Introduction
What is Cross+Generational Ministry?
What is the Revised Common Lectionary?
What’s in a Leader’s Guide?
Scope & Sequence
Other Resources
Ordering & Download Information
Letter to Leaders
Introduction
Explore God’s amazing story together and build life-giving intergenerational community in your congregation with our Living the Word: Cross+Gen Education (Years C & A) classroom-based product for the Revised Common Lectionary! Bring the unique wisdom of each generation together in this fun, active, and easy-to-use curriculum that brings participants into God’s Word and the cycle of the church year. A product of our expanding Living the Word series, this Cross+Gen Education curriculum leads us through the church year with the Scripture readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. Purchase the whole year, try it for a season, or buy individual lessons to fit your schedule!
Each lesson plan provides all the information leaders need to teach the weekly lesson, including necessary supplies, step-by-step instructions, and even scripts for those who want them. The lessons contain more activities than can be used within a typical education hour, which allows leaders to choose the activities that best fit their participants and their leading style.
The Living the Word: Cross+Gen Education (Years C & A) curriculum is a high-quality, low-cost option for congregations and ministries of all sizes. Pricing is based on your estimated attendance range, and the purchase of a single license covers the entire congregation. You and your leaders can download the materials from your Customer Account as soon as each quarter is released (See the current Release Dates page for details). You can then print whichever pages you would like, or access the PDF files through your mobile devices!
What is Cross+Generational Ministry?
Cross+Generational Ministry has at its core the concept that faith is formed through meaningful relationships. When we connect with people of a different generation, we are able to learn from them and share our own experiences, no matter what age we are. We find our place in God’s story best by exploring that story as community. Effective cross+generational experiences are:
+ Experiential
+ Interactive
+ Engaging
+ Story-centric
+ Home-based
+ Equalizing
all of which promote an encounter with God. All of the activities included in this leader guide are intended to engage these principles, through intentional cross+generational interaction and active, creative activities that bring the Bible story to life in our lives.
We pass on the faith through every action, experience, or relationship that nurtures a transformative relationship of trust with God and shapes the way we see and interact with God’s world. When we do this in meaningful, intergenerational relationships, our faith is enriched from the diversity of the experiences we share with each other. Our communities are strengthened, and we have confidence in our sense of belonging to God and with each other.
What is the Revised Common Lectionary?
The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) is a calendar of Scripture readings used in worship by thousands of congregations each week. There are four readings assigned to each day:
- First Reading (often from the Old Testament)
- Psalm
- Second Reading (often from the New Testament epistles)
- Gospel Reading
One of the strengths of the RCL is its attention to the pattern of the church year. The Gospel reading is often chosen to coordinate with the particular church festival or season it is in. The other readings are chosen to support the Gospel reading.
The RCL is a three-year cycle that begins with the expectation of the coming Messiah, on the First Sunday of Advent. As most Christian education programs follow the common school year rather than the church year, our curriculum covers portions of two different cycles, from the first Sunday after Labor Day (US) through Christ the King Sunday (Year A in 2020) and the First Sunday of Advent through Pentecost Sunday (Year B in 2020-2021).
What’s in a Leader’s Guide?
Each downloadable lesson includes:
-
- Leader Pages– A big idea for the day (The Point), key verse, liturgical color, background information, and a diverse menu of possible activities all make it easy for leaders to prepare for their own unique multi-age class.
- Into the Word– An introductory activity (a “set” for you educators) that introduces participants to the themes of the Gospel reading.
- Seasons of the Word– An activity that focuses on the current church festival or season.
- Learning the Word– Participants engage in the week’s Gospel text together through art, actions, and more. This is the central activity for the day!
- The Word in the World– An activity that challenges participants to take the Gospel with them into the world the coming week, living out what they have learned.
- Beyond the Gospel– An activity that centers around either the first (Old Testament) or second (New Testament) lectionary reading.
- Additional Activities: Three activities that focus either on the church festival/season, Gospel reading, or secondary reading, providing leaders with a variety of choices to mold each session to best fit the participants.
- Sending: A lesson wrap-up and prayer.
- The Word @ Home: A two-page take-home sheet which includes a summary of the information covered in the lesson and suggestions for home devotions, including one selected reading per day from the official RCL Daily Lectionary.
Scope & Sequence
Check out the Living the Word Revised Common Lectionary Scope and Sequence (Years C & A, 2022-2023) for the complete list of lessons!
Other Resources
If you are looking for more products to support cross+generational ministry, you can find them on our Cross+Gen Ministry product overview.
Ordering & Download Information
To order, go to the Living the Word: Cross+Gen Education (Years C & A) product page and select your best estimate of the attendance range of your class(es). You will also select the season you would like to order, the Full Year, or the Fall, Winter, Spring quarters, or individual lessons to meet your needs. After you add the product to your cart and complete the rest of your shopping, you can proceed to checkout. There, complete the form and select your payment type.
All resource materials are available as digital downloads (PDF files) for printing or using electronically. The end user licensing agreement (EULA) allows congregations to download, print, and use the curriculum lessons as often as you would like if the materials remain in the purchasing congregation.
After your payment is processed, you can download the materials from your Customer Account as soon as each quarter is released (See the current Release Dates page for details). Each quarter purchased comes in a single compressed (ZIP) file, which your operating system should be able to open and extract the folders and PDF files, at which point you can print or share with your leaders as you please!
For more detailed information on ordering, downloading, and other topics, please go to our Customer Service FAQ page.
Letter to Leaders
Introduce leaders to this curriculum with the letter below from the publisher, or write your own! Also available is our Cross+Gen Groupings Guide, a resource to help classes divide into multi-generational small groups.