World Church: New Sabbath School Curriculum to Target Young People and Their Teachers

July 3, 2006 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States …. [Elizabeth Lechleitner/ANN Staff]

“Reading the Bible can sometimes feel like walking into a fog to them,” said Kathleen Beagles, Sabbath School Bible study guide editor for the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist church, of the many young people who feel alienated from the Bible and its stories.

It’s that disconnect that a new version of Cornerstone Connection–the official Sabbath School curriculum for Adventists in high schools worldwide–aims to address and mend. Scheduled for release in January of 2007, the quarterly series is designed to be an in-depth, Genesis-to-Revelation study of the Bible.

The new curriculum will replace the 30-plus-year-old version of Cornerstone Connection that, with its dated design and lesson format, Beagles says “is losing most young people.” In fact, those surveyed at Oshkosh Pathfinder Camporee in the United States and others in various focus groups have expressed overwhelming support for the idea of a new curriculum–especially with an emphasis on the Bible.

“The goal of the new quarterly curriculum is for both youth and their leaders to get back to the Bible and see the big story of God and people,” said Beagles.

Does this approach mean the new series will present an abbreviated version of biblical truth? Hardly. The Bible was not meant to be fluff or mere feel-good reading, cautions Beagle. Instead, “it was meant to be studied, reflected on, and integrated into life. It takes work. The Bible is not simply a story to entertain.”

“But,” Beagles is quick to add, “[the Bible] is about stories–true stories–that continue from the first generation in Eden to our generation today. It’s one long story of people as they interact with the God of the universe. Everyone is part of the story.” And it’s that inclusiveness that Beagles hopes the curriculum will extend to young people.

To supplement the lesson plans, the Ellen G. White Estate has recently authorized an adaptation of the Conflict of the Ages book series–Patriarchs and Prophets, Prophets and Kings, The Desire of Ages, The Acts of the Apostles, and The Great Controversy–by Ellen G. White, a pioneering founder of the Adventist faith. The adaptations, to be introduced in conjunction with the new Bible study guides, are slated for release by Pacific Press Publishing Association beginning in 2007.

While the White Estate board has been “understandably cautious about massive rewrites of White’s works,” it welcomes this opportunity to introduce young people to her writings, said William Fagal, associate director of the White Estate. The adaptation will incorporate some modern vocabulary while seeking to preserve the “richness” and accuracy of White’s original wording.

Based on an abridged Conflict of the Ages version published in 1982, the upcoming adaptation is “not a rewrite, but a fine-tuning for young people,” said Fagal.

Beagles is excited by the White Estate’s affirmation and participation. However, the project to put new Sabbath School Bible study guides in the hands of Adventist young people is not without snags. “The greatest challenge,” said Beagles, “is deciding upon a curriculum that meets the needs of a global audience.”

To ensure the lesson plans are appropriate and relevant, each story-oriented lesson study will contain 2 to 3 possible topics teachers can choose to explore based on the needs of their Sabbath School class.

Leadout Ministries, a non-profit organization in College Place, Washington, United States that provides churches with youth ministry resources, consultation and training, is supporting the effort through its Web development work. Leadout director Troy Fitzgerald and a team of young people are currently populating Leadout Ministries’ website with the topics recommended in the lessons. Sabbath School teachers can bookmark the site for speedy access to a number of pertinent resources–including interviews, video clips, punchy devotionals, and illustrations.

For their part, young people will be able to log on to Insight magazine’s homepage and click a link to a Sabbath School spin-off discussion forum hosted by editor Dwain Esmond. Also in the works are podcasts of passages from the adapted Conflict of the Ages series. Weekly-distributed issues of Insight will include the new curriculum’s Sabbath School lesson plan, in addition to related articles and features.

Beagles anticipates the new and flexible lesson plans will revolutionize both teachers’ and young people’s attitudes toward Sabbath School study.

“It’s an exciting new day for youth Sabbath School,” she says. “Youth leaders and teachers can begin together by reviewing, exploring, and experimenting with all the resources, [then] decide how best to cast…Sabbath School in a whole new light, one that focuses on the relevant…issues of life”–and one that promises to rekindle young people’s fervor for the Bible’s “big story.”