AN ONLINE platform has been launched to help to take Sunday school digital. The site, RaiseUPFaith.com, has been produced by a team of children’s ministry leaders and teachers working in partnership with content creators for CBeebies and CBBC, and is designed to give youth and children’s leaders easy-to-use, high-quality, Bible-based multimedia content.
The under-16 age group is the fastest declining demographic in the Church today. Yet, research last autumn by the Evangelical Alliance suggested that 24 per cent of churches had reduced or discontinued youth work during the pandemic, while 17 per cent had cut their children’s work. At the same time, many churches have experienced a decline in volunteer numbers post-pandemic, putting further strain on already stretched resources.
The pandemic has also accelerated the trend towards multimedia and online learning for children and young people, but there has, until now, been a shortage of appropriate resources for Sunday-school learning.
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RaiseUPfaith offers hundreds of lessons with thousands of accompanying and related activities, including media clips, songs, prayers, crafts, and games. It allows leaders to search thousands of activities by Bible passage, character, or theme, or to choose a fully scripted lesson plan. The platform features teaching from partners including New Wine, Spring Harvest, Cheeky Pandas, and LZ7, as well as newly created content. The content is fully downloadable; so users do not need to worry about poor Wi-Fi in church buildings.
Duncan Reid, of RaiseUPfaith, described the platform as “cutting-edge”, but emphasised that it was easy to use. “Whether we like it or not, young people engage through a variety of media, and, given the multitude of content options, children expect the quality of media content in church to be at the standard they are surrounded by every day,” he said.
“RaiseUPfaith gives children’s ministry leaders back the time they need to do the really important bit — building deep, lasting relationships with young people.”
The platform costs from £210 for an annual subscription; a free trial is available.