Children’s ministries come in all different sizes. Whether we serve hundreds of kids, dozens of kids, or a handful of kids, we all share a common goal: leading kids to Christ through His Word.
However, that goal comes with unique opportunities for those of us in smaller churches. While, yes, there are typically smaller budgets and fewer volunteers, it opens the door for more relational programs.
The good news: Children’s church curriculum for small churches exists, and we don’t have to sacrifice quality or affordability to use it!
What Small Churches Need to Know About Children’s Church Curriculum
Choosing the right curriculum must be an intentional process. Aside from ensuring we’re teaching biblically-based lessons, it’s also important to recognize the value a curriculum can bring our kids, parents, and volunteers. An overview of children’s church curriculum for small churches equips us to identify a strong contender when we see one!
Why Do Small Churches Need Children’s Sunday School Curriculum?
As a ministry leader, and specifically as a leader at a small church, you likely wear many different hats. Balancing the demands of lessons, events, and activities requires you to be resourceful, and a children’s church curriculum could be just the resource you’re looking for.
The right curriculum is a vital tool for churches of any size. Here’s how it can support your ministry:
- Consistency in teaching biblical truths: Your curriculum should ensure that every lesson is Bible-centered and aligns with your church’s mission, no matter who’s leading. A unified teaching framework helps kids build an unwavering foundation of faith based on God’s Word.
- Age-specific engagement: While, in a perfect world, each age level would be grouped together, we understand needing to put everyone together in one room due to numbers, resources, and more. Children’s church curriculum offers a variety of ways the content can work for different age levels separately or in one space. So, even if together, your ministry can engage children according to their unique learning levels.
- Connection-building: Ministry is about more than just programs—it’s about building meaningful connections and a strong, biblical foundation. A well-designed curriculum creates opportunities for authentic relationships through hands-on activities, storytelling, and other creative resources. And this is a great fit for small churches that are run all around relationships!
How To Choose Children’s Sunday School Curriculum for Small Churches
Only a well-structured curriculum offers the benefits listed above. Here’s how you can choose the right children’s church curriculum for your church:
- List out your mission and values. What are your ministry’s goals? What values do you hope to instill through your teaching? Writing out your priorities before choosing a curriculum provides clear guidelines for your search. For example, a biblically-based curriculum that analyzes Scripture would be a valuable resource for teaching kids how to study God’s Word independently.
- Brainstorm the resources you need to engage your kids. What would best engage the kids in your ministry—books, videos, coloring sheets? Deciding what teaching materials will best enhance their learning experience can help narrow your search for the perfect curriculum.
- Set a budget. While your kids’ learning needs should be a top priority, we can’t ignore the impact that limited budgets can have on children’s ministries. Decide how much you’ll be able to spend on a curriculum, keeping in mind that the right provider will have a pricing plan that works for you!
- Consult providers and get a free walkthrough of the curriculum. The best way to know if a curriculum is the right fit is by seeing it in action. Using the criteria above, research top tools and create a list of your favorite options. Then, schedule a free walkthrough or consultation to learn more about the curriculum and the provider’s values.
One of the Best Children’s Church Curriculum for Small Churches: Wonder Ink
At David C Cook, we believe in equipping churches of all sizes with the tools they need to spark faith formation through their children’s ministries. Wonder Ink is one way we do this! Faith formation means sparking curiosity about God and who we are in His eyes, which our curriculum instills through four core truths:
- God Knows Me: God has known me since the beginning of time. He made me in His image with a specific purpose in mind, and He knows the entire course of my life. (Psalm 139:13-14, NIrV)
- Jesus Loves Me: I have salvation through Jesus alone. He is the way to God’s love, and choosing to follow Him means choosing God’s way. (John 13:34-35 NIrV)
- The Holy Spirit Leads Me: When I accept Jesus as my Savior, the Holy Spirit lives inside of me to help me be more like Jesus. (Romans 8:14, 15a NIrV)
- I Am a Child of God: Because God knows me, Jesus loves me, and the Holy Spirit leads me, I get to be a part of God’s story. A reflection of God to the world is who I was made to be. (1 Peter 2:9 NIrV)
We aim to point kids back to God and His Word in everything we teach. To accomplish this, our curriculum takes kids through the Bible in three years, connecting the dots between the Gospel and their identities. In the end, they’ll learn to look for God’s identity and His will at the center of all life’s biggest questions.
What You’ll Get With Wonder Ink
As a ministry leader, your calling and dedication are the heartbeat of your children’s church program. At Wonder Ink, we’re dedicated to supporting you along the way!
Our annual subscriptions include access to a complete digital platform and its full suite of tools designed to support your vision. From volunteer development to family engagement resources, our goal is to provide you with helpful resources so you can focus on what matters most: reaching the kids in your ministry and leading them to Christ.
Here’s what our curriculum includes:
- Ready-to-go, fully customizable lessons: Feel free to use our lessons as-is or customize them to your kids’ unique needs! Choose from our 30-, 60-, and 75-minute lessons, which provide teaching videos, slides, questions, and worship playlists. If you need to make any adjustments, our lessons can be edited for time, content, and media by selecting or removing individual slides, videos, music, or games.
- Discipleship plans: Our 3-year, 52-week child discipleship plan encompasses major Bible stories grouped into themed lessons that last 4-8 weeks. Each week is built to help you as you lead kids on a journey through four-part lessons: Curiosity, Belief, Faith, and Identity.
- Holidays and events tools: Access a special series dedicated to Christmas and Easter (plus, summer and fall!). Plus, share an event calendar to engage kids and their families in any activity your ministry plans!
- Volunteer development kits: Use our training kits to prepare your volunteers and equip them to inspire kids’ journeys in God’s Big Story. Not to mention, our collaborative, community-building toolkit with built-in social media capabilities helps churches drive engagement with volunteers.
Why is Wonder Ink a Great Children’s Church Curriculum for Small Churches?
We strive to support churches of all sizes as they spark faith formation through children’s church programs. Here’s how our curriculum does it:
- Core values rooted in the Bible: Wonder Ink is built to support your ministry as you guide kids through the entire Bible in three years. As you build biblical literacy in them, they are equipped to read Scripture for themselves. Take a look at our scope and sequence—the entire curriculum is built around God’s Big Story and helping kids find their place in it.
- Age-appropriate lessons: With Early Childhood and Elementary plans, you can help kids dive into the Bible according to their unique learning levels. Kids who can read are pointed straight to Scripture, while younger children learn the truth of the Bible in age-appropriate ways.
- Relationship-building materials: In addition to encouraging children to pursue their relationships with God, our curriculum also offers the tools to help you foster relationships between fellow believers. We encourage you to help kids connect with their peers, families, and even your ministry’s volunteers, putting “love your neighbor” into practice.
- Flexible pricing options: We’ll discuss pricing in more detail below, but it’s important to note that Wonder Ink’s pricing plans take small churches into consideration. Our annual subscription varies in price depending on the number of kids in your ministry, and we offer a reduced price for bundled subscriptions!
Wonder Ink’s Pricing
We know that pricing information is important in the decision to use a curriculum or not. That’s why we’re transparent about Wonder Ink’s pricing plans. Our annual subscriptions include full access to our digital platform and are based on age level as follows:
- Annual cost for groups of 1-25 kids:
- Early Childhood age level: $397
- Elementary age level: $497
- Bundle: $697
- Annual cost for groups of 26-75 kids:
- Early Childhood age level: $597
- Elementary age level: $797
- Bundle: $897
- Annual cost for groups of 76-200 kids:
- Early Childhood age level: $997
- Elementary age level: $1,197
- Bundle: $1,297
- Annual cost for groups of 201-500 kids:
- Early Childhood age level: $1,497
- Elementary age level: $1,697
- Bundle: $2,197
- Annual cost for groups of more than 500 kids:
- Elementary age level: $1,797
- Early Childhood age level: $1,997
- Bundle: $2,497
These prices have no additional licensing or media fees required. Plus, we offer a 90-day money-back guarantee for 100% of your purchase price if you aren’t satisfied. To learn exactly what comes with your purchase, use our calculator!
Next Step: Use Wonder Ink’s Children’s Church Curriculum for Small Churches
If Wonder Ink sounds like the right fit for your church, whether a big or small church, we’re excited to show you our curriculum! Schedule a walkthrough of our platform to see it in action. You can also explore our other resources for helping churches like yours choose the right teaching resources for their ministries:
- Children’s Church Lessons: An Overview + Free Samples. Looking for a more in-depth view of our curriculum? Check out some free samples in this guide!
- Help! I Don’t Know What I’m Doing (3 Quick Steps for Starting Wonder Ink). Explore these three steps to get started smoothly with Wonder Ink’s curriculum.
- Why Giving Kids Opportunity to Wonder Is Important. Our curriculum is founded upon the belief that ministry should aim kids toward fulfilling relationships with Jesus. Learn our philosophy behind sparking wonder in this guide.
