Shelley Logan likes a lot of what she sees with this new innovate resource though there are a couple of significant omissions that need addressing
Easter 2025 saw the release of the feature-length film The King of Kings, distributed by Angel Studios (see here for a review). The film tells the story of Jesus through the eyes of Charles Dickens, who tells the story to his young son Walter. The film was popular in cinemas, grossing $75.7 million worldwide.
On the back of the film’s success, Scripture Union Scotland and KOVA International have created a series of free, ready-to-use resources for churches, families and schools. They intend to ‘show children how Jesus’ story shapes their own story. They’re high quality, created by professionals, and a great way to help children engage with the film further.’
Overview
At the time of writing, there are three resource packages available: Children’s Ministry Resource (CMR), family devotions (FD) and church event pack, with the school RE curriculum to follow in September. There are seven sessions for both the CMR and FDs. The church event is a one-off. The CMR and the FD complement each other as they follow the same themes, thus allowing the learning which takes place in church to be reinforced at home (and vice versa); however, either could be done as a standalone. The main point of the church event is to show the film, which is followed by a quiz.
Resources
Church Family Event
To watch the film as a church family before using the resources would be an excellent idea; it would support intergenerational ministry and make more sense of the video clips used in the sessions.
This section of the resources includes everything a church would need to host a showing of the film, including flyers, posters and a licence application to allow for a public screening of the film. This licence costs £150, which is normal for this type of event, though it may be prohibitive for some churches. The flyers and posters can easily be edited to include church details. There is a short quiz of 15 questions which uses a selection of images from the film. As the film is 1hour 44 minutes long, there would be little time in an event to do anything extra.
Children’s Ministry Series
Each week, the CMR follows the same format with:
- An icebreaker;
- Bible reading,
- video clip,
- imagine,
- discussion,
- quiz,
- craft
- prayer.
Each session includes a link, so the corresponding clips from the original film can be viewed on Vimeo. The layout is clear, colourful and easy to follow, which is great for those teaching the CMR who are often busy volunteers.
Following the icebreaker, the material continues with reading the passage from the Bible. It uses the video to support it (not the other way around), thus placing scripture as the focus of the teaching. The introduction explains that the reading and the clip may differ slightly, as the film’s account is taken from all gospels, not just one. This is helpful to note with the children, to avoid confusion.
Looks like a captivating resource to try with primary-aged kids
Reviewing the material, I imagined using it in our church setting. We are probably typical of many small church settings, with one mixed-aged group from 4-11, mainly boys and includes several children with additional needs. For our group, there would be too much quiet, listening, sitting and chatting. The imagining section may work as something different for one or two sessions, but not for seven weeks. Some of the quizzes were quite imaginative, so they may be engaging to some children. The children would love making slime in week one, though I’m not sure the parents would thank me!!
One children’s leader in my church agreed that the material is somewhat sedate for her group, feeling it would work well with children who are familiar with church and are at a stage where they are happy to sit for a Bible study type format. Otherwise, it would need other elements added to vary the session.
Not all groups are alike, though, as another leader said: ‘I’ve had a look at the CMR programme. Looks really good, well laid out, simple to understand straight away. I like the read-watch-imagine model, how they encourage you to use the Bible to start the session and imagine together. Clever way of helping people imagine along with Walter. Looks like a captivating resource to try with primary-aged kids. Know what I’m doing next season!’
Family Devotions
The aim of the devotions is ‘whether you’re gathered around the table, out on a walk, or winding down before bed, these devotionals are a flexible and meaningful way to grow in faith as a family.’ The resource again is clearly laid out and colourful. The wide range of suggestions included accommodates different learning styles, family demands, etc, so would cater for different types of family settings.
there are lots of great things about this resource that would be worth consideration by parents, children’s and church leaders, but there will be work to do to add in a focus on the crucifixion
For each devotion, there is a Bible passage to read, a film clip to watch, opportunities for reflection: on your own, with others, and outdoors. The session card ends with a prayer.
One person from my church said ‘I really like the layout. Easy to read and follow. And I like that there’s a variety of activities, particularly outdoors. Even with active kids, I think they’d engage with this.’
A reservation…
I do, however, feel there is one major flaw with the material. Session 6 has the resurrection of Lazarus and session 7 has the resurrection of Jesus, but the crucifixion is missing. Not only is this very confusing in the material, but it misses the centrality of the cross. It is mentioned in session 4 and in the quiz in session 7 but there is no content on it. Walter’s joy at seeing Jesus alive (which the film covers sensitively) is only so real because he saw him die first, it’s a bit of a shame that the resources don’t include the cross more.
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Also, the resource states that it intends to help children understand how the Jesus story shapes their own lives, but I think those using the resource will have to add in their own input here to achieve that aim. There are some discussion starters which I believe are aimed at linking the story to the child’s experience, but leaders and parents will have to think up some of their own questions to really ground the content in the lives of their children.
Overall then there are lots of great things about this resource that would be worth consideration by parents, children’s and church leaders, but there will be work to do to add in a focus on the crucifixion and to adapt some elements to make it work in different contexts.
SU Scotland is producing a suite of faith-based resources for families, schools and churches around the King of Kings film. See more here
