DWELL Children's Ministry Curriculum
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“Faith is learned as it is woven seamlessly into the fabric of daily life,” says Traci Smith in Faithful Families. Each resource in this section is designed to encourage and equip families as they nurture faith at home. Rather than adding yet another "to do" item on busy lives, these can be seamlessly woven into the daily and weekly rhythms of any family. 

​FREE! God’s Big Easter Story: A Holy Week Journey for Families

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God's Big Easter Story: A Holy Week Journey for Families provides simple, active daily devotions for the week preceding Easter. It invites families to "breathe, read, wonder, and pray" together as they prepare to celebrate the high point of the Christian year. Download and print 8 DWELL Story Symbols in full color or in black and white versions kids can color themselves. (Check out these Simple, Fun Ways to Make and Use God’s Big Easter Story.) Each day of Holy Week, add a new symbol to the pathway to mark the progression toward Easter.

​FREE! 5 Ways Series

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Download these family tip sheets and link to them on your church’s website, include them in social media posts, share them via email, or print them as handouts. Check out these excellent ideas for sharing our 5 Ways series with families.
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General Topics
  • 5 Ways to Help Your Family Grow in Faith
  • ​5 Ways to Help Kids Worship
  • ​5 Ways to Bring Children's Ministry Home

Specific Faith Practices
For more on family faith practices, see the Faith Practices Project.
  • 5 Ways to Practice Service as a Family
  • 5 Ways to Practice Remembering as a Family
  • 5 Ways to Wonder with Kids
  • 5 Ways to Pray with Kids
  • 5 Ways to Celebrate With Your Family
  • 5 Ways to Practice Listening with Your Family
  • 5 Ways to Practice Justice and Mercy with Kids
  • 5 Ways to Practice Hospitality with Kids
  • 5 Ways to Practice Generosity with Kids
  • 5 Ways to Grow Grateful Kids
  • 5 Ways to Practice Sabbath with Kids
  • 5 Ways to Retell a Bible Story with Kids

​DWELL Flex as Home Devotionals

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​DWELL Flex is the multi-age edition of DWELL, created to adapt to a variety of contexts–that includes in your home. Use the Flex sessions as daily devotionals around the dinner table or before bed. The sessions move through the Old and New Testaments in rough chronological order, but since each session is stand-alone, you can use them in whatever order works for your unique situation. Each session provides parents with ideas for involving all members of the family in sharing the story. Get more info.

​FREE! Jesse Tree: God’s Big Advent Story

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Families see how God’s Big story leads to Jesus with this Advent devotional resource. Download and print 25 DWELL Story Symbols in full color or in black and white versions kids can color themselves!  Then create easy Jesse Tree ornaments. (Check out these Super Ideas for Making and Using Jesse Tree: God’s Big Advent Story.) Every day in Advent, hang a symbol on your tree and explore a short, interactive devotion together. This is a great way to connect church and home!  

FREE! ​God's Big Pentecost Story

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God's Big Pentecost Story provides families with a simple, meaningful (and fun!) way to celebrate Pentecost at home. Along with a child-friendly devotional experience you’ll find a variety of easy activity ideas to try. Choose the options that work best for your family! Check out Creative, Simple Ways to Make and Use God’s Big Pentecost Story Symbols to see how you can use our Pentecost story symbol to celebrate in style.

​FREE! Family Events

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  • Introduce God's Big Story cards to the families at your church with this free God's Big Story Cards Family Event. 
  • Welcome (or Welcome Back!) to DWELL Family Event—kick off your education year, connect with families, and get everyone excited about God’s Big Story cards. View a sample or order copies. 

​God’s Big Story Cards

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Each of the 165 cards in this boxed set provides families with easy-to-do, interactive (and fun!) ways to form faith as they learn about God’s story together. After selecting a card, families read the Bible story and then choose one of six ways to explore the story together. God’s Big Story cards include all the stories shared in the Imagine, Wonder, and Marvel levels of DWELL and in the multi-age sessions in DWELL Flex. The cards also are a wonderful stand-alone resource for families to use at home. Introduce this fun resource to families with a free, downloadable family event.

DWELL Children’s Resources

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​The age-graded DWELL curriculum includes children’s resources for kids in grades K-5. Use these pieces both to reinforce what happens in children’s ministry and to open new conversations at home. (Wondering if your church should invest in children’s resources? Check out Take Homes that Make a Difference at Home.) 

​DWELL Flex Family Resources

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Every multi-age DWELL Flex session includes a family resource with the session’s story symbol, the Scripture reference, and a simple conversation prompt. This resource can be shared via social media and/or sent home as a printable page pointing families to the corresponding card in the God's Big Story cards set (order one per household) as a reminder to engage in that week’s story together. Check out three simple ways you can help families form faith at home with Flex Family Resources.

DwellSongs

Download the music your kids are learning in Dwell sessions and sing along at home!
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  • iTunes US
  • ​iTunes Canada
  • ​Amazon
  • ​CD also available
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  • iTunes US
  • iTunes Canada
  • Amazon
  • CD also available​
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  • ​iTunes US
  • iTunes Canada 
  • Amazon 
  • ​CD also available

​Other Helpful Resources

from Faith Alive and Faith Formation Ministries
  • Children’s Ministry toolkit
  • Family Faith Formation toolkit
  • A Gospel Summary for Kids
  • Dear Parent
  • Everyday Family Faith
  • God Loves Me storybooks
  • Home Grown Handbook for Christian Parenting
  • Spiritual Characteristics of Children and Teens
  • You’re Invited: A Week of Family Devotions on the Lord's Supper
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DWELL is published by Faith Alive Christian Resources, the publishing imprint of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Reformed Church in America. View our privacy policy.

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