How to Choose the Best Children’s Ministry Curriculum

This article was written by The Ministry Spark Team from David C Cook. This is a paid partnership.

Choosing Your Best Curriculum

Anyone who has served in children’s ministry knows how important it is to have the right curriculum. Ministry leaders need curriculum they trust, volunteers need curriculum they can easily follow, and kids need curriculum that points them to Christ. 

Now, is there a perfect curriculum? Of course not! Every curriculum is not made for your specific kids and volunteers in your specific church setting. So, it is going to take some editing and customization to fit your church. But if you start with the right bones and the right structure, it’ll release a lot of the pressure and the burden from you—so you can be freed up for the life-changing work of kids’ ministry.

No curriculum can disciple your kids. You disciple your kids because a disciple is the one who creates more disciples and invites them into that relationship with Jesus. So, the most important thing to remember is that curriculum is a tool and a framework that carries us while we are doing the relational work of ministry. The right curriculum can free us up to really invest in our people and do the work of ministry. This is why it’s so important to find the right fit—and here’s how you can find it:

1. Know your destination.

You want to know where your ministry is going, what you want your kids to know, and where you’d like them to be spiritually.

Having that destination and clear vision in your mind is one of the most important things you can do for your church before you choose your curriculum. What are the spiritual goals you have for the kids in your ministry? What are the milestones? Ask yourself how the curriculum aligns with your church’s mission and vision. What outcome are you looking for? And most importantly, as you begin, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and help you discern as you’re choosing curriculum.

2. Utilize your team.

As you go through this process, be sure to bring your team alongside you, gather research, and get feedback from people. A couple years ago, David C Cook did a survey for children’s ministry leaders asking all kinds of fun questions. It’s a really interesting study, and we gained a lot of insights.

One of the things we thought was interesting was that the size of the church determines the various ways in which we choose and use our curriculum. What a church of 20 kids is going to need from a curriculum is very different from a church that might have 500 kids.

3. Align with what’s important.

Look at the specific needs of the people in your church and ask what’s important to your church. Who is in your ministry? Look at your demographics, your audience, and the needs of the kids and families.

Consider your volunteers. Where they are spiritually? Do they come from highly “churched” backgrounds, or are they new to the faith?

Look at the mission and vision for your kids and families, too. At CPC recently, we had an interactive experience where people got to answer certain questions about their children’s ministry. These questions helped them discover what curriculum might be a good fit for their church. One of the questions we asked was “What is most important in your ministry?”

As people were going through the questions, they answered most very quickly. Then when they got to this one, they would pause. It caused them to think deeply about their mission and how it aligns with what they are teaching. So, think about that question and consider what is most important.

4. Think critically.

Evaluate all kinds of different curriculum lines, gather samples, and look at the scope and sequence for them. Is it random? Does it make sense? Is it balanced? Are kids getting to see a full picture of the Bible and how it’s all connected? And are they getting to see the gospel and Jesus? If you can, teach the sample lessons in your children’s ministry—that’s such a great way to get a good feel for a curriculum.

Don’t think that just because it’s published, it’s going to be a biblically accurate and theologically sound curriculum. I have seen some things that just weren’t a good fit for my church’s theology or my understanding of the Bible. And so really look at the curriculum and think critically about what it’s saying and how it’s teaching the Word of God.

5. Ensure God’s Word is the authority.

Remember the responsibility that we have when we teach kids the Word of God. It’s so important that we take that seriously and teach the Bible as it’s meant to be taught.

Not taking the Bible as God intended and twisting it to make it more entertaining or more fun for kids, or to make it fit what we want it to say, is not okay. We want the Bible to speak the text, to speak for itself within the context of what it was meant to say. As you’re looking at the lessons, read the Bible stories in Scripture against the lesson and look at how they’re taught and what they teach us about God. Consider the vision of the curriculum, the philosophy, and the values. Remember the responsibility that we have when we teach kids the Word of God!

6. Go see it in action. 

If you can, visit a church that’s using the curriculum you’re evaluating (just ask their children’s pastor ahead of time). You can learn a lot quickly if you can see what their Sundays look like and talk with the volunteers and children’s pastors.

And then, most importantly before you choose a curriculum, ask yourself: does it draw kids closer to Jesus and allow them to experience Him and connect with Him? Is it discipleship-, gospel-, and Bible-centered?

To see what David C Cook curriculum is best for your children’s ministry, take our Fit Finder quiz here.  

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