I have just heard of another product that may help some of you, likely in December (it will be available in August), and I hope to be able to provide information about that and what needs it may meet. I understand you're in the process of looking now for fall, so I'll provide an update as soon as I have one.

Keep sharing your thoughts and ideas. God bless you!

Deb Bernard

Curriculum Senior Marketing Manager

Deb, another product?

That does what LIO does?

That will be available for how long? One quarter? Maybe two? A year? The kids, praise God, will always be there. As will the lack of help willing to commit to preparing lessons. That's why we need LIO.

So let's hear it.....

I guess I am a little behind on all this information.  I am loving what LIO is doing for our children.  I shutter to think once we are so invested in this curriculum, our teachers are trained, and things are starting to click that the series might vanish.... are you just taking a production break with the plan to start fresh in 2008 or are you eliminating LIO from your curriculum choices????

Although I am familiar with your other curricular options none of them have the thematic/mini vbs feel of LIO. Please tell me we just need to improvise /recycle/ use previous modules/ a bit until 2008 and then a whole new slew of great modules will be available for us to us to guide our children in faith.

I am still very upset about the whole thing.  In Thom's letter to me, he stated  As much as we'd like to, we simply do not have the resources to fund all the wonderful ministry opportunities we'd like to pursue.   Well, guess what -- neither do we!  There's no shortage of good ministry ideas floating around out there, but we all have to carefully weigh how our churches spend money and how to best use our volunteer resources.  All of us on this board spent a lot of time making the choice to switch our Sunday School programs to LIO.  In some cases, that meant sacrificing other ministries to give this one a try.  At our church, we could've stayed with what we had and I could've taught THREE new adult Sunday School classes instead of leading the charge and implementing LIO.

The decision to end this after one year defies all marketing logic.  They should've done the whole 3-year scope & sequence -- even at an initial loss -- to build loyalty from those of us who believed in it from the start, and to make sure a complete product was on the market for future users.  This current situation just alienates current users and leaves no viable product available for those people who might have been interested down the line.  I just don't get it.

Amy in Ohio

I had mentioned another new product that might be an idea for the interim for some of you. I know there is no one product out there (at Group or beyond) that will be right for everyone. And I have more info to share. Unfortunately, I don't think this is a great option for your ongoing ministry needs, but it may spark another idea. This actually came to my mind from another church who does not do Sunday school for the summer. So Living Inside Out will take here through November. She is in charge of a Christmas program as well in December, and uses some time during that month to practice for that program. This idea, which is a new product coming out in August called A Night in Bethlehem: A Hands-On Holy Land Experience. Here's more about it:

Again, this is not designed as a 4-week program, but for some of you it may be a great program to plug into your December schedule (or anytime you want to explore the birth of Jesus).

Another idea this makes me think of is Group's Holy Land Adventures. Again, not for everyone. And a different experience than Living Inside Out, of course. But you could, for example:

Travel back in time and discover...Galilee By-the-Sea

Galilee By-the-Sea transports everyone-your children, their families, and your volunteers-to the shore where Jesus taught...healed...and shared new life with those who followed him.

Participants gather for a brief time of worship before joining their Tribes (named after the tribes of Israel) for small-group interaction. During Tribe Time, tribal families will explore biblical customs such as the lighting of the oil lamp or reciting Scripture. Tribes also go to Synagogue to learn about what church was like during Jesus' time and to the Seaside Playground to learn about and play Bible-times games. During Marketplace, participants can make toys and jewelry and sample healthy treats...among many other fun activities.

Experience the Bible in a fresh, new way. And take your kids where they'll do more than hear about Jesus...they'll meet him. Transform the hearts of your children and their families.

Again -- these may or may not be a fit for your ministry goals. Just trying to share more options that may spark an idea or help you out.

And as I do have any updates to our schedule, I'll let you know. I'd anticipate I won't know anything further within the next 4- to 6 weeks. But if that changes, you'll be the first to know!

And Melissa, I am sorry you did not get the mailing. That's why we have tried to get the word out about this change in our schedule multiple ways. We did have your church on our mailing list, but perhaps we got the address wrong? It was not to anyone's attention, but the street address was 422 Mentor Ave -- let me know if that's wrong and I'll get our files updated!

May God bless you and your ministries!