As I read through the posts in the forum, I am not convinced it is working.  I see most churches are having a hard time getting kids to go online and use the site.  It seems like the selling point for the whole thing "Preteens want to be online." is not really happening.

Any thoughts to convince me otherwise?

BDJ

However, I want to stress that Grapple is more than a web site for kids to connect during the week online. MyGrapple.com is a great tool to encourage kids to stay connected with each other and their faith throughout the week, but the in class Grapple lessons are making a huge impact on preteens in ministries across the country, and around the world! The topics that have been chosen for Grapple are very carefully selected by studying preteens and the world they live in today. So they are extremely relevant, and keep the preteens engaged! One common story we hear is how using Grapple has helped preteen ministries to grow. Many churches have reported that Grapple has been a great tool for outreach.

I mentioned above that MyGrapple.com has had some speed issues. These have predominately been within the forums. Which, if your kids love the communication aspect of MyGrapple.com, then this would be a challenge currently, and has been for some churches. One thing I want to stress to you is that we (Group) has listened very carefully to our customers over the past several months, and we are making a lot of changes and adding many new enhancements as a result. These will be added with the Fall 2008 quarter. One key enhancement has to do with the forums. We are custom building the new forums so that they are built to handle the amount of forums that are created when all our customers create their own MyGrapple.com web site. I would encourage you to visit the forum topic "Fall 2008 Grapple Preteen Enahancements" to find out more.

Our intention at Group is to listen to all the input we receive so that we can make resources that work best for the churches we serve. I will pray for you in your decision. I know that choosing the right curriculum is a very important job, and so I will be praying that God guides you in your decision and helps you to be at peace with the decision you make. The most important thing to us is that you find what is right for your class, no matter what resource that might be.

God bless,

Melissa Towers

I appreciate your heart and I am glad that Group is investing in preteens.

While Grapple may be more than a website, the primary focus of the marketing I have received on it is about the website.  The four fold piece I am looking at right now is primarily all about the website. (The website that seems to be difficult to get kids involved on.)

I went through the posts in Tell us your story and most of what people are sharing is about the goods and bads of the website.

Still not convinced.

Are 5th and 6th graders too young to "chat" and discuss in forums?  It seems like one of those things they think they would like to do because that is what older kids do.  My own 5th grader only wants to get online to read about sports and play games.

The answer to "are preteens too young to chat" is no. In our research, we found that the overwhelming majority of preteens are online (more than 80%). They are going online to communicate with others, play games, and just have fun. However, online activity and involvement CAN be different based on where you are located. For example, preteens from small rural towns may not be as tech savvy as kids from larger cities simply because internet access is harder to get. So, it can vary. But overall, the majority are going online.

However, I want anyone reading this post to understand that MyGrapple.com is more than just a place for kids to chat. It's a place where kids play computer games, they get clues to the lesson next week, vote on what types of games they are going to play in class on Sunday (preteens love to make choices), keep in touch with what's going on with a calendar and announcements, and we're adding more in Fall. The point of the clues is to get the kids working together with their other small group friends to find the answers so that they win the rights to the "Grapple button" in class. It's fun and it keeps them engaged because they get to choose what their expereince will be in class.

Perhaps we have used the wrong approach in our marketing, but the main things we are trying to stress are that Grapple is relevant to preteens today, and it meets them where they're "at". Which means that we understand the questions they're asking, they like to make choices, they want to be online, and parents want online experiences to be safe. Grapple is a way to connect with preteens by digging into topics that they are wondering about in class, and by giving them a safe place where they can continue to dig into those questions and be able to talk to each other at the same time online.

Because we feel strongly that the online component is an important piece of what makes the Grapple experience relevant to where preteens are at, we are taking big steps to improve the site so that the kids who want to be online will stay more engaged on MyGrapple.com. There will still be kids who aren't allowed to go online because their parents won't let them, and for various other reasons. The parent challenge can hopefully be resolved through good communication with the parents. We have great safety tips on MyGrapple.com for you, the kids, and for parents. We also give you e-mails that you can send to the parents to keep them in touch with what their kids are learning, and to give them practical advice about their preteens. I also recommend having a "viewing/testing" session with the parents so that they can see what the MyGrapple.com site is all about, and that you encourage parents to experience MyGrapple.com with their kids.

I believe the reason you are seeing so much about the online experience on the forum is because it is such a new and innovative idea for Sunday school expereinces. When something is new, there is learning and growing that needs to take place. We understand that this is a new concept for Sunday school, and we want anyone using or considering using Grapple to know that we are here to help.

Please feel free to call me or e-mail me anytime! 1-800-447-1070 X4588, mtowers@group.com

Melissa

We are a very small church and in our 30 year history we have NEVER had a ministry for our middle school and high schoolers.  Last fall we took the plunge and started a class for our 5th-7th graders using Grapple.  (We grouped our ages a little differently due to our small size.  I would recommend sticking with what Group recommends for age groupings if you can!)

Grapple has been wonderful!  The most beuatiful thing about the web portion is that these kids are talking to each other - asking for prayer, talking about struggles at home, etc.  We have one child (6th grader) who recently came to our church.  Her father passed away about a year ago and she is painfully shy...won't talk to anyone.  And obviously she is hurting over the loss of her father and the struggles faced with her older brother's current state of rebellion.  She was at our church for a year before we started using Grapple.  Remember - she never speaks to anyone - and I mean NEVER.  When we started Grapple last fall she was the FIRST ONE to get her name and password and was the FIRST ONE to post online!  It was a simple - "Hey!  Anyone out there want to chat?"  Several girls in the class responded and they got to know each other in a place that for this young girl wasn't so scary and intimidating.  After a month or so she even asked online for prayer for her brother and spoke about her dad's death.  She is still very quiet at church but her mother loves that she has a very safe and Christian environment online where she can talk, be heard and be prayed for.

Our teachers love the lesson book and the kids really enjoy getting to vote for the openning game and be surprised on Sunday morning to see what won!  So, Grapple is great with 'breaking the ice' so to speak so kids are comfortable with each other.  (None of the kids in our Grapple class attend school together so they rarely see each other during the week.  "Breaking the ice" for us is a weekly necessity!)   An example - one week the game called for kids to move to one side of the room if their parents fought but they thought they had a stable marriage...in the middle if they fought but you weren't sure about the stability of their marriage...at the other wall if your parents fought and you thought things were heading in a bad direction for them.  Most of our kids are "church kids' raised in long time Christian homes.  So all went to the 'safe' side....but one kid.  He is a foster child (5th grade) recently adopted by a family in our church.  He went to the 'bad direction' side.  The kids were shocked.  They couldn't believe what was happening when he shared about his bilogical family.  In the middle of the discussion one of the kids said they needed to pray for this boy and his biological family right now....and they did.  That child felt safe to share and those kids saw that they are really blessed.  Sometimes we need a safe place and other times we need to have our eyes openned to the depravity of our world.

And the lesons are relevant to what the kids are dealing with and encourage application.  They also have lots of excellent questions - that really get our kids talking.  Our teachers have found that many weeks the previous week's discussion carries over to the next week.  One child commented after class one week - "I really like Grapple.  We talk about the Bible and learn about Jesus but we learn what that means for me at school and with my mom and dad and with my sister too."  Someone once said, "Well-lived Word of God glorifies God, but well-displayed head knowledge without application will push a man to his own spiritual shipwreck."  Knowledge and application are like two-sides of the same coin - you need them both.  Grapple is strong in teaching the truth and providing opportunities for application.

Sorry this is so long.  I hope this helps!  I encourage you to give Grapple a try.  I am confidant you will not be disappointed.

 Kelly

To test drive:

http://www.group.com/samples/FullAccess.aspx?ParentGUID=42e804ae-ecf2-47c6-8aef-cbc2f9e5b290&SubGUID=9ebe7b10-7093-457e-baee-051d9fff0642

And select the "Free Test Drive" download (it's the first option).

Simply enter in your information and it will create your own Grapple Website and passwords for you and your class to try!

The biggest sale for me is the cultural relevance and dependence on relational teaching.  The biggest hurdle we have as a church is having the full spectrum of kids in our groups.  On one end you have the kids who probably know the Bible better than the teachers and the other end are the kids who don't know Moses from Adam.  Traditionally, curriculum teaches to one or the other.  So either the core kids are engaged and the seeker kids are left feeling outcast and dreading the next week or the seeker kids are engaged and the core kids are acting out from sheer boredom.

But grapple levels that playing field by taking real life junk that we all deal with and applying Biblical principles to aid in solving the issues and building honest faith rather than regurgitated tradition.  So now, no one is isolated and everyone is building their own faith based on answers to hard questions that the Bible reveals.  And as a perk, there is a prestructured website to make it all even more culturally relevant.  It's merely a bonus tool and maybe it's a good marketing idea as very few other publishers are even attempting to go that route.  The bugs are working their way out and the website today is a lot better than it has been. 

Just the humble opinion of a grapple fan... 

If you can't make it with cardboard and duct tape, it ain't worth makin'...