Sample Resources
Preparation
To prepare for The Story, your best starting place is the Implementation Guide where you'll find a three-stage plan for preparing your leaders, a six-step (8-week) plan for preparing your church, and guidelines for implementing the campaign in single ministries and for different lengths of time. Learn how The Story was originally developed, and about the Upper Story and the Lower Story in here as well.
Implementation Guide - SAMPLE
Communication
There are four types of communication tools provided – Communications Templates, Graphics, Promotional Videos and Training Videos. The menus are listed here to give you an idea of the scope of the resources you get on the Church Resource DVD that comes in the kit.
Graphics Sampler
Communications Templates
- Bible References Handouts
- Bulletin Inserts and Commitment Card
- Print Ads and Press Release
- Web Ads
- Word Document Templates
Graphics
- Book Covers
- Chapter Icons
- Crown Graphics
- Logos
- Maps
- PowerPoint Blank Slides
Weekend Services
Use these resources to plan your weekend services. The actual Orders of Service from Oak Hills Church are provided to give you ideas for worship songs for each week. Outlines of the sermons by Randy Frazee from the Old Testament and by Max Lucado from the New Testament are provided to aid in sermon preparation. The maps are a great reference tool to help the congregation track the progression of The Story from week to week.
Youth Curriculum Lessons
The youth curriculum, encompassing middle school and high school, is based on The Story: Teen Edition. Every week there are one or two opening videos that set up the lesson, and students are challenged to engage with the text by reading it out loud using the Story Readers script. An additional collection of resources is provided in the Teen Toolchest, comprised of a variety of talk outlines, special features, activities, and discussion questions for every chapter. The Teen Toolchest resources give leaders options for planning lessons for groups that meet more than once a week. The Parents’ Pages are a family resource with a middle school and high school component that can help parents engage their teenagers in The Story throughout the week.
Children's Curriculum
The Children's curriculum for The Story is a complete program for three age groups of children that can be used in Sunday school, children's church, with large groups, or in centers. It can also be used as the Bible curriculum in a Christian school or homeschool setting.
The Story for Kids, The Story for Children, and The Story for Little Ones each include the following age-specific resources:
- Leader's guide
- 31 lesson plans
- 31 activity sheets
- 31 skit scripts
- 31 parent pages
The curriculum contains all of the duplicatible handouts and teacher resources needed to deliver each lesson. To give the children the full experience of the journey through The Story, each child should have a copy of their age-related Story book, and the classroom should have enough sets of trading cards to supply every child with their own weekly collectible card.