggesting ways to make The Journey material work effectively in a class setting
• A table of contents that will help teachers in completing their class schedules for the year
• The first two lessons for both the Old Testament and New Testament Leader’s Guide
• A PDF of the printed Journey brochure released in January this year that has proved helpful to local churches in structuring their overall programs
As an added expression of appreciation for the patience of churches in waiting for release of the new Leader’s Guide material, those churches ordering the guide by the August 17 deadline will have the normal shipping charge waived. After the deadline, the regular shipping charge will apply.
Cost of the Leader’s Guide is $39.95 plus shipping, with online payment by credit card or PayPal account. Churches unable to order online can call the Covenant Resource Center, which will place the online order on the church’s behalf, using the church’s credit card or PayPal account. That number is 800-338-IDEA(4332).
Student journals may also be ordered online at $17.95 each for both the Old Testament and the New Testament journals, with the Mentor’s Guide available at $9.95. Click on any of the highlighted linked material in this story to go directly to the online ordering system for that item.
