You could spend a lifetime unpacking this first question of The New City Catechism:

Q: What is our only hope in life and death?

A: That we are not our own but belong to God.

Catechisms are designed to teach children and adults the core doctrines of the Christian faith. In the beginning, what is memorized may not be understood, but as comprehension grows, the catechized meditate on the doctrines and seek to apply them to daily living. To facilitate this kind of mind-and-heart development in the Christian faith, The Gospel Coalition and Crossway have developed The New City Catechism Curriculum.

The New City Catechism Curriculum features 52 engaging lessons developed from the questions and answers of The New City Catechism, designed to help children ages 8 to 11 learn and apply the truths of our faith in a Sunday school, classroom, or homeschool setting.

Each lesson covers one catechism question and is based around an expositional Bible lesson. The format—designed for maximum flexibility—includes different outlines for 30-, 45-, or 75-minute sessions. Games aid memorization and reinforce the catechism, and activities help children understand and apply the doctrines discussed.

Melanie Lacy—director of theology for children’s and youth ministry training at Oak Hill College, London—designed the curriculum to guide teachers in expositional Bible lessons and also to help children understand the key doctrines of the Christian faith.

Inside Each Kit:

3 Teachers Guides covering all 52 questions and answers in The New City Catechism
1 Resource Book containing reproducible activity sheets tied to each lesson (also available as a free digital download)
4 copies of The New City Catechism for Kids featuring the short version of all 52 questions and answers (additional copies sold separately)

Download the first five lessons of the NCC Curriculum or order your own copy today!

Related:

This curriculum was made possible in part through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in the curriculum are those of the publisher and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?

In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.

But the Gospels are historically reliable. And the evidence for this is vast.

To learn about the evidence for the historical reliability of the four Gospels, click below to access a FREE eBook of Can We Trust the Gospels? written by New Testament scholar Peter J. Williams.

Download your copy today »

Betsy Childs Howard is an editor for The Gospel Coalition. She is the author of Seasons of Waiting and the children’s books Arlo and the Great Big Cover-Up and Polly and the Screen Time Overload. Betsy and her husband, Bernard, live with their two little boys in Birmingham, Alabama, where Bernard is the pastor of Grace Church Birmingham.