About DWELL

DWELL children's ministry and Sunday school curriculum actively engages kids in God’s story using interactive games, reflective wondering, dramatic storytelling, and a whole lot of fun.

Colorful story symbols create visual timelines; wondering questions draw children into God’s Big Story; and wonderfully illustrated children’s resources provide support to families. ​DWELL is grounded in a Reformed perspective and solid pedagogy, and includes both age-graded and multi-age materials to meet the needs of every church. 

​DWELL invites kids to find their place in God’s story, living into and out of it for the rest of their lives
​Online access 24/7
See DWELL Digital
Multi-age sessions
See DWELL Flex

Session Overview

Each DWELL session offers kids the opportunity to wonder and interact with God’s story.
VIDEO: DWELL's age-graded materials
VIDEO: DWELL Flex multi-age materials
Family faith formation
See DWELL at Home

Graded Structure

​With DWELL, kids do more than hear a story. They experience it. And each level of DWELL has a name that reflects that experience:
  • Play (one year of Preschool) - Based on 36 stories from Genesis through Acts, through Play four- and five-year-olds experience God’s Big Story with their whole bodies as it leads them on a joyful discovery of God's love.
  • Imagine (two years for Kindergarten and Grade 1) - At this level children get to use their vivid imaginations to experience the sights, sounds, and people in God's story and to explore how they can live into and out of that story.
  • Wonder (two years for Grades 2 and 3) - Second- and third-graders are encouraged to ask their favorite “why” and “how” questions as they engage God’s Big Story, experiencing a sense of wonder and awe at the greatness and love of our God.
  • Marvel (two years for Grades 4 and 5) - In this level, fourth- and fifth-graders explore smaller portions of Scripture in more depth, allowing students to dig deep into and marvel at God’s Word.
  • Dive (three years for Grades 6, 7, and 8) - Sixth- through eighth-graders explore Bible stories, pairing them with important teachings from the Reformed/Presbyterian confessions. This guides students to dive deeper into more complex concepts as they study God’s Word.​​

Multi-Age Option

Compare DWELL and DWELL Flex
  • Flex (multi-age) - As the name suggests, these materials easily adapt to fit the needs of your multi-age group, while still giving the same opportunities to enter God’s Big Story that you’ll find in our primary, age-graded materials. The Flex sessions are suited for children ages 4-11. Learn more about DWELL Flex and see a detailed comparison of DWELL and DWELL Flex.​

Scope and Sequence

DWELL’s carefully-crafted age-graded scope and sequence and DWELL Flex multi-age scope and sequence cover the entire arc of God's story—creation, fall, redemption, and restoration, exploring both the Old and New Testaments in deepening ways as kids grow. 

Each year builds on the previous year and includes 36 sessions (divided into six units per year). Our age-graded materials include 10 years (360 sessions) of curriculum, and DWELL Flex includes 4 years (144 sessions). All of our materials are undated to offer flexibility and include Christmas and Easter sessions for every year.

Components

DWELL's components are user-friendly and designed to engage both leaders and kids. Student pieces are colorful, varied, and age-appropriate.
Leader Resources and Support
All leader materials are available online through DWELL Digital including session plans, song lyrics, and more. On DWELL Digital the leader resources are attached directly to the activity in which they are used, making it easy for leaders to access and print materials. 

Hard-copy leader guides are also available for purchase for all graded levels (DWELL Flex multi-age guides are only in digital format). As the materials are undated, these leader guides are reusable.

Beyond the leader materials, DWELL supports leaders with:
  • story symbols for each lesson that can create a visual timeline of the Bible in your room.
  • DwellSongs (CD or download) to engage kids musically (age-graded sessions only).
  • a bi-monthly Dwelling enewsletter offering encouragement and teaching tips.
  • loads of leader training and other resources to help volunteers gain skills and confidence.
  • a Facebook page and group - join the conversation and share information and ideas with other coordinators and teachers.
  • special helps just for Coordinators including a DWELL Planning Guide and checklist, a Commissioning Litany, graphics you can use to promote your DWELL program, and so much more.
VIDEO: Overview of a Dwell lesson
Children's Resources
DWELL keeps kids (and their families!) engaged with resources that are colorful, varied, and age-appropriate.
  • Play - Cards include a paraphrase of the story written specifically with this age group in mind.
  • Imagine - Papers, used in both the DWELL session and at home, include a variety of ways to engage with the story through game boards, mazes, stories, and other activities.
  • Wonder - Papers are used during the session and also include a helpful "On the Way Home" prompt for engaging with the story at home.
  • Marvel - Cards fit into a Bible and are full of helpful activities to help children engage the story. They are used both in the DWELL session and to connect what the children are learning to the rest of their week.
  • Dive - Magazines are used primarily during the DWELL session and are meant to be something students work through with their leader before being sent home.
  • Flex (multi-age) - Family resources include a printable page and shareable image that give the story symbol, Scripture reference, and a conversation prompt to encourage simple, meaningful at-home family faith formation. They also point to the corresponding God's Big Story cards, which we encourage coordinators to buy for each family.
VIDEO: Overview of Children's Resources

Connect With Families

DWELL helps you connect church and home.
VIDEO: God's Big Story cards
DWELL presents the Bible as a life-transforming story of God's amazing love for his people and world. It invites children to find their place in that story, and join God's mission to transform the world through Jesus Christ.
“We are using the first year of DWELL and really like it a lot. I also find the Dwelling e-newsletters to be very informative and useful!” ​
​—Donnie, Children’s Worship Coordinator & Teacher

DWELL's Theology
DWELL presents the Bible as a life-transforming story of God's amazing love for his people and world. It invites children to find their place in that story, and join God's mission to transform the world through Jesus Christ.
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Biblical
First and foremost, DWELL is biblical. Scripture is the foundation of every DWELL session. DWELL is not based on human morals or virtues, but on God’s actions in God’s Big Story. 
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DWELL primarily uses the NIV translation, and all the memory verses are in both NIV and NRSV. DWELL can easily work with other translations including the ESV.

Reformed
DWELL is rooted in a Reformed perspective. This perspective interprets the Bible first of all as the story of God. It approaches each story as part of the overarching story of God’s redemption and restoration of our fallen world through Jesus Christ. Each session focuses on what God has done and is doing today as God’s people help to bring in God’s kingdom.

While intentionally not denomination-specific, DWELL affirms the three ecumenical Christian creeds: Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed. While DWELL does not specifically reference any of the doctrinal standards of the Reformed and Presbyterian churches, it is fully consistent with all of them.

A simple, clear presentation of the doctrinal stance of DWELL can be found in Q&A: A Summary of Biblical Teachings, a simplified Q&A-style summary of Reformed/Presbyterian doctrine that forms the basis for the doctrinal teaching offered in the Dive level of DWELL.

DWELL ​is published by Faith Alive Christian Resources, a nonprofit publishing ministry of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Reformed Church in America.

Check out some of DWELL's beautiful art.