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INTRODUCTION TO TRUTH TRACKERS

What is Truth Trackers? Truth Trackers systematically and purposefully disciples children. We believe children can and need to learn the basics of the Christian faith. We accomplish this with weekly memory verses, daily devotions, weekly lessons, and fun activities. In Truth Trackers, children enjoy learning and applying Biblical truth!

What is Truth Trackers’ goals?1. To disciple children in the basics of the Christian faith. 2. To help children memorize the Bible and daily spend time with God. 3. To incorporate the family into activities and Bible memory. 4. To give opportunities for strategic evangelism.

What is the Truth Trackers theme verse?Truth Trackers, what is our prayer to God? Psalm 25:5

What is the heart of Truth Trackers?To help churches disciple their children and families.

THE TRUTH TRACKERS PROGRAMS

Tiny Trackers Tiny Trackers (3-to 5-year-olds) learn simple truths through verse memory, Bible lessons, illustrative stories, and puppet shows. Tiny Trackers teaches these simple truths by teaching a special word found in their memory verse. That special word is taught through a memory verse, a short story, a puppet show, and a Bible lesson.

Scripture Spies

Scripture Spies (1st-3rd grade) learn biblical truth through scripture memory, Bible-based lessons, personal devotions, and games. Each Wednesday night, Truth Trackers targets a certain doctrinal topic and teaches that truth to the children. All the verses, devotions, and lessons are focused to help teach the children to know and apply that truth.

Faith ForceWhen the children advance to Faith Force (4th-6th grade), they learn the same biblical truth as the Scripture Spies through review, additional memory verses, personal devotions, and Bible-based lessons. Their club night also teaches a certain doctrinal topic and teaches the children to know and apply that truth.

THE LEADERSHIP OF TRUTH TRACKERS

Director/TeacherThis individual is in charge of directing and administrating the club night, the leaders, and the children of a particular division.

Game DirectorThe Game Director plans and prepares games for the children to play

each night.This person’s main responsibility is to organize and have an activity planned for the children every week. Whether they are planning a verse review game or a large group game time, this individual needs to have activities planned for the children.

LeaderThe main responsibility of a leader is to have adults interact, oversee, and mentor the children. The leaders are in charge of the children’s small groups. One of the best ways to disciple individuals, no matter if they are adults or children, is to have personal mentors. Throughout the night, the leader stays with their small group during the Game Time, Lesson Time, and Memory Time. They listen to verses, lead the small group, and assist the Director/Teacher in anyway they can.

SecretaryThe Secretary works with the director to maintain and organize the

records.

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Pastor

Leader

Director/Teacher

LeaderLeader

Game Director Secretary

The Club CalendarA calendar needs to be established to help your club stay on track with their Bible memory, Bible devotions, and Bible lessons. Also, this calendar will help your club plan Friend Nights and Family Activities. This calendar should be put in the Family Memory Guide and be taped into each child’s memory book.

There are three types of calendars your clubs can setup. Here's an example of Calendar #1, a 31 week program, and Calendar #2, a 34 week program, and Calendar #3 (not shown), a 40 week program.

Truth Trackers Calendar – 31 Week ProgramWednesday Aug 22 6:45p

m Truth Trackers Training

Wednesday Aug 29 6:45pm Truth Trackers Training

Wednesday Sep 5 6:30pm Truth Trackers Week 0




Wednesday Oct 3 6:30pm Truth Trackers Week 4


Wednesday Oct 17 6:30pm

Truth Trackers Friend Night Week 6


Wednesday Oct 31 Revival – NO TRUTH TRACKERS Wednesday Nov 7 6:30p

m Truth Trackers Week 8

Truth Trackers Calendar – 34 Week ProgramWednesday Aug 22 6:45p

m Truth Trackers Training

Wednesday Aug 29 6:45pm Truth Trackers Training






Wednesday Oct 10 6:30pm FRIEND NIGHT




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Wednesday Nov 7 6:30pm Truth Trackers Week 8

First, notice both calendars start with Week 0. This night the children will get their books, be instructed how the program works, and learn what they need to do for the next week when the program officially begins.

Club Suggestion: Your club may want to invite the parents to this first night to walk through the night and to see what the children learn and do on a typical Truth Trackers night. Parents are responsible before God to disciple their children, and this is a great way to show parents how you are assisting them and how they can use the Truth Trackers program to disciple their children.

You will want to establish the nights that you cannot have Truth Trackers. You might have events like Christmas break, revival meetings, missions conferences that you cannot have Truth Trackers.

Also, you will want to plan any special Truth Trackers events you want to have throughout the year. Some of these nights may include: Friend Nights, Family Blast Activities, Quiz Nights, and an Awards Program.

The club and curriculum is intended to run from the fall until the spring. Truth Trackers has 30 weeks of Bible memory, Bible Devotions, and Bible Lessons. If you add the first week, Week 0, you have a 31 week calendar; however, you can extend your calendar to be a 34 week calendar or a 40 week calendar.

The way you can do this is by having your special nights of evangelism, called Friend Nights, be separate nights from the regular Truth Trackers night.

For a 31 week calendar, these nights would be on a regular Truth Trackers night. Notice on the example calendar above how the Friend Night is scheduled for Oct 17. That night is also Week 6 for Bible Memory, Bible Devotions, and Bible Lessons.

For a 34 week calendar, three Friend Nights are scheduled on separate nights from your regular Truth Trackers program. Notice on the example calendar above how the Friend Night is scheduled for Oct 17. There is no Bible memory or Bible lessons scheduled for that week (extra weeks of devotions can be found on the Truth Trackers forum for your club to print off for the children). That night is solely devoted to evangelism.

For a 40 week calendar, your club will add a review night after each doctrine is completed. That will add six nights to the year. So the 31 weeks + the 3 Friend Nights + the 6 review nights = 40 nights of Truth Trackers.

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TINY TRACKERS

Who can be in Tiny Trackers?Tiny Trackers is a program for children 3 years old to K5.

What happens during Tiny Trackers?Tiny Trackers was designed to differ from the Scripture Spies (1st-3rd) and Faith Force (4th-6th). The older children focus more on repetitive verse memory and progressive doctrinal learning. However, the Tiny Trackers do not have repetitive verse memory, and they learn simpler doctrinal truths.

In Tiny Trackers, the children memorize one verse per week. The topic for the week comes from that verse, as does the lesson, illustrative story, and puppet show. All the children in Tiny Trackers purchase a memory book which contains their topic and their verse for the week. The topic for the children is a word found in their memory verse. For instance, one week the children will learn about the word “Others.” They learn what that word means, and they have a Bible story to illustrate that word. Their verse (part of Phil 2:4) uses that word and a puppet show helps the children learn more about that word.

There are a total of thirty weeks of Tiny Trackers verses and lessons. At the beginning of the year, those weeks will need to be put on a calendar and given to the parents of the children.

As for each night, a suggested schedule for a 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM service is as follows:

6:30-6:35 Meet in room 6:35-7:00 Memory Time/ Game Time7:00-7:10 Introduce the “word” for the week and read illustrative story 7:10-7:25 Color and Memory Time (The books have coloring sheets in them.) 7:25-7:40 Puppets Time/review of verse/Snack Time7:40-8:00 Songs/Lesson Time

What type of materials do Tiny Trackers cover?The Tiny Trackers have a total of three memory books, one for each year a child is in Tiny Trackers. Each child will go through his own memory book with the other Tiny Trackers. They do not have daily devotions like the Scripture Spies and Faith Force.

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Below is a sample of the Tiny Trackers Memory Book. At the top of the page you will see the week number. Your club should make a schedule at the beginning of the year and tape that schedule in their books so parents and leaders can match the week number with the correct date. Here is an example of a schedule:

Week 11, October 17 Week 12, October 24 Week 13, October 31

ETC...

The children recite their verse to the leader. On the memory pages, you can see the place where the leader will sign and date the verse. This is the area the leader will sign to help document that the child has completed his verse. The leader should then record the information on the Tiny Trackers Record Card.

You will also notice a line under parts of some of the memory verses. This line indicates the part of the verse the three and four year old children are responsible to memorize. The three and four year old children only

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memorize the underlined part of the verse, and the five year old children memorize the entire verse.

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What are the awards?The Tiny Trackers receive awards for attendance, saying their verse, and finishing their entire book.

Attendance AwardThe Attendance Award is a sticker they put in the back of their book on the Attendance Award page.

Verse AwardThe Verse Award is a sticker the child places next to his verse after he says it.

Another award for the verse is a weekly verse prize. Because this age group has trouble looking forward to a monthly or yearly incentive, a weekly verse award is the best incentive for them to say their verse. Your club will decide what this weekly price will be.

Book AwardWhen a child finishes his book, he receives the Book Award. This award is a medallion the children receive at the end of the year.

How are the records done?Below is a sample of the Tiny Trackers Record Card. Once a child enters into Tiny Trackers, this Record Card is completed. The child’s personal information as well as their weekly information is put on this card.

Personal InformationThe personal information is only recorded the first time a child comes to club.

Weekly InformationThe weekly information is recorded every week. When a child checks-in on club night, the day’s date is recorded next to the numbered week. Also, after a child says his verse, the date is recorded next to the numbered week.

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The Record Card helps your club record who should receive awards both weekly and at the end of the year.

What materials need to be purchased?Your club will have materials you will need to purchase from Truthtrackers.org and materials you will purchase on your own. The materials to be purchased from TruthTrackers.org are as follows:

Tiny Trackers Teachers Guide - This notebook contains the word for the week, the memory verse, the puppets shows, the illustrative stories, the Bible lessons (does NOT contain the Betty Lukens story book or flannel graphs), coloring pages, and the Leader’s Guide.

Tiny Trackers Memory Book - The Tiny Tracker children purchase this memory book for the year. This book covers the entire year’s verses (thirty weeks).

Tiny Trackers Shirts - This shirt has the Tiny Trackers logo on it. All the children in Tiny Trackers can purchase these shirts.

There are some needed supplies which we do not offer on the website. The products are as follows along with their respective websites:

Tiny Trackers Bible Flannel Graph Lessons - The Tiny Trackers have a Bible story each week. The passage and story are in the Tiny Trackers Leader’s Guide located at the bottom of the memory pages, but the Flannel Graph and Betty Lukens story book need to be purchased from Betty Lukens. www.bettylukens.com/

Tiny Trackers Award Stickers - The Tiny Tracker stickers for their Attendance Awards need to be purchased from Oriental Trading Company. The name of the stickers is ROUND SMILE FACE STICKERS (100PC) - IN-12/708 www.orientaltrading.com/

Other Awards - Some churches decide to give out other incentives for memory work. Truth Trackers has purposefully left this area open for churches to decide what type of incentive is appropriate for this age group.

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SCRIPTURE SPIES AND FAITH FORCE

Who can be in Scripture Spies and Faith Force?Scripture Spies is for 1st through 3rd graders, and Faith Force is for 4th through 6th graders.

What materials do the Scripture Spies and Faith Force children own?The Scripture Spies children purchase a Scripture Spies Memory Book used for the entire year, and the Faith Force children purchase a Faith Force Memory Book also used for the entire year. Another book both Scripture Spies and Faith Force purchase is the Truth Trackers Devotional Book. The children purchase three of these devotional books throughout the year.

What happens during Scripture Spies and Faith Force?Scripture Spies and Faith Force are made up of four different segments: Devotional Time, Memory Time, Lesson Time, and Game Time. Every day during the week, the children have Devotional Time; and on the night of Truth Trackers, the children have Memory Time, Lesson Time, and Game Time.

The Scripture Spies and Faith Force devotions, verses, and lessons are divided into thirty weeks. As you look at the Memory Book and Devotional Book samples, you can see a numbered week at the top of the page. Your club will need to print off a schedule for the year to tape in the Memory Book. This helps the child and the parents match the week number with the correct date. This also helps the club stay together on the devotions, verses, and lessons. Here is an example of a schedule:

Week 11, October 17 Week 12, October 24 Week 13, October 31

Also on the example memory books, you will see the week number printed. Below the number is the doctrine and the specific topic the club is studying that week.

There are six doctrines the children cover in one year. Below you can see a chart which explains what doctrines the children will be learning each year. You will also notice the books are not numbered by grade but are color coded. That is because all grades go through the same material at the same time. The Scripture Spies cover the same doctrine as the Faith Force. The Faith Force material is a little more advanced. Their verses are more difficult.

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One year your club may be going through the green books, which covers the doctrines of Salvation, God Created, The Bible, Growing Spiritually, The World, and The Future. All the Scripture Spies would have a green Scripture Spies Memory Book with the green Truth Trackers Devotional Books, and the Faith Force would all have a green Faith Force Memory Book with the green Truth Trackers Devotional Books.

Green Books Red Books Blue Books 1. Salvation 2. God Created 3. The Bible 4. Growing Spiritually 5. The World 6. The Future

1. My Struggles 2. The Law 3. Jesus Christ 4. God’s Goodness 5. Solving Problems 6. Evil Forces

1. God’s Nature 2. God’s Greatness 3. Christ’s Death 4. Prayer 5. Trials 6. The Holy Spirit

Devotional TimeDevotional Time takes place every day as the children, in coordination with their parents, schedule this “time” into their own daily life. This time is used by the children to spend time with God. During this Devotional Time, the children complete their devotions from their Truth Trackers Devotional Book. Their devotions teach the children from the Bible the doctrine and topic they are learning in Truth Trackers.

Below is a sample from the Truth Trackers Devotional Book. Your club should explain to the children these guidelines for Devotion Time: The children need to set aside a time every day to spend with God.

Completing their devotions is not a last-minute-before-Truth-Trackers-starts-project. These devotions must be done everyday.

Help the children know “how” to do their devotions. Walk the children through one day’s devotional.

Explain to the children what Devotion Time is. This is not just a completion of a project for an award. They are spending time with God. That means God talks to them through their devotions, and they talk to God through prayer.

When a child comes to Truth Trackers, the leader or secretary must sign the book and record the child’s completion of their devotions on the child’s Record Card.

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Frequently Asked Questions:Question: Do all the 1st-6th graders go through the same devotional books?Answer: Yes, we have the 1st-6th graders going through the same devotional books at the same time. The books are designed so that all ages (6-12 year olds) can use them and the younger ones with the parents help. (No matter what kind of devotional material younger children use they need parents to help anyways.) Our experience has taught us that the younger children (and older) need the parents help in reminding them to do their devotions and assisting whenever they need help. As you know, most children won't establish that daily time with God without the encouragement of a parent.

Club Idea: Some parents even have the children do the devotionals as a family at the supper table or before they go to bed.

Question: The devotional books are clear, simple and yet have purpose. However, my first thought is about overlap between the Sunday school devotions and these. What should we do about that?Answer: We encourage churches to do the Truth Trackers devotions because they help the children understand the doctrine their verse and lesson teach. If other children’s ministries have requirements for devotions, you should think about either eliminating those devotions or making those devotions optional. We advise you to evaluate all your children’s ministries, define the purpose of each one, and then coordinate the materials and requirements of ALL your children’s ministries. Many times the leaders in each of your children’s ministries do what is best for that particular ministry. This can cause children and families to be overburdened with requirements, and it can cause the children’s ministries to be less effective.

Question: What if a child misses a day or misses a week of devotions?Answer: Your club will need to decide how much grace you will give. It is important to give grace with devotions. However, this needs to be a real incentive and one of the goals is to help the children learn the discipline of spending time with God everyday.

Questions: What is the parent’s responsibility in devotions?Answer: The parents need to schedule a time every day for their children to spend time with God. It is the parent’s job to instill spiritual discipline in the life of a child. Then the parent must remind the child to do their devotions. Children might find it difficult to understand a verse, a concept, or another part of their devotions. Therefore, it is

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important for parents to be available to assist their children with their devotions.

Question: What is the leader’s role in devotions?Answer: The leader is not the parent. The parent needs to be helping the child do the devotions, but the leader can encourage the child and the parent to be consistent and faithful to spend time with God. The leader can look over the child’s devotions and explain any days that they found hard to understand.

Memory TimeThe Truth Trackers night is divided into the last three sections. One of those sections is Memory Time. During this time, the children come prepared to say the verse section they have memorized for the week.

Schedule of the Night

Option 1 – Small Group ScheduleMemory Time - Small groups meet, children say their verses, and visitors are evangelized with the Forgiven Tract. (20-30 minutes)Game Time – Children have a time to get their energy out. (20 minutes)Lesson Time – Children sing songs about the doctrine the club is on and hear a lesson that teaches them the doctrinal topic. (20-30 minutes)

Option 2- Registration Table ScheduleRegistration/Memory Time – The children check-in, say their verses, show their completed devotions, and visitors are evangelized with the Forgiven Tract.Game Time/Lesson Time – Children sing songs, hear a lesson that teaches about the doctrine they are going through, and play a review game (for instance, a verse review game).

The difference between these two options is the memory Time. Here are the benefits of the different options.

1. Option #1 takes more workers, more time, but allows for personal discipleship.

2. Option #2 takes a fewer amount of workers and allows for some workers to go back to the adult service.

No matter which option you choose, you will have someone who listens to the children recite their verses. If the child successfully recites

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his/her verses with only two helps, the leader will sign the child’s book. On the sample books below, you can see the place where the leader is to sign and date the section.

Scripture Spies Memory Book

Scripture Spies Memory Book is set up so the children say ONE NEW VERSE and review TWO OLD VERSES every week week. However, the children are only to review the last two old verses they have COMPLETED. This means that if your club was on Week 3 (like the above example), a child in that club would first recite the verse in the gray box (on the left side of the page) to a leader and then and recite the last two weeks that a leader has signed. If the child recites all three verses with only two helps, the child has passed his section for the night.

The verse on the next page is not a required verse for Scripture Spies and no Scripture Spy can recite this verse for credit. It is there so they can look forward to what they will be memorizing when they are in Faith Force.

Faith Force Memory Book

The Faith Force Memory Book is similar to the Scripture Spies Memory Book but differs slightly. The children still say ONE NEW VERSE and then

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say their last TWO COMPLETED VERSES. If the child says all three of those verses with only two helps (not two helps per verse but per week), the leader will sign the child’s book documenting the week’s section is complete.

One difference with Faith Force is the verses are a little more difficult than the Scripture Spies’ verses. The other difference is the Faith Force children can say the verse on the second page as a separate section from their MAIN WEEK’S section. This verse is NOT a part of the weekly section. It is not required. It is just an extra verse the children can memorize. If you notice, this verse is the Scripture Spies verse for the week. So after the child completes the main week’s section, they can recite this extra section to you if they choose.

Here are some guidelines in regard to listening to verses: Remember the Truth Trackers philosophy! Go to truthtrackers.org and

click on “forum” to download the Memory Philosophy.o It’s systematic. – The verses are to be said in order with no

skipping head. The verses coordinate with the lessons and devotions.

o It’s responsive. – The children are asked a question and they respond with the verse. The children need to be encouraged to have the question memorized with the verse because the question is the prompt for them to say the verse. The question also teaches them the main truth of the verse.

o It’s a memory program. – The best way to memorize is to repeat. Review is good, and memorization is not difficult if the verses are worked on and reviewed every day.

Children say ONLY the assigned section for that week, unless they are making up previous sections. So, if the whole group is saying the verse for Week 3, that verse must first be said.

Leaders and memory workers are allowed to give only two helps to the children per week, NOT PER VERSE. Also, a help does not consist of a few words or phrases. A help consists of the first sound or one word. The children should be prepared to say their verse perfectly.

The leader reads the question, the child quotes the reference and verse in the order the child pleases. Leaders and memory workers should not give a help to begin a verse. If a child does not know a verse or is trying to “wing” a verse, it is the leader’s job to instruct them to study harder and to be better prepared the following week. Memory time does not profit a child if he is led step by step through a verse. The leader is primarily the verse LISTENER not the verse ASSISTOR.

After the child successfully recites a verse, the leader then signs the week and records that the child said their verse.

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Here are some frequently asked questions about verse memory:Question: What if a child misses a week of Truth Trackers?Answer: The program is designed so that all the children learn the same verses at the same time; however, there is enough time during the club Memory Time to make up missed weeks. As long as the child says the assigned week first, he can make up missed weeks.

Question: What if a child doesn’t say his/her section for the night?Answer: Your club should encourage the children to work hard each week to say their weekly section for the club night. Though the verses are simple and there is not a large requirement of memorization, one of the realities of a memory program is that some children will not come prepared to say their weekly section. If a child is not prepared to say his week’s section that night, then encourage the child to work hard on being prepared for next week’s section. Then next week he can make up his last week’s section.

Question: Won’t that be hard for children to make up weeks?Answer: Not at all. Since the weekly sections require a child to go back and say the previous TWO COMPLETED WEEKS, a child missing the previous week’s section will only be repeating one extra verse.

Question: What if a child begins attending in the middle of the year?Answer: The child will start in the middle of the book, starting on the week corresponding to the week everyone else is doing. Depending on how far along in the year it is, the child can go back and make up previous weeks. But your club should encourage the child to work hard on the doctrine the whole club islearning. Since children receive a pin for every doctrine which they complete, encourage the children to work on their current doctrine so they can receive that pin.

Question: How can a child recite the TWO COMPLETED WEEKS if he has not said any previous weeks or has not said any verses for a couple of weeks?Answer: You’re right, they can’t. The child is only required to say the previous two weeks he has ALREADY said. If the child only comes to Truth Trackers for the fourth time within a couple of months, then he will only say the two weeks he has completed over those 4 visits, even if those weeks are in a different doctrine.

Question: Why can’t the children memorize as many verses as they want?Answer: The memory program for Truth Trackers is meant to be

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different. We focus on qualitative learning, rather than quantitative. Most children who can spit out 4-5 new verses a night are not really retaining them anyway. The Truth Trackers goal is qualitative, long-term memorization. Also, this is a meant to be a family memory program. It helps families memorize together when everyone is working on the same doctrines and verses.

Question: Do the children learn the verse during lesson time?Answer: No, the verses are not learned in lesson time. The children come prepared to say their verse and to present their finished devotions the night of Truth Trackers. Then, the doctrine the verses teach are reinforced in lesson time. The week's verse and devotions correspond with the lesson's topic. In other words, the lesson wraps up their week of learning about a particular topic in their devotions and memory verse.

Question: I feel bad for a child that comes on the Truth Trackers night and they are never ready to say their verse. Can't I just help that child learn their verse right then? Answer: A child who spits out a verse they memorize in two minutes will never retain that verse for two hours, let alone for the long-term. You are not helping that child by assisting them to “get by” for the night. We are trying to teach children spiritual disciplines. Spiritual growth takes hard work. Scripture memory takes hard work. If you really want to help this child, talk to that child's parent and encouraged that parent to help their child during the week memorize Scripture.

Question: I have a child whose parents don’t care. What do I do?Answer: Sometimes children come to your club and their parents don’t help their children memorize because they are either unsaved or unable. Ask the parent if they don’t mind you befriending their child (like spiritual adoption) and helping them with their verse during the week. You can call the child to remind them and work on the verse over the phone, plan a Monday night ice cream appointment to work on the verse, and/or give them a ride to church and help them with their verse on your way. If you have a number of children in this situation, ask other adults in the church to get involved and “spiritually adopt” a child. Singles, elderly, and teens can easily be a part of this type of ministry. This is a great discipleship opportunity!

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The Special Agent and Special Faith Forces Sections

These sections are found in the Scripture Spies Memory Book and the Faith Force Memory Book. They can be found at the end of every doctrine. They contain all the verses the children learned in that particular doctrine. When your club finishes a doctrine, the children can say this section. This is another way for your children to review and repeat the verses they have learned so it will be locked in to their long term memory.

Here are some simple suggestions for how memory time can work:

1. The Truth Trackers leaders and memory workers arrive early (fifteen minutes before the children do).

2. During memory time, visitors should be evangelized through the forgiven tract. Leaders need to be ready and available to read through the tract and explain the entrance requirements to visitors, while the other children are saying there verses.

Small Group Memory TimeDuring memory time, all the children are divided up into small groups. The children come quietly into the room and sit down, like they would for a class. The leader can have the chairs set up in a circle or at a table. The leader goes around the room and listens to the children say their verses while the other children sit quietly and listen.

The main purpose of this time is to listen to the verses and then personally disciple the children. The leader can come prepared to help the children understand their verse they just quoted, ask them questions to help them understand the verse and doctrine more clearly, and then help them apply that verse and doctrine to their life.

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Here are some suggestions about how you can mentor and disciple your small group:

1. Go through one of the devotions the children learned that week. Talk through that day’s theme, truth, and application. Then ask the children how they can apply that truth to their life.

2. Ask for prayer request relating to the doctrine the children are learning about. Have two children pray for those requests.

3. Read through the explanation of their verse found in their memory book. Talk about the doctrine and about how they can apply that doctrine.

4. Play a small group review game over the verses from the previous weeks.

5. Use this time to get to know your boys and girls. Find out how you can pray for them and encourage them. Then during the week, you will be able to contact them and encourage them to keep growing spiritually.

What to do and what not to do: Do establish rules for your room. Don't allow chaos and anarchy to rule your small group.

Do be prepared to have a small mentoring, discipleship, discussion. Don't wing your small group. Don't just show up.

Do encourage enjoyable, serious discussion. Don't encourage silly, goofy talk.

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Lesson Time Lesson time is another part of the night that is set aside for the preaching and teaching of God’s word. Each night there are prepared lessons that the speakers can develop. The lessons coincide with the devotions, verse, and topic of the night. These lessons are designed to take the foundational truths of God’s word and practically apply them to the lives of our children. Our goal is not to tell a good story to help children become moral. We want children to know their Bibles and know their God and His plans and then based on that knowledge, seek to be godly children.

Here are some ideas for the Lesson Time: Have some songs at the beginning of Lesson Time. The songs

should coincide with the doctrine the children are learning. For instance, if the children are learning about the doctrine of The Bible, your group could sing the song “The Bible Stands” or if the children are learning about the doctrine of Jesus Christ, they can sing “Oh, How I Love Jesus.”

Recite the questions to the children and have them respond with the answer, which is the verse. This is a good opportunity to review the past weeks as well. This will also help the children learn the verses in the future. You may also try to present this as a game. Give out a piece of candy to the children who can respond with the proper verse.

Toward the middle and end of the year, your children can split up into their small groups and prepare for a “Bible Quiz” with the questions and the verses. Using your small groups as teams, have the children compete with one another during a couple of Lesson Times. The moderator can rotate asking the questions to the teams. Any child from that team can stand up and recite the verse. If the child who has stood up says the verse perfectly, that team receives points. If not the next team can try to answer that question for a smaller amount of points. Then that same team will have their own new question to answer. Any child who answers two questions correctly, quizzes out. For a download of rules and suggestions, go to truthtrackers.org and click on the forum.

Make sure the children understand two major points during the Lesson Time. First, they should understand what the topic means. The teacher needs to explain clearly and simply the truth for the week. This is one of the most important parts of Truth Trackers. Your club is trying to disciple your children. In order for you to accomplish this, you must clearly explain the doctrine and topic. Be sure your club uses the Lesson Menu. It can be a useful guide for the lesson. Second, they must understand how the topic is useful to their life. In other words, be sure you apply the truth to their lives.

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Game Time How game time works:1. The game director plans games for the evening for each division-

Tiny Trackers, Scripture Spies, and Faith Force. The game director leads these games. However, the leaders are the key to a fun, enjoyable game time. They help support and assist the game director.

2. The game director can play a sit down game with the children reviewing the previous week’s verses and lessons. PowerPoint review games can be found on the forum at truthtracekrs.org.

3. The game director can play large group activity games with the children. To do this effectively with a large group, the children can be divided into teams to play the games. A simple color code (Yellow Team, Green Team, Blue Team, or Red Team) is a good way to divide the children. The game director can put down tape that is color coded to help the children know where to go. a. As a game is explained, the leaders help get the game underway

by listening themselves, encouraging the children to listen, and quickly getting the children into motion.

b. Many children may not be able to visualize a game until they see it for themselves. Leaders should be patient with them and give them time to pick it up.

4. Remember, Game Time is not just about winning. It is about the children having fun. This is a good time to get the energy out of the children and to teach them how to win and lose in a way that is pleasing to God.

5. Leaders should have a great time with the children and encourage them to cheer by cheering themselves (if they can forget their level of maturity). Allow the children to be competitive but not self-absorbed. Leaders should set an example, showing that having fun with a good spirit is better than having a bad attitude and winning.

How are the records done?The Record Card examples for the Scripture Spies and Faith Force are on the following page. Once a child enters into Scripture Spies or Faith Force, this Record Card is filled out. The child’s personal information is put on this card and also their weekly information.

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Weekly InformationThe weekly information is recorded every week. When a child checks in on club night, the day’s date is recorded next to the numbered week. Also, after a child says his verse, the date is recorded next to the numbered week. The Record Card helps your club record who should receive awards each week and at

Personal InformationThe personal information is only recorded the first time a child comes to club.

BoxesNotice the number in the top left of the box. That is the verse and devotional week the children are on. One part of the box is for the date the child says their verse and the other part of the box is for the date the child turns in their completed devotions.

What materials need to be purchased?The Scripture Spies and Faith Force have materials they will purchase from Truthtrackers.org and materials they will purchase on their own. The materials to be purchased from Truth Trackers are as follows:

Scripture Spies and Faith Force Lessons - This PDF or Notebook contains the lessons for all thirty weeks of the year. The lessons are set up as lesson menus. Just like you would pick off food from a menu at a restaurant, each week's lesson has a menu of teaching ideas and passages from which you can choose (ie.-There are many different ways to teach the doctrines' subtopic.)

Scripture Spies Memory Book - This book has the memory verses for all six doctrines that will be covered during the Scripture Spies Red Book year. Weeks 1-30 are in this book. This memory book will be the only memory book the Scripture Spies children will need to purchase this year. This book is a 6" x 6", 80 page memory book.

Faith Force Memory Book - This book has the memory verses for all six doctrines that will be covered during the Faith Force Red Book year. Weeks 1 - 30 are in this book. This memory book will be the only memory book the Faith Force children will need to purchase this year. This book is a 5.5" x 5.5", 80 page memory book.

Three Devotional Guides - This is a red devotional book for Scripture Spies and Faith Force. Each book covers two doctrines. Every child who commits to doing their devotionals will purchase three devotional books throughout the year. These books are 8.5" x 5.5", 90 page devotional books.

Scripture Spies and Faith Force Shirts - The Scripture Spies and Faith Force shirts are purchased by the children to wear to Truth Trackers.

Faith Force Bible Covers - These Bible covers are the awards display for the Faith Force children. The doctrine pins can pin on the Bible cover.

Scripture Spies Bags and Covers - These bags and covers are the awards display for the Scripture Spies children. The doctrine pins can pin on the Bible covers or bags.

Doctrine Pins - There are six pins that can be purchased each year. The pins correspond to the six doctrines the children go through. The doctrine pins can pin on the Bible covers or the bags.

Devotional Pins - These pins are awards given to the Scripture Spies and Faith Force when they complete a devotional book (Each book consist of two doctrines, and there are three books for the year).

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Games PDF - This PDF has printable game ideas for the Truth Trackers Game Time. There are a variety of games for small groups as well as large groups. The Blast Activities, which are the 1st-6th grade family nights, are also on this PDF.

Forgiven Tract - This is the entrance tract which visitors complete in order to enter Truth Trackers. It is set up so a leader can help a child understand the Gospel. For special prices on bulk purchases, contact Truth Trackers.

There are some needed supplies we do not offer on this website. The products are as follows and their respective websites:

The tickets or stamps are given to the children when they say their verses and do their weekly devotional. The tickets or stamps are used as a weekly incentive whereby the children can accumulate a certain number of tickets or stamps to be used to purchase something from your club store.

Reward CardThe Reward Card (downloadable from the truthtrackers.org forum) is designed to be taped into the child memory book. Every week the child says his/her section and does his/her devotional, the child receives a stamp on this card. Every item in the club store has a certain number of stamps to purchase it. Every couple of weeks, children can come to the club store, show their stamp card, and then purchase an item. The store clerk will need to cross out the stamps once they have been used.

TicketsIf your club would rather do tickets, you can either make your own tickets or you can purchase tickets from orientaltrading.com for a good price. The tickets work similar to the stamps. Every week the child says his/her section and does his/her devotional, the child receives a ticket. Every item in the club store is a certain number of tickets to purchase it. Every couple of weeks, children can come to the club store and use their tickets to purchase an item. The store clerk will need to take the tickets from the children once they have made a purchase.

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AWARDS

The children receive awards for reciting verses and completing their devotions. Some of the awards are given weekly, some are given every 5-6 weeks, and some are given at the end of the year. Below is a description of the Scripture Spies and Faith Force awards.

Award Conditions Frequency Description Picture

Truth Tracker Tickets/Stamps

The child who completes his section for that week with no more than two helps will receive a Truth Tracker Ticket or a Stamp in their book

This is a weekly award.

The child will receive a Truth Tracker Ticket/Stamp to be used for the Truth Tracker prizes.

Devotional Award (If your Truth Trackers uses the devotions)

The child completes their devotional book (one of three for the year).

This award is given three times a year.

The child will receive a Bible Pin.

Spiritual Doctrine Award

The child completes the weeks that make up a doctrine. (Example: The child says all the weeks for the doctrine “The Bible.”)

This award is given every 5-6 weeks as Truth Trackers finishes a spiritual doctrine.

The child will receive a Doctrine Pin to place on his Bible Cover or bag.

Faithful Tracker Award

The child completes the six spiritual doctrines for that year.

This award is given at the end of the year.

The child receives a Faithful Tracker medallion.

Spoudazo Award{spoo-dad'-zo}(Diligence; 2 Tim 2:15 “Be diligent to show yourself approved to God…”)

The child has finished all three of his/her books for the three years they are in their program.

This award is given at the end of his/her three years.

The child will receive the Spoudazo Trophy.

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Tickets or Stamps for the storeThe tickets or stamps are used in the Truth Trackers’ store. This store is stocked by your club with inexpensive toys and gifts. Your club can either order these from a catalog or you may want to ask for donations from your church members.

The children can come to the store once a month to purchase a toy or gift with their tickets or stamps. Be sure to label the toys with the “price.” The better the prize the higher will be the number of tickets or stamps to purchase that item.

The tickets or stamps are given to the children when they say their verses and do their weekly devotional. The tickets or stamps are used as a weekly incentive whereby the children can accumulate a certain number of tickets or stamps to be used to purchase a week something from your club store.

Reward CardThe Reward Card (downloadable from the truthtrackers.org forum) is designed to be taped into the child memory book. Every week the child says his/her section and does his/her devotional, the child receives a stamp on this card. Every item in the club store is a certain number of stamps to purchase it. Every couple of weeks, children can come to the club store, show their stamp card, and then purchase an item. The store clerk will need to cross out the stamps once they have been used.

TicketsIf your club would rather do tickets, you can either make your own tickets or you can purchase tickets from orientaltrading.com for a good price. The tickets work similar to the stamps. Every week the child says his/her section and does his/her devotional, the child receives a ticket. Every item in the club store is a certain number of tickets to purchase it. Every couple of weeks, children can come to the club store and use their tickets to purchase an item. The store clerk will need to take the tickets from the children once they have made a purchase.

Scripture Spies Bags and Bible CoversThe pins received by the Scripture Spies can be pinned onto their Scripture Spies Bag or Cover. They receive these pins for completing all their sections in a doctrine. If they are in Scripture Spies all three years, they will receive a total of 18 pins to put on their bag.

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Faith Force Bible CoversThe pins received by the Faith Force can be pinned onto their Bible Covers. They also receive these pins for completing all their sections in a doctrine. If they are in Faith Force all three years they will receive a total of 18 pins to put on their Bible Covers.

End of the YearThe Faithful Tracker Award and the Spoudazo Award {spoo-dad'-zo} are given at the end of the Truth Trackers year in an awards ceremony. Spoudazo is the Greek word for diligence and is used in 2 Timothy 2:15. “Study [Be diligent] to show yourself approved to God…”

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EVANGELISM AND SPECIAL NIGHTS

How are evangelization and visitors addressed in Truth Trackers?Truth Trackers is a discipleship program for children. By that we mean that we focus not just on the first step of discipleship, which is becoming a believer, but we also focus on teaching the key doctrines of the faith. We believe the first step of discipleship is a very important step. Our approach to evangelism is different than most children's programs. We use two strategic methods to evangelize the children – The Forgiven Tract and Friend Nights.

Forgiven TractThe Forgiven Tract is the entrance tract the children go through to enter the program. Every child must personally sit down with a leader and go through this tract. When a child comes to Truth Trackers for the first time, a leader sits down with the visitor during the memory time and reads through the Forgiven Tract with the child.

The goal of the Forgiven Tract is to give the child the gospel. First the leader turns to the back of the tract and explains the requirements to enter the program. His/her name is written in the tract, and the expectations and rewards are explained.

The tract is designed so a child can easily fulfill the requirements. There are two requirements written on the back of the tract. Requirement 1 is completed when a child reads through the tract with a leader. The child and leader both sign this requirement. After the completion of Requirement 1 the child will go to the registration desk and receive an award. Requirement 2 is completed when the child returns home and reads through the tract with a parent or guardian. The parent or guardian signs Requirement 2 and then when the child returns the next week, the leader signs Requirement 2. The child will also receive an award for completing this second requirement.

This is not only an opportunity for the leader to assist a child in completing the tract, but also, and most importantly, we want to help this child understand his/ her need for Jesus Christ. We do not encourage the leaders to push a child into a decision or scare him/her into a decision. This is not a time to push for a decision, but rather leaders can use this time to help the child understand God's Word and to make themselves available for future counsel. This is also a great opportunity to enter into the home of that visitor and talk with their parent (who has read through the tract with their child) about the gospel.

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After the child has completed the Forgiven Tract, he can purchase materials to enter into the program.

Friend NightsFriend Nights are special nights set aside by your club to evangelize the children's friends and neighbors. Your club will schedule three Friend Nights somewhere in your yearly calendar. These nights either replace or fall on the same night as Truth Trackers. This allows for your church to have a children's evangelism night every season: fall, winter, spring, and summer (if you have VBS). These nights are special Truth Trackers nights for evangelization. A theme can be picked and prizes can be award to children who bring the most visitors. Many churches have seen these nights be fruitful nights of strategic and focused evangelism for their church.

Your club can decide exactly how you want to do the Friend nights but here are a couple of suggestions: 1. Pick a special theme, announce a prize for

the child who brings the most visitors, and encourage the children to obey God by evangelizing their friends and neighbors.

2. Have the children pray for their friends in their small groups and have them write invitation cards to them during a small group time.

3. Allow the event to build and be anticipated by announcing and promoting it.

4. Tell parents and adults in the church that a clear gospel message will be preached targeting the lost and encourage them to invite unsaved children.

5. Prepare you leaders to talk to children about Christ on that night. Talk to them about how to lead a child to Christ.

6. Promote and advertise the event in your church and community. Also, promote Friend Nights in the preceding weeks to the children through flyers, skits, and other unique announcements. This helps the children look forward to the night and remember to invite their friends.

7. If friend night falls on a regular Truth Trackers night, have the Memory Time at the beginning of the night. Don’t let the Friend Night interfere with the children saying their verse.

8. If you don’t want to worry about the Memory Time, schedule your Friend Night to fall on non-Truth Trackers nights. At the beginning of the year, set up your calendar to include extra nights when no verse will be said and the night will focus on evangelism.

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9. Plan your themes at the beginning of the year. In the fall, a Fall Festival is a fun theme. Christmas always gives an opportunity for a winter theme. Use this theme to build up the night.

10. Announce the contests and prizes in the weeks preceding Friend Night.

11. Have a special speaker. Bring in a speaker who can preach the Gospel clearly to the children.

12. Play some unique, fun games.

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FAMILIES AND TRUTH TRACKERS

The family is an important part of the spiritual growth of children. Truth Trackers wants to help churches reach families for Christ and help churches disciple those families. We do this by encouraging the family to memorize the verses as a family unit. and by providing activities for them to enjoy together. These activities are called Blast Activities.

Blast Activities are nights of fun for both children and parents. These activities do not take place on the regular Truth Trackers nights. They are Friday night activities. During these activities, children (1st-6th grade) and their parents enjoy playing games together as a family. These nights encourage family fun and also are good opportunities for “unchurched” families to enjoy some good clean fun with families from your church.

The Games PDF explains how these Activities are played. Below is a sample of the activities and their purposes.

Family Treasure HuntThe object of the Great Treasure Hunt game: Teams (families) will compete with other teams (families) to see who will win the Great Treasure.

Who can play: 1st-6th graders and their parents will unite as a family to comprise a team as small as 3 up to a team as large as 8. Families can join up with other families if they want more numbers or families can split up if they have too many.

How the game is played: The Great Treasure is awarded to the team who proves they deserve the Great Treasure by winning the most gold coins. Teams will go around the church property and visit different landlover and sea mate characters. As they talk with these characters, the characters will give coins to the teams who answer questions correctly. The team to have the most coins by the end of the game wins the Great Treasure (a real gold coin).

Mother Goose’s Mystery The object of the mystery game: Family teams find out who stole Miss Muffet’s tuffet, where it was put, why the thief did it, when the theft took place, what he used to steal the tuffet, and who the accomplice was.

How the game is played: Teams go around the church property and get clues from the nursery rhyme characters by asking “yes“ or “no“ questions. This game is easy enough for a first grader to play and fun enough for a sixth grader to play.

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Who can play: 1st-6th graders and their parents will unite as a family to comprise a team as small as 4 up to a team as large as 8. Families can join up with other families if they want more numbers or families can split up if they have too many numbers. Whatever families decide to do, everyone must be a part of a team that has a combination of children and adults.

Why someone would come: This is a good opportunity for parents and children to enjoy a fun night of activity together.

Family Challenge The Challenge - Each family is assigned to one of the four teams. (Smaller churches will probably want to have only two teams.) These teams will compete against each other in family-orientated games.

What type of games are played?Example game: A daughter will try to wrap her mom in toilet paper and use up her role before the other teams do. If they do this before the other teams, they win!

Example game: A dad will push a ball across the gym using a pool noodle, and his child will run the ball back across the line. If they do this before the other teams, they win!

What do you bring?Bring a fun spirit and a bag full of junk. During the games, there is a competition of who can bring up a certain object (like a rubber band or paper clip). If you have that object and give it to your leader and he is the first to bring it up, then your team will win that round!

FairWho can come? - Children 3 years old - 6th grade and their parents.

What will happen? - Families will go to booths and the children will play games for candy and prizes. These games are carnival type games. The Truth Trackers leaders will run these booths.

CHECK SHEET

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Order all your books, shirts, and materials by July. You will probably need to plan on having a small stock of materials for your church.

Make sure your flannel graph material is all ready for Tiny Trackers. Buy the Betty Lukens Flannel Graph if you have not already done so.

Make sure you have enough leaders ready to serve in Truth Trackers. Train your leaders the weeks preceding the first night of Truth Trackers Schedule Friend Nights and Blast Activities. Print out a schedule for the

Truth Trackers weeks and special events.

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