Brite Monthly – August
This month’s Biblical theme is:
God’s Big Story
Have you ever wondered what the whole story of the Bible is about? Even though there are lots of parts to the Bible, it really all has to do with God’s bigger story.
Creation: God existed before there was anything else. He created the world from nothing, and He knows and has power over every molecule of everything! When He made people, He made them in His image. They are very special to Him!
Fall: When God created people, He gave them the opportunity to know Him and live in relationship with Him. But through Adam and Eve, people broke their relationship with God by choosing to go their own way and sin, disobeying God. Brokenness entered our world, and we still see it everywhere, especially in ourselves and others.
Redemption: When sin and death entered the world and broke it all, there was no hope of everything ever being right again. But God sent Himself, in the form of Jesus, to do the impossible—He made things right again in our relationship with God by dying on the cross and defeating death when He rose again. Jesus is the reason that we have redemption (the action of being saved from sin).
Restoration: Jesus brought about restoration (making broken things right) when He defeated death—God’s world was being made right again, but it’s not done yet. We experience the new love and hope that God has given us as followers of Jesus, and we also see a world that still has brokenness that God has not yet made right, but we know He will. In this time, we all get the choice of whether we will trust Jesus for our forgiveness and follow Him.
This month’s Unit Title is:
This month’s unit is filled with awesome and creative comic-book style art and theming. Some fun and creative ways to decorate to match the theme is with comic-style images, superheroes, and cutouts of images like “Pow” and “Ka-Blam!”
This month’s Leader Training Topic is: 
Coming Alongside Kids
As followers of Jesus, we are called to make disciples. We have the opportunity to model a life with God for others and invite them to experience His incredible love and grace. When Jesus walked the earth, He demonstrated what it looks like to make disciples. Take a moment to consider how Jesus approached people. You might find it helpful to look through the gospels and read about some of His interactions. In each case, Jesus came alongside others. He acknowledged them and honored their experiences and struggles. He met them where they were, and invited them to take a next step with God. Jesus’ example is one that holds value for us today. As we serve kids, we have an opportunity to come alongside them. We have a chance to get to know them, to care about the things that matter to them, and to lovingly encourage them to take next steps on their faith journeys. This month, we’ll explore some important aspects of coming alongside kids so that you will feel equipped to do so in ways that communicate care and point them to Jesus.
Throughout the month, we’ll explore the following topics:
- Week 1 – Recognizing and Honoring Each Kid’s Uniqueness
- Week 2 – Choosing Kid-Friendly Language and Illustrations
- Week 3 – Responding to the Developmental Needs of the Kids
- Week 4 – Intentionally Learning and Integrating the Kids’ Interests
Teaching kids about the gospel:
The gospel is the good news. God wants everyone to know this good news and to not miss out on this invitation!
Here’s the gospel in four main words: God, Us, Jesus, Trust.
God
God is a loving God who is all-powerful and holy. He knows and sees everything, and rules over everything. God created all people in His image, and we are valuable to Him.
Us
But we have sinned, and our sin separates us from God. What is sin? Sin is anything we think, say, or do that disobeys God. The penalty for sin is death and separation from God forever.
Jesus
But because God loves us so much, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus died in our place. But He did not stay dead—He rose again three days later. Because of Jesus, we no longer have to be separated from God and we are offered the free gift of eternal life!
Trust
God gives salvation, rescuing us from our sin, to everyone who places their trust in Jesus as their Savior. What is trust? It means that we rely on what Jesus did. You cannot be saved from sin by doing good things, but only through what Jesus did for you.