As preteens make the transition from childhood to adolescence, where will your students find help to successfully navigate their faith journey? Collide: Where Faith Meets Life is a curriculum that meets your preteens where they are emotionally, spiritually, and developmentally.
Life and Scripture is a 12-week study that explores the value of Scripture for their lives.
Unit 1: God's Great Story Lesson themes include making Scripture a foundation for life, understanding how the Old Testament is still relevant to our faith, learning about the early church as portrayed in the New Testament, and discovering how to share their faith.
Unit 2: Uncommon Bible Stories Rather than study the same stories over and over again, students will study some of the Bible stories we don't often talk about. This is important to help them gain an understanding of the importance of Scripture as a whole.
Unit 3: The Practice of Scripture Teach students how to get into the habit of wanting to read the Bible, and how they can use the tools available to them to read the Bible in a way that will resonate with them. Help them understand that, just because Scripture is ancient, that doesn't make it irrelevant.
Written by practitioners who work with preteens, Collide uses biblical principles to address areas like social skills, relationships, spiritual disciplines, emotional health, and biblical knowledge. You can't eliminate the pressures your preteens will encounter, but Collide will help connect the dots between faith and real life.
Elizabeth Bjorling Poest has been a full-time children's and youth pastor for fifteen years. She teaches youth and Christian ministry courses at Trinity International University and is studying to complete her PhD in education at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. She is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and speaks at camps, revivals, and conferences about getting dusty with Jesus. Elizabeth wrote the Wired preteen curriculum and, in 2016, led a three-week theological camp for urban high schoolers. In her spare time she loves to adventure with her husband, Christopher, laugh until her sides hurt with family and friends over flaming peaches, and enjoy a great cup of coffee while catching up with her many former students and interns who are scattered around the globe.
Heather Flies loves students. She has been the junior high pastor at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, for more than twenty years. Outside the walls of Wooddale, Heather spends a great deal of time and energy as a communicator. She speaks at local schools on abstinence, self-esteem, and other issues that are relevant to young teenagers. Heather is also passionate about encouraging women in all seasons of life, training youth workers, and helping parents understand how to love their teenagers well. She authored I Want to Talk to My Teen about Girl Stuff, a book for parents, and That's What She Said/That's What He Said, a book for teenagers. Heather loves sports and listening to Christmas music all year long. She and her husband, Chad, live with their 135-pound St. Bernard named Jingle Belle.
