This curated list of online resources includes free to use resources (with acknowledgement of the source of the activity) and selected fee-based resources which often offer subscriptions for churches so that the programs can be provided to everyone in the church.
Activities & Programs
Alpha Online for Youth
alphausa.org/alpha-youth-series Alpha for Youth makes it easy for you to create a space where youth will be excited to engage in conversations about faith. The talks tackle core questions about life and faith from a Christian perspective. There are 9 weekly episodes and 4 episodes for the Alpha Weekend/Day. Each episode averages 23 minutes in length. Tools to run Alpha in-person or online are available. Ave Maria Press www.avemariapress.com/free-resources Ave Maria Press makes available free downloadable teaching resources, learning activities, and videos for teaching Catholic faith themes: Old Testament, New Testament, Jesus, Church, Sacraments, and Morality. There is also a blog with practical lesson ideas and activities for educators. Building Faith buildfaith.org Building Faith, a service of Virginia Theological Seminary, provides hundreds of articles and activities for faith formation with all ages. Use the "Articles by Topics" category to find other activities on a variety of faith themes. Christian Practices www.lifelongfaith.com/practices.html Lifelong Faith's Christian Practices project has produced faith forming activities - for age groups and for families - with a teaching plan for ten Christian Practices. All activities are included on separate MS Word document so that you can create handouts for sessions, a booklet, online playlists and activities, social media posts, etc. Each Activity can be done in 20 minutes (approximately). Practices include: Caring for the Body, Celebrating, Discernment, Eating Well, Forgiveness, Keeping Sabbath, Managing Household Life, Participating in Community, Prayer, and Reading the Bible. Episcopal Children's Curriculum (ECC) Curriculum Website The Episcopal Children’s Curriculum is a thematic Sunday school curriculum tied to the seasons of the church year: Advent-Epiphany, Lent and Easter, Spring and Pentecost. It was developed by the Center for the Ministry of Teaching under the direction of the Rev. Locke E. Bowman, Jr. and Amelia J. Dyer, Ph.D. Although no longer in print, ECC curriculum materials are available for free download. Group Publishing Resource Hub www.group.com/free-resources Group Publishing has free Bible lesson plans, video lessons, and activities for teens. Lesson Plans that Work https://lessonplansthatwork.org Published by The Episcopal Church and designed to follow the Revised Common Lectionary, these lesson weekly plans include sessions for young children, for older children, and usually a lesson plan for adults. Intergenerational lesson plans are available for many major feast days throughout the liturgical year. Most lesson plans are based on the Gospel, and some also have an Old Testament Lesson Plan. Life.Church Open Network Resources for Youth open.life.church/categories/315-youth The Network includes a variety of biblical and thematic lesson plans for middle and high school students. Saint Mary's Press Resource Center www.smp.org/resourcecenter The Saint Mary's Press Resource Center has resources for download including maps, activities, lesson plans, prayers, articles, worksheets, and videos on many topics in Catholic faith formation: Jesus, church history, church, liturgy, morality, prayer, sacraments, saints, and social justice. Use the menu to find the theme you are looking for. Thoughtful Christian - Youth Bible Studies ($) https://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/TabCenter/23/Youth.aspx The Thoughtful Christian provides a wide variety of individual and group Bible studies for youth available for digital downloads. Spirit and Truth Publishing ($) https://spiritandtruthpublishing.com Spirit and Truth Publishing offers faith formation resources for the Narrative Lectionary, Revised Common Lectionary, Cross+Gen Ministry, Worship & Liturgy, and Family Formation @ Home. All resources are digital and for download. There are special instructions and restrictions for using the digital resources on a church's digital platforms. Vibrant Faith at Home Activities www.vibrantfaithprojects.org/teens--families.html Hundreds of activities for home and church, created by Vibrant Faith, are available to download as PDFs. Teen activities are organized in six categories: Bible Stories, Conversations, Learning about Faith, Prayer, Ritual & Tradition, and Serving Others. Visual Faith Activities www.vibrantfaithprojects.org/visual-faith-activities.html Vibrant Faith has created 32 Visual Faith Experiences that connect a Bible passage to visual images that you can download as PDFs and use as thematic lessons at home or church throughout the year. There is also a guide for using the experiences on online platforms. Wesleyan Resource Center - Teens resources.wesleyan.org/?fwp_categories=students The Wesleyan Resource Center curates theologically Wesleyan and holistic resources motivated to move people from making decisions to trust Christ to actively following Jesus in close discipleship communities. All of the resources are free. Includes lesson plans and small group activities on a variety of biblical and faith themes, seasonal programs, and videos. |
Videos
Ascension Press: Fr. Mike Schmitz Videos
media.ascensionpress.com/fr-mike-schmitz www.youtube.com/playlist?list Fr. Mike Schmitz has produced a series of short videos on Catholic beliefs, teachings, and practices. The videos are also on YouTube. Catholic Central www.catholiccentral.com Catholic Central produces videos that address questions about the Catholic faith and what it means to be Catholic. Using a team of witty writers, appealing hosts and even some learned theologians, they have created shareable, snackable videos that teach the timeless truths and deep history of the Catholic Church with humor and heart. Produced in the Family Theater Productions studios on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, “Catholic Central” entertains, enlightens and inspires. Chuck Knows Church chuckknowschurch.com/archive?tid=All The videos from Chuck Knows Church helps people learn more about faith and church while inviting them to have deeper conversations. Use the search function to find these videos on the website. Formed ($) formed.org watch.formed.org/browse FORMED is a streaming subscription service for Catholic parishes that provides Catholic content to help people explore their faith anywhere with movies, children’s programs, ebooks, audio, parish programs and studies direct to a browser, mobile, or connected device. There are hundreds of video-based programs, individual videos, and movies presenting the Catholic faith. Use the "browse" page to review the content categories and individual programs on Jesus and discipleship. Lente Católico www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Qk-x1VDfYV187tgASv0fg Faith delivered in funny, informative and free videos in Spanish. Lente Católico is a Gabriel Award-winning Catholic video program which presents informative and entertaining videos about Catholic thought, spirituality, and practice in Spanish. Produced by Family Theater Productions. The Journey / El Camino (ODB Films) odbfilms.com/films?s=The%20Journey In the Journey videos, we see how our experiences today are reflected in the experiences of those who first encountered Jesus two thousand years ago. We come to see how Christ touches us personally even today. The videos in Part 1 focus on our personal encounter with Jesus; Part 2 focus on what it means to belong to Jesus’ community, the Church; and Part 3 explore how we encounter Jesus’ way of life as disciples. There is a program resource from Paulist Evangelization Ministries designed to help Catholics today deepen their personal relationship with Christ developed around the videos (www.pemdc.org/programs/thejourney). Restored (ODB Films) odbfilms.com/films?s=Restored RESTORED: Stories of Encounter is a six-part docuseries on individuals who had radical encounters with Christ and went on to make a real difference in the world. This series provides vivid and deeply human role models for all who desire life in Christ. Every subject of this series is a moving example of Christ’s perfect love for the poor, the lost, and the weak. They can inspire anyone who wants to do something good to take the leap. All our subjects did was let their great love move them to action. Right Now Media ($) www.rightnowmedia.org Over 20,000 Biblically-based videos for small groups, families, students, and leadership development. All available for streaming. Monthly fee based on the size of the church. The Skit Guys ($ and free) skitguys.com www.youtube.com/c/skitguys/featured The Skit Guys have produced hundreds of videos of their skits on a variety of topics: seasonal, faith themes, life issues, and more - for teaching, sermons, events, and more. The videos are available on YouTube and on their website (for purchase and download). VCAT - Catholic Video Catechism for Teens http://vcat.org www.youtube.com/c/ODBFilms/playlists The Video Catechism for Teens includes videos developed around the Creed, sacraments, morality, and prayer. At the heart of each video is a key message from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, presented in stories and language that make it more understandable for young people. The Work of the People Films https://www.theworkofthepeople.com The Work of the People is an eclectic, ecumenical, and growing collection of provocative short films and interviews with spiritual leaders and thinkers, authors, practitioners, and theologians. Films are available individually, in multi-session thematic series, in contemplative themes (visual prayers, poems, and benedictions), and as e-courses. |