The curriculum we are currently using for our Sunday morning middle school Bible study is Lifeway’s The Gospel Project for Students.
In their own words,
The Gospel Project® is a chronological, Christ-centered Bible study for…Students…that examines how all Scripture gives testimony to Jesus Christ. Over the course of three years, participants will journey from Genesis to Revelation and discover how God’s plan of redemption unfolds throughout Scripture and still today, compelling them to join the mission of God.
Unpacking what they mean by “chronological” and “Christ-centered” might be helpful for us get a better grasp of what The Gospel Project is trying to accomplish.
Chronological: Normally, when we think of the Bible being studied in chronological order, we think of a study that’s arranged in the order that things happened. The Gospel Project defines their chronological study plan a little differently. Their desire is to show that the Bible is more than just an assortment of stories. It’s actually a unified story of God’s redemption.
Christ-Centered: In being a Christ-centered Bible study, they want to show that all of Scripture bears testimony to Jesus Christ.
So, over the course of 3 years, our middle schoolers will move from Genesis to Revelation. Each lesson is broken down into 4 sections: Introduction, His Story, Your Story, and Your Mission.
As you would expect, the Introduction provides a basic summary of the lesson by presenting the Scripture passage, the main point of the lesson, the important figures, and some context to set the scene for the study.
The His Story part of the lesson dives deep into the Scripture passage being studied. The section is rich with content. There are questions for our middle schoolers to answer and a timeline to follow to help them keep things in context. They also learn about an essential doctrine that is connected with the passage. And finally, there is a Christ Connection where students can see how the Scripture passage being studied connects to Christ.
In the Your Story section, a bridge is made from the passage being studied to the life of our students today. This is primarily done through a time of discussion.
The final section is called Your Mission and it’s designed to help the students apply the lesson in their lives with respect to how they think, feel, and live.
Every week our middle school students will be bringing home a student guide. If you are the parent or guardian of a middle schooler, it’s a great way to see what he/she is learning. Please take some time to look over the lessons, discuss them with your middle schooler, and look for ways to help apply the lessons learned in his/her life.
SCBC Youth Ministry 