Kidology Spotlight Ministry Resource: God Rocks!

A Kidology Spotlight Ministry Resource is a children's ministry resource that Kidology believes stands out in quality and excellence. We independently choose ministries that we believe deserve a closer look by leaders in the children's ministry marketplace.

This downloadable printer-friendly PDF document is designed to be shared with others in your church with our hope that you will find it another helpful resource as you minister to children.

In the Spotlight: God Rocks!

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This Resource Rocks!

While there is a plethora of media resources available for children's ministry today, God Rocks! is one of the few that stands out and above the rest. In this crowded market where there seems to be some "new" media product every day, God Rocks! has both stood the test of time and remained on the cutting edge of technology. Kidology has independently chosen to Spotlight God Rocks! as a ministry resource worth a closer look not only because of the many fantastic resources available for your ministry that you may not be aware of, but especially because of their brand new debut Vacation Bible School kit that has just launched for summer of 2008. (It is also available for 2009.)

If Rocks Could Talk!

At first glance, God Rocks! may appear to just be a series of animated videos for kids, but the reality is that God Rocks! is much more. The animated characters are based on Luke 19:40, "If the people fall silent, the stones will cry out." The stone characters, led by the main character, Chip Livingstone, are from the imaginary town of Rocky Ridge where they live to sing and praise God just in case the people don't.

In the story videos, some rocks from the past tell Bible stories from their perspective, and in the Bibletoons videos the God Rocks! band sings Scripture word for word to help kids memorize passages from the Bible. In addition to a wide selection of videos and music CDs, God Rocks! also offers a complete two-year children's church curriculum based on their music and videos, published by Standard Publishing, that utilizes the popular large group / small group model used in many of today's churches. (See the supplemental scope and sequence included with the PDF download version of this Spotlight report.) There are additional resources from God Rocks!, such as children's books, that can be used in the home to compliment what the children are learning at church.

Bonus Idea: Looking for a way to have a special Family Service? Every unit of the God Rocks! Curriculum comes with a Families of Faith Bonus Session. Every six weeks, you can schedule a service for parents to attend with their kids to experience with their kids what they are learning and to review the content of the unit they have just completed. All the family-friendly activities you need to have a great family service are provided.

Media That Isn't Media-Driven

The other reason that God Rocks! is worth spotlighting is that they have intentionally not taken the easy route of just being a media-creation ministry. In the words of God Rocks! creator, Bruce Stacey, "Live children's ministry is a hard grind, but it's not enough to just put cartoons on the air, you've got to connect with real kids to let them feel a connection with real people. That's very important to us."

That is why for the past five years God Rocks! has averaged 80 live concerts a year. Bruce admits that financially the live ministry is a constant struggle, but spiritually it is where the best fruit is grown. God Rocks! understands that while producing top notch animation with cutting edge contemporary Christian music for kids today is a critical need, media will never replace person-to-person ministry. Those of you in weekly ministry would have loved to hear his passion as he said, "Children's Pastors really are the unsung heroes of the church. They are in the most strategic role of evangelism and the future of the church. Often they are treated as second rate, especially when it comes to their budget as well as other areas, but they are there serving wholeheartedly anyway."

A Relationally-Driven VBS

God Rocks!'s latest creative offering is an all-new incredible VBS that rivals any other on the market in quality and content. It is highly commendable that this media savvy production company made the choice to make the medium serve the ministry, and not the other way around. As Bruce explains, "We had to determine, are we going to do a dumbed-down version that is 'plug and play' or are we going to make personal interaction with the kids front and central? The fact of the matter is, it would have been a waste of all the animation and all the effort if there wasn't a connection between the kids and people trying to reach them."

God Rocks! invested heavily in all original animation for this VBS, but it doesn’t replace the need for real people. In the openings, the animation serves as a cartoon backdrop that live actors interact with on a spaceship display screen on the stage! In addition to all the usual components you’d expect in a complete VBS it also contains exciting brand new God Rocks! videos for the Starlight Theater. It’s got eye-poppin' animation, toe-tappin' music, finger-lickin' snacks, and heart-thumpin’ impact. It is one of the most creative Vacation Bible Schools I have seen in many years, but it could also be used as a complete unit in Kid's Church with great success! Check it out yourself at GodRocksVBS.com.

God Rocks! Makes God Rock!

If you are not using God Rocks! in your ministry, your kids and your parents are missing out! The children will love the music and animation, the parents will love to hear their kids singing Scripture, and you just might love using the children's church curriculum or the Vacation Bible School this summer or next. Introduce your kids to God Rocks! so the rocks won't have to cry out!

A Kidology Spotlight Ministry Resource is a children's ministry resource that Kidology believes stands out in quality and excellence. While we do allow our spotlight ministry to review before publication to avoid any errors, the content was written and generated independently by the author.