Article
by Kirsten Hitchcock
As part of our brite* kids curriculum development process, we knew that it was imperative to conduct a field test with churches throughout the US and Canada. We wanted to know if this curriculum was hitting the mark in regards to our key distinctives: Biblically sound, engaging for kids, ease of use and effective in discipleship.
We had 53 churches participate in our field test over a 6-week period in the fall of 2019. Each week, we hosted Facebook live sessions answering any questions users had in regards to the curriculum. Each church participated in weekly feedback surveys to help us understand what was and wasn’t working in their context. Through these virtual meetings we got to hear from churches and connect with their volunteers to feel out how brite* was functioning in the field.
Finally, we got to visit some of our field test churches and meet with leaders and volunteers in person to see the curriculum in action. We got real time feedback from each of these churches and got to see how they were using brite* in ways unique to their own ministry setting. It was so encouraging and fascinating!
Throughout the field test, the feedback surveys gave us key insights into what the curriculum provided that was allowing these children’s ministry to thrive, what was needing improvement, and what was missing. It was through this field testing process that we got to where our curriculum sample is today!
So what exactly did we hear from the field test churches that was so valuable to us? We really wanted to know: Did it work? Did it hit the mark? Our curriculum and content writing team is made up of seasoned practitioners that understand the reality of ministry. Did we communicate that well in how we wrote and how we prepared online trainings?
Here is what we heard:
The use of video was helpful and aided in conversations that leaders were having with their kids. This included the Bible story videos and our Conclusion videos that help kids connect the God truth of the week to their lives. One of our churches said, “It has been a great way to encourage and discuss real life application.”
Leader training was easy to follow, informative and engaging for leaders to use. Training included a self-paced online training, weekly leader training videos that honored the time of volunteers (aka shorter sound bites), and weekly leader tips and devotionals.
Our content delivery platform made it easy to navigate all the pieces of the curriculum, including prep, training, teaching, small group experiences, videos, and take-home supplements.
For Biblically sound, our churches scored brite* with a 4.8 out of 5.
For ease of use, our churches scored brite* with a 4.5 out of 5.
For engaging for kids, our churches scored brite* with a 4.5 out of 5.
