ASSEMBLIES OF GOD
Listen Curriculum Makes Debut
New curriculum takes the whole church through the Bible together with engaging content for all age levels.
Easily adaptable for Sunday School, Listen is written by gifted Assemblies of God ministry leaders and is a systematic, age-aligned study of God’s Word available for adults, youth, children, and preschoolers.
“Age-aligned,” explains Ryan Horn, director of advancement for the Bible Engagement Project, “means all ages are going through the same content at the same time, only at age-appropriate levels, which lends itself to family discussion and discipleship.”
A Barna Study confirms the spiritual benefits of regularly engaging in Bible reading.
“We know from a Barna Study, conducted exclusively on the Assemblies of God, that having a high level of engagement with Scripture has tremendous impact on a person’s life,” states Doug Clay, general superintendent. “In fact, the Center for Bible Engagement found that engaging with Scripture ‘four times a week or more’ is the single most impactful spiritual discipline as it relates to transforming a person’s life.”
The Listen curriculum is highly interactive and engaging, whether offered in a small group setting or simply for an individual. In 10 volumes and 40 sessions, the curriculum journeys through the Old Testament and on into the Gospels and Acts, focusing on themes such as God’s Call, Set Apart, Purposeful Living, Encountering Jesus, My Savior, and five other engaging Bible-to-life applications.
As Jon Catron, senior director of Bible Engagement Project relays, “Listen curriculum takes people from disengaged to engaged in Scripture.” It’s also the first in a series of curriculums being prepared, offered solely through the convenience of an app.
Weekly Listen sessions are accessible through the Bible Engagement Project app in month-long blocks that are available to subscribers in an overlapping format to allow users opportunity to access and prepare material at least a month in advance. Then, through the app, leaders and those participating can stream the weekly session through the app into their homes or churches and onto compatible televisions or monitors, or onto their phone or personal computer.
There are several tools that leaders receive access to when choosing to help people engage in God’s Word through Listen curriculum. The first is they receive access to Logos Software, which has been customized to also include several Pentecostal libraries and resources as well as writings of key Assemblies of God leaders. Valued at nearly $1,000 (or if the resources were to be purchased individually, more than $9,500), it comes free with the Listen curriculum.
Another unique benefit is that in addition to an included kit devoted to walking leaders through every step of the app and facet of the curriculum, the Bible Engagement Project offers weekly online Listen curriculum training sessions and every other week, an online Listen curriculum discussion session. These sessions help leaders implement the curriculum, understand its purpose and capabilities, and fully utilize its features. Topics that have been (now archived) and will be covered include gaining access to downloadable support materials, how to engage all ages through the provided family devotions, creating community message boards, using the different age levels of the curriculum, and many other points of interest.
A free sample lesson of all four Listen curriculum age groups is also available to download on the Bible Engagement Project website.
Listen curriculum and the online training and discussion events are available in English and Spanish. The free downloadable apps (Bible Engagement Project app and the Spanish Proyecto Compromiso Bíblico app) provide the language-specific portals to subscribe to the curriculum, which is size-based — meaning cost is proportional, based on attendance/participation.
“Every person as an individual or in a small group, life group, or Sunday School setting can access the Listen curriculum and the daily devotions through the app at anytime up to the limit of the subscription package the church selects,” explains Catron. “As small groups grow and reach the limit of the package, then for others to gain access to the curriculum, the church can upgrade to a larger limit.”
“Bible Engagement Project through Listen curriculum synergizes the whole church and whole family toward the same goal and multiplies the results exponentially,” states Rick DuBose, assistant general superintendent and executive over Bible Engagement Project and its resources. “The curriculum is portable, I can engage with it and stay connected to the church, the Bible, and God whether I’m physically in a small group, traveling, or on vacation.”
More information about Listen curriculum developed by Bible Engagement Project is available on its website and Facebook page.
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