In the Leader Preparation segment of the TruIdentity: Ephesians curriculum, you find these words:
“We realize a curriculum on its own can’t transform students, and that’s why our Tru leadership team has found ourselves dependent upon God’s Spirit to move through this resource. As God has deeply moved us, we pray that He moves you and then inevitably moves through you into the lives of those He has entrusted to your care.”
As I read through this the various elements and lessons in preparation for this review, I found this to be a very true statement. On the surface, many of the individual pieces of the Tru curriculum are similar to others you may be familiar with, but when those pieces come together, there’s a prayerful spirit that shines through. It seems obvious to me that these words are completely genuine.
(By the way, if you are looking at this review because you’re trying to choose your next Sunday school curriculum, you might want to check out my complete guide to making that decision.)
I found that David C Cook’s Director of Student Resources and Production, Megan Fate Marshman, infused this curriculum with an authenticity and devotion that set it apart from many of its peers.
It’s also important to point out that TruIdentity curriculum is created by youth ministry professionals for youth ministry professionals. In fact, it’s beta tested in actual ministry settings before it’s made available for purchase. This means that TruIdentity lesson elements, questions, and helps have been put together by leaders with an experienced understanding of what works in youth curriculum—and what does not.
What makes it great
HomeFront Weekly
One of the strengths of TruIdentity is the intentional incorporation of the family dynamic. Through HomeFront magazine—a resource that can be printed and handed out or emailed—parents’ involvement is encouraged. Not only are there great tips intended to foster a connection between the parent and child, the regular interaction between the youth leader and parent is encouraged as well. The way this element is worked into TruIdentity is one of my favorite elements of this curriculum. It’s simply brilliant.
To that end, included with the curriculum is the Spiritual Parenting Facilitator’s Guide by Dr. Michelle Anthony and Karen Lee-Thorp; it’s nearly worth the price of admission. For ambitious leaders, this is a wonderful tool to help equip parents for the task of setting a spiritual tone at home—a tone that makes the leader’s job that much easier.
There really seems to an understanding of the home/church interdependence required to truly empower the teaching process.
Inspire
Each lesson starts with an “Inspire” section that works like a spiritual defibrillator to the leader’s heart. Written by different members of the Tru team or other teaching pastors, it’s nice introduction to the theme and a quick shock to the system to help get the leader’s head in the game. I don’t know how many times I have sat down to work on a lesson, but my heart is a million miles away, so I really liked this element.
One of the first things you notice when you begin your lesson planning is how robust this material is. These aren’t simply plug-n-play Sunday school lessons, this is serious material for people passionate about connecting with youth and changing lives. I can see how this curriculum would really resonate with ministry leaders driven with a zeal for kids to experience the true life-changing power of the gospel.
They thought of everything
For those of you that kept reading, they seem to have thought of everything here. The curriculum is well laid out and finds a nice balance between equipping the leaders and thinking of the students’ needs. This curriculum is about planning ahead and it’s obvious that the Tru team has.
In one section the leader is encouraged to have a student read a portion of Scripture. But if you haven’t prepared ahead of time you’re going to miss this note: “Invite the student you’ve selected ahead of time to come up and read the following section of God’s Word.” This is the kind of detail that might seem unimportant, but means the world to running an efficient youth group. Without being condescending this says, “Don’t put your kids on the spot. Think about who would benefit from reading Scripture here, and do them the honor of asking their permission.” It’s the kind of behavior that builds trust and relationship with your kids. And it’s the spirit that runs throughout the Tru material.
Past experience has made me kind of wary of incorporating video into children’s curriculum. When you get to middle school, there is such a huge difference in kids’ maturity level, and often curriculum videos skew too young and come off as patronizing or boring (which is even worse). The TruIdentity videos are not only professionally done, they don’t come off as speaking down to their intended audience. What makes the videos even better is how different weeks give you a couple videos and allow you to choose the video that’s most appropriate for your kids.
Going through the TruIdentity curriculum sure makes me wish I was teaching middle school youth again.
What you need to know
TruIdentity is best for:
Age range: 6th–8th grade
Denomination: Nondenominational
Bible translation: NIV
Publisher: David C Cook
Cost: starting at $99
Format and media:
Class format: Large Group / Small Group
Material format: Disciplr
Includes video? Yes
Scope and sequence duration: 8 weeks
Average lesson time: 60 minutes
Follows ISSL? No
Mid-Week/Supplemental? Yes: HomeFront Magazine
Want more? Browse and sample TruMinistry curriculum on Disciplr.
This review is based on the TruIdentity: Ephesians series.
