Every so often, The Good Book Company send some resources to be used and reviewed. My most recent review request came for the brand new edition of the Christianity Explored Youth resource CY and Soul. Straight away, let me say that this is a brilliant resource, and well worth getting and using with your church youth group.
CY has been around for a few years, but over the past year, it was revised and rewritten with feedback from youthworkers on the coal face. The result is that CY is an even better resource than before, and looks the better for it.
Within the leaders' handbook, there is a good, well informed and well thought through section on holding a CY course, as well as the information needed to run a CY Nano (11-14s) or CY (15+) course. There are more games, more ideas, and more help for leading the discussion groups following the talks. The sessions, as in the main Christianity Explored course, work through Mark's Gospel, taking a particular theme each week, with the cross at the very heart of the course.
The participant's handbook has also been revised, linking in to the new presentation of the material in a useful and relevant way. However, the most exciting element of the new CY has to be the Soul DVD.
Each of the seven sessions have a 12-14 minute video clip which is well presented, well edited, and will keep the interest of young people, churched or unchurched. Filmed in a variety of locations, the sets are great, helping to illustrate what is being said - not distracting at all. There's even some manga style cartoons in some of the sessions illustrating stories being told.
In each of the sessions (Christianity is Christ, Identity, Mission, Cross, Resurrection, Grace, Call), Nate Morgan Locke presents the theme, with plenty of Bible verses included and shown on screen. The narration is clear, concise and compelling. So good, in fact, I would even be tempted to use the video with adults as well as youth groups!
Even if you've used CY in the past, you really should be getting the new version, and especially the Soul DVD. CY resources can be bought from The Good Book Company website, including a sample pack (£25); Soul DVD (£20); Leader's Guide (£10); and handbooks for CY and CY Nano (£3 each).
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