Thanks for registering your Back to School with God Sunday service!
IMPORTANT: PLEASE BOOKMARK THIS LINK OR TAKE A NOTE OF IT: ONCE YOU LEAVE THIS PAGE YOU WILL NEED TO RE-REGISTER TO GET BACK IN IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTED THE LINK.
We are delighted you have chosen to register a Back to School with God service, and pray that it will encourage children, young people and school staff as they begin a new school year. We pray that as you explore Joshua 1:1-9 the Bible will speak clearly to all - encouraging children, young people and adults alike to be strong and brave, not in themselves but in the living God.
Resources are free to download. Here is what is provided:
We suggest you download the resources you need straight away and save them to a folder. You can then revisit them time and again without needing to look for the link!
Please Video Testimony has still to be uploaded to the Resources page - we are aiming to have this available from the beginning of August.
- BSG23 An Overview of Resources. This is key in explaining how to approach the service, explains each resource and provides ideas for following up the service.
- BSG23 All-age Service. This is the core resource and is provided in both pdf and Word format for those who wish to edit it for their own situation.
- BSG23 All-age Service PPT Slides. A set of PowerPoint slides to accompany the service, which includes the Bible reading.
- BSG23 Bible Passage. The Bible translation we have chosen is the CEV, which includes the words ‘Be strong and brave’. The passage can be shared by email or printed out ahead of the service and given to a young person to read.
- BSG23 Bible Study. New for 2023! Following feedback from last year we have included suggested questions and activities for a youth group or adult Bible Study.
- BSG23 Children’s Prayer Activities & Crafts. The all-age service is interactive and child-friendly, however some churches may prefer to use the interactive Bible teaching at the start of the All-age Service as a ‘children’s talk’ and then take children out to Sunday Club or Kids’ Church. We suggest further prayer and craft ideas for this purpose. BSG23 School Scenarios and BSG23 Medallion Template are provided as accompanying resources.
- BSG23 Memory Verse Postcards - see BSG23 An Overview of Resources for details. Postcards have Joshua 1:9 on one side and are blank on the reverse to enable people to write a message of support or prayer for a young person or someone who works in a school. A small number will be available in some SU Scotland offices for collection (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, Ayr - see here for contact email addresses). If you prefer them to be posted out, please email Karen.Prenty@suscotland.org.uk in plenty of time. A small donation at suscotland.org.uk/give would be appreciated to cover costs: please select 'A specific aspect of ministry' then insert Back to School with God under 'I would like to give to'. Thank you!)
- BSG23 Prayers for Schools. A copy of the prayer featured at the end of the All-age Service, for emailing or printing out for each person taking part.
- BSG23 Video Testimony. A pre-recorded testimony from a young person of how they were able to be strong and brave in the school context. Find it here: https://vimeo.com/850537706/f539d974a3?share=copy
We hope you enjoy using the resources and have an enjoyable service which encourages and challenges young people and adults alike. We are still currently working on the resources that are bracketed and these will be posted up as soon as they are ready.
Please feel free to contact us and share stories and photos of your service. We love to hear from you, and your feedback is valuable! E: prayer@suscotland.org.uk.
