Youth Ministry Curriculum
While many of us might prefer to write the studies ourselves, there are likely times when we use purchased or borrowed curriculum instead. One of the frequent questions I get when speaking to youth workers on the phone is “is there any curriculum that you would recommend?”
In response to that question, I share the following three curriculums that I’ve used:
RightNow Media: This resource is like Netflix in that it provides video-based teaching materials. The quality is great. The theology is usually solid, yet it often does not reflect a conservative Lutheran approach. The cost of their service is more than perhaps desired. I tend to use their materials for my youth group Sunday School Class because they are easy for a substitute to use.
Fuller Youth Institute: I love the research that this organization is doing in support of teens and families and the curriculum they create speaks to many of the conclusions they are drawing from their research. At the same time, Fuller doesn’t ever speak to issues that divide the conservative and the liberal sides of the church which makes me wonder what they think of these issues. The cost for their material is often higher than other sources and it will require you to discerningly edit the material.
Download Youth Ministry: This organization offers a large volume of material that can be purchased at a very reasonable price. When I’m seeking material, they are often the first place that I go to but when I use their materials, I find myself doing many edits.
Other Resources
While I haven’t used the following personally, here are several resources that some of our peers are using:
Dare 2 Share: Their digital curriculum can be found at https://store.dare2share.org/collections/curriculum
XP3: Their comprehensive program (Orange) can be found at https://thinkorange.com/xp3-youth-ministry-curriculum/
Rooted Ministry: Their studies on foundational topics can be found at https://rootedministry.com/family-ministry-curriculum/ (Their podcast is theologically rich)
Grow: Their youth ministry curriculum can be found at https://growcurriculum.org/
All of these, and any others you find, will require you to discern and theologically vet the content and may require you to edit accordingly. The benefit of using resources like these is that they may offer insights you hadn’t thought of, and they may save some time. Writing your own materials can be gratifying, allow you to tailor it to your group of kids, and is often easier to present because of how familiar you are with it. The truth is there is no one way to do youth ministry so don’t be afraid to use a mix of both!