Teacher Support Tools

BE BOLD works best when you use the full lesson, which takes about 60 minutes. If you’re really in a pinch, you can modify the time by selecting which activities you do (you can skip the game, for example, and bring class time down). You might even decide to not complete an activity when you are in the middle of a meaningful discussion. After all, meaningful discussion is what BE BOLD Bible lessons for preteens are all about.

The scope and sequence is made up of questions real preteens are asking or need to be asking about God and faith. Most of these questions were taken straight from our focus groups with Preteens. Others were added after additional research on what preteens need to hear at this stage of their mental, emotional, and spiritual development.

Just basic classroom supplies! We built BE BOLD so that most of what you need is included in the Bold Action Student Book. Whatever you need outside of this should be easy to grab your house, church supply closet, or local store.

BE BOLD Sunday school curriculum was designed for preteens—kids who are 10 to 12 years old, or in grades 4 through 6. However, many churches are using BE BOLD for their junior high and senior high ministries, too!

When you purchase a Teacher Guide, you'll find a unique Activation Code on the title page. Just set up a free Group Digital online account and enter the activation code to download digital copies of each teacher guide you purchase.

The downloadable files are provided in Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word format. The Word docs are completely editable, so you can customize the lessons to meet the unique needs of your church.

Research shows that preteens are increasingly self-conscious and struggle with feeling insecure. At the same time, they want to socialize with each other. Giving preteens something to do while they socialize (like eat a snack), reduces that awkwardness. It also helps create a warm, welcoming environment! And preteens are pretty aware of any allergy issues that would limit what they can safely eat.

We were blown away by the sheer number of questions that preteens had about God and faith. During one focus group, preteens had so many questions, we couldn’t write them down fast enough. It was an eye-opener to us that preteens need and want a safe place to discuss hard questions about God and faith, but they’re having trouble finding it.

Look at this finding from the Fuller Youth Institute, as reported by Christianity Today: over 70 percent of church going high schoolers report having serious doubts about faith. Sadly, less than half of those young people shared their doubts and struggles with an adult or friend. Yet these students’ opportunities to express and explore their doubts were actually correlated with greater faith maturity. In other words, it’s no doubt that’s toxic to faith; it’s silence.”

BE BOLD will equip your teachers to confidently guide these discussions.

As adults, we know that preteens have some faith questions that just don’t have a clear and concise answer—and some of these questions are covered in BE BOLD. Here’s the good news: You don’t have to have all the answers. In fact, if you pretend you do, your kids will see straight through you. It’s critical to provide a place where preteens can comfortably voice their doubts and questions. It’s also important to help preteens work through their doubts and questions through Scripture discovery—to understand what the Bible DOES have to say. BE BOLD will equip your teachers to confidently create the right classroom environment AND guide Scriptural discovery. We provide plenty of support through teacher tip videos, an online community, and preteen pointers in the Leader’s Guide.

Preteens are inundated with technology but starving for relationship. So BE BOLD is intentionally video-free. It isn’t about learning from a screen—it’s relational learning through interaction and exploration. It’s real, simple, and genuine.

For preteens, friendships are more important than ever and are harder to create than ever before. They want people to like them and think they’re cool, and they are terrified of rejection. At the same time, they want deep relationships and serious conversations. BE BOLD provides activities and games to bring preteens together and into interaction with each other in a way that isn’t awkward but encourages conversation. This could be a game of telephone, a project, anything that will keep kids’ hands busy so they don’t have to worry about feeling awkward and can say what they really feel.

However, if a lesson sparks a really great conversation that’s getting into kids’ hearts and minds, don’t feel pressure to move on to another activity. BE BOLD is designed as a catalyst for good conversations, so if you have a good conversation going, your class is already successful. Feel free to disregard the activity and instead dive deep into what’s on your kids’ minds. It’s these moments that we as curriculum writers cannot predict but that truly make a difference in kids’ lives.

BE BOLD and Grapple are both question-based preteen Sunday school options, but there are a few key differences. BE BOLD focuses on questions about our relationship to God. We did not repurpose content from Grapple for BE BOLD—it’s all new content! BE BOLD also includes a focus on teacher support and building a community of safety and acceptance. Finally, while Grapple is a media-based resource, we intentionally kept BE BOLD simple and paper-based to focus on building strong relationships between preteens and their leaders.

All Scripture is printed in the Bold Action Student Book. However, feel free to have a stack of classroom Bibles that are all the same translation. (We use the kid-friendly NLT.) You might even put sticky notes on the page you want kids to read from to avoid long pauses while kids look up verses.

The student pack includes the Bold Action Student Book, Mystery Mission cards for each week, and Mystery Mission Stickers to seal the cards (so kids can’t peek at their mission until they get home!)

Yes. The Bold Action Student Book is completely integrated into each lesson, so you wouldn’t be equipped to teach without it. Plus, the Mystery Missions create a fun sense of intrigue as preteens wonder what their mission will be. Don’t forget to order one for your teachers, too! It’s important that teachers do the missions as well so they can lead your kids by example and share about the missions together!

Call or chat with one of our helpful curriculum coaches at 800-447-1070, or, for support and ideas from your peers, join the BE BOLD Teacher’s Lounge, a private Facebook community for preteen leaders just like you!