Wonder Ink is built around the belief that faith begins with wonder and grows through a lifelong journey with Jesus. Its curriculum is centered on four core values—God Knows Me, Jesus Loves Me, the Holy Spirit Leads Me, and I Am a Child of God—which are woven throughout every lesson and year of the scope and sequence. Through Bible stories and Scripture, children discover that they are personally known by God, deeply loved by Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, and invited into God’s family as His children.
The goal of Wonder Ink is to help kids find their place in God’s Big Story, build a strong foundation of faith, and confidently live as wonder-filled reflections of God in the world.
Core Values of Wonder Ink
Hey friends, my name is Kirsten Hitchcock, and I serve on the Wonder Ink development team. I’m excited to be live today and share about the heart of Wonder Ink and how our core values are woven throughout our scope and sequence our lessons and really everything we do.
You see, faith begins with wonder. Wonder is where it all begins, and Ink is God’s truth written on our hearts. Wonder Ink sparks curiosity and wonder as it takes kids on a journey of faith formation. I want you to hone in on that word journey because that’s what we believe it is. It’s a lifelong journey of kids being with Jesus. And you see each year kids are going to dive into the Bible with Old and New Testament stories that all connect to God’s Big Story.
But how do exactly do we do that? Well, we do that through what we call our core values.
Now these are rooted in Scripture, and all of our lessons are enriched with these values. Our values are God knows me, Jesus loves me, the Holy Spirit leads me, and therefore I am a child of God. Now, what exactly does that all mean?
Our values are God knows me, Jesus loves me, the Holy Spirit leads me, and therefore I am a child of God.
1: God Knows Me
Let’s begin with our first core value of God knows me.
You see God, the creator of all knows me. He knows you and he’s always known me. He has had me in mind from the very beginning. He made me and I am His masterpiece. He made me in his image, his own image to do the amazing things he has prepared for me to do. Now, think about this. This is you. I am known by the Creator and that means I belong. I get to be a part of his family. And we see this in Psalm 139: “Certainly you made my mind and heart. You wove me together in my mother’s room. I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. You knew me thoroughly.” Now that comes from Psalm 139: 13-14, and that’s where we begin.
We know that God knows us and then that leads us into our second core value of Jesus loves me.
2: Jesus Loves Me
You see, Jesus’s perfect death, life, death and resurrection and His promise return are God’s love story. You see, Jesus came to fulfill God’s promises to His children. And through Jesus, we all have salvation. Jesus loves me no matter what. His love for me has no beginning and no end, and I get to love Him back.
Jesus is God’s love in person, in flesh. And God’s love is big, big and generous. And it is for me, it’s for you. Jesus is the way to God’s love and choosing to follow. Jesus means choosing God’s love in God’s way. I am loved by Jesus and I get to share His love too.
When we look at John chapter 13, it says this: “I give you a new commandment to love one another just as I have loved you. You also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
So knowing that God knows us in Jesus loves us, his Holy Spirit leads us right and our core value, our third core value is the Holy Spirit leads me.
3: The Holy Spirit Leads Me
Now, God gives me the gift of His Holy Spirit when I choose to follow Jesus. And the Holy Spirit invites me to live in God’s kingdom the now and not yet. And when I accept Jesus as my Savior, I receive the Holy Spirit as a gift and He lives inside me. And when I let the Holy Spirit lead, He strengthens me, and I grow in belief.
And as I learn that God’s way is the best way my faith grows to because I am led by the Holy Spirit, I can follow Him. And we see this in Romans 8: “For all who are led by the spirit of God or the sons of God, for you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry Abba Father.” (Romans 8: 14-15)
So, because God knows me and Jesus loves me and the Holy Spirit leads me, I therefore am a child of God. And that is our fourth core value.
4: I Am a Child of God
You see, I get to be a wonder-filled reflection of God to the world because He knows me, loves me and leads me. I get to know who I truly am and who I was made to be. God’s amazing story, changes my own. And the Bible tells me that I’m fearfully and wonderfully made knit together by a loving God who knows all about me and loves every inch of me, and He delights in me and I get to celebrate His wonder.
I am a wonder, I get to be part of God’s Story, and my life tells of God’s wonder. 1 Peter 2:9 says this: “But you are a chosen race of royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Your whole life can tell about God’s wonder.
Building Strong Foundations
You see the heart of Wonder Ink and our core values is we’re about building a foundation for kids to fully grasp that they are known by God, loved by Jesus, and led by the Holy Spirit. In in their book Listening to Children on the Spiritual Journey, Scotty May and Catherine Stonehouse really phrase it like this, and this has been really impactful for me personally.
“We want to help children find their place in God’s story, and that place will not be as someone on the margins of the story unknown to the main character. You see, the wonder of the Christian story is that we have a place as a child of God, we are invited into a personal growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ.”
Can I get an amen for that? Praise God. Now our core values are woven throughout our scope and sequence. In the, in the comment section of this video, you’ll see a link WonderInk.org/scope-sequence/.
And what you’ll notice when you click on the sequence scope and sequence, that the color coding that you see on the scope and sequence overview shows how our core values are woven throughout our scope and sequence.
We always begin with our first pillar of God knows me, and that denotes when we’re mostly in the Old Testament. And then we transition over Christmas into our second pillar of Jesus loves Me, where we experience Jesus’ life and His ministry. And then leading into Easter, we begin learning more specifically how the Holy Spirit leads. And then we end the year in being reminded that we are children of God and how our lives can tell God’s wonder where kids explore the epistles and then Psalms or Proverbs.
You see, what I love about Wonder Ink, and I use it in my own church, is that Wonder Ink offers kids space to fully discover their place in God’s Big Story, leaving no doubt about who He is or who they are in Him, helping them understand how their lives can tell of His wonder. You see kids, they’re discovering how they are created to be known, loved, and led, and that is built upon bringing our questions to God, bringing our questions to people we trust, and questions are invited.
God wants to know our questions. He wants to know us. He wants to know what we’re thinking, and we get to show kids how they can come to Him and to share all of who they are with Him.
Blessing
Now, I would like to leave you today with a blessing as a reminder that you are known, loved, and led. So, would you receive this blessing?
God created you to be uniquely you because God knows you, loves you, and leads you. Your whole life can tell about God’s wonder. May you always remember that the praise that comes out of you because of the Holy Spirit tells others who God is. You are a wonder, a beloved child of God who reflects God to the world. May you celebrate His wonder.
Always blessings to you and I look forward to maybe connecting with you soon about more about how Wonder Ink can serve you and how we want to partner with you. Blessings.
Wonder Ink’s 3-year, 52-week children’s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God’s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.
