GROWTH AND PROGRESS IN 2007

In 2007, we worked to add to and fine-tune the resources and customer support/service for the Kids 4 Truth clubs. We have accomplished this goal by completing and implementing several projects.

Main Website: Major Steps Toward 2008 New Version

Our main website continues to be incredibly popular, averaging about 2 million hits per month! We hope to launch the site’s brand-new design in 2008. We are seeking to improve the site’s usability, while deciding what to highlight of the existing content and what else to add.

Personnel Moves and Additions

Our existing team underwent significant changes in 2007. Executive Director Bob Roberts got married in April 2007. His wife Sarah Roberts now works full-time for Kids 4 Truth as an unpaid volunteer. Rob and Julie Gillen still hold their positions on the Executive Team (as Technical Lead and Financial Coordinator) but have relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee, to accommodate Rob’s full-time employment. Joy McCarnan, Executive Editor, worked part-time remotely while teaching English in France, and then was able to join the staff full-time in October 2007; she is currently based in Illinois. Kids 4 Truth has benefited greatly from the addition (in June 2007) of a part-time Education Specialist, Laura Graham, and another intern, Timothy Ralph. We are also grateful that the number of volunteers has increased throughout 2007.

Online Store Revamped

This year, largely thanks to the technical lead and financial coordinator, Kids 4 Truth launched a new version of the store (http://store.kids4truth.com). The 2007 version has developed some features to make shopping Kids 4 Truth online both easier and more efficient. It also allows staff to highlight items so shoppers can be aware of sales and new items’ availability. Another plus is that a customer can now view his account online and track the status of orders in real time.

EquipU Website: New Version Complete with Clubs Blog and Online Chat

EquipU (http://equipu.kids4truth.com) is the knowledge-base site we operate to provide training and free teaching resources for children’s ministry workers. EquipU was completely renovated this year with a more navigable and user-friendly design. The new version of the EquipU site has added two major features that are serving to increase and facilitate the communication between club workers and Kids 4 Truth staff members:

With the Clubs Blog, the staff can post new information easily and efficiently. The blog’s commenting feature encourages user feedback and discussion. Many readers subscribe to the RSS feed for the blog, so they are alerted each time there is an update.

The new version of EquipU also features an online chat client. A user can click on the icon and “instant message” back and forth in real time with a live operator. This immediate, web-based interaction is convenient all around. A user can reach a staff member almost any time of the work day, whenever he/she has a question. The staff member can send links and interact directly with the user, walking the user through to a solution and maximizing everyone’s time.

Clubs Program Growth Among Local Churches

2007 has been a year of significant increase in curriculum usage, since the number of churches actively using the Kids 4 Truth curriculum has shot from 98 to over 200! Word is spreading about our other resources, as well. The number of EquipU site users went from 336 (in August 2006) to 1,450 as of December 2007. This count represents ministry workers who log into the EquipU resource site to download free materials and to interact with staff and other volunteers.

Audio Options and Other Enhancements to the Devotionals Program

Due to a decrease in volunteer authors, the devotional website (http://devos.kids4truth.com) has been difficult to keep stocked with brand-new devotionals. We are again “recycling” and revising a year’s worth of content under the theme “It’s all about God!” We are also collecting future devotionals and specifying “The Word of God” as the theme for 2009’s content.

The devos site features a daily Scripture excerpt and devotional, a daily “Description of God,” a daily biblical Q&A section, and a weekly “Big Christian Word” section. Our executive editor is systematically working through each of these components for uniformity of content quality and formatting. Although it was not our original intention to “recycle” devotionals from previous years, we are pleased that the resulting content is more refined. Many users have requested the devotionals in book form, so enhancements to the site’s content over time will ensure a high-quality print product when that printing becomes financially feasible.

Our technical lead and graphic designer have come up with a way to generate daily content dynamically into PDF form for weekly or monthly printing and distribution. Subscribers can pay a small fee to circulate the PDFs, and users will benefit from a more print-friendly format. These will be available beginning in early 2008.

Perhaps the most significant development of 2007 in the daily devos program is the addition of audio narration. A college speech professor has recorded the daily devotionals, so the on-screen text of each devo is now accompanied by a “Listen” button. For younger or otherwise-challenged readers, this feature is a great help. The narration is also available via podcasting for those who would like to download devotionals to their computers and MP3 players. Anyone can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes or a link on the devos home page.

Expansion of Dynamation-Related Materials – Because so many had requested the popular “The Watchmaker” dynamation in DVD format, we made this a priority in 2007. Our video expert also arranged for the publishing of “The Watchmaker” on YouTube and GodTube, and he rendered the presentation into a downloadable iPod video version of “The Watchmaker.” PDF copies of “The Watchmaker” dynamation’s script are available for purchase from our online store, as are downloadable coloring pages derived from the presentation’s artwork.

Several of the other dynamations and the Kids 4 Truth promotional video have been put on DVD, and several more are in the queue for DVD production, iPod conversions, and posting on external websites like YouTube. It has been encouraging to see these doors opening for us to reach out to broader, more mainstream audiences through new technology.

SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTS AND RELEASES OF 2007

Kids 4 Truth Songbook – This release presents all twelve original Kids 4 Truth songs written by professionals who volunteered their gifts – the award-winning composer Dan Forrest and published children’s author and editor Eileen Berry. The songbook includes 12 new songs and 24 loved hymns to use as supplemental teaching tools for each of the twelve doctrinal themes emphasized in Kids 4 Truth’s clubs curriculum. Over 60 pages in length, the songbook contains full sheet music for all 36 songs, as well as photocopy-able “kids’ parts” pages for the twelve original songs. The songbooks are useful in the context of home and family, or for larger groups in schools, clubs, and churches. PowerPoint files of the lyrics are available for purchase, as well. We are thrilled with the excellent doctrinal and aesthetic quality of this collection.

Three New Dynamations

The website currently features more than fifteen dynamations, three of which were added in the last year (http://www.kids4truth.com). The “Life of Christ” dynamation was released in December 2006. To accompany the “Life of Christ” dynamation, we have prepared a Gospel tract which we hope to afford to be able to print soon. In early fall of 2007, we added “Creation’s Voice,” which complements both the “Creation” and “The Watchmaker” dynamations. In December 2007, we released “CONTACT!” – a what-if scenario that provokes serious thought about the often-ignored persistence of God’s revelation of Himself throughout human history. Revised TruthTime Teacher Lesson Plans (TTLPs) – Our executive editor is systematically revising the TTLPs for all levels, especially with help from our part-time education specialist who is evaluating the lesson plans for effectiveness and ways to enhance them. The new and improved TTLPs are being re-posted periodically on the EquipU site as revisions are completed.

Parallels Document – This is a booklet of four-column pages which depict the progression of the top 120 questions and answers of the Kids 4 Truth clubs curriculum across the four curriculum levels. In 2007, we were glad to be able to release a preliminary version. There are still some “bugs” being tweaked both in this document and the curriculum it summarizes, but we wanted to get out a version 1, since having a parallels document for cross-level comparisons has been a longstanding request from those evaluating or already using the curriculum.

TruthCards – Another longstanding request from clubs workers and parents, these flash cards cover the top 120 Q&A. They can be purchased and downloaded from our online store.

New Free Review Game – For those who use multimedia technology during teaching time, the new “Treasure Trivia” interactive game (voluntarily created by professional designer Sam Ryan) will be a great review tool. We hope to produce several more of these review games, and to be able to offer them free of charge, as well. “Treasure Trivia” is a self-running file, a free download for anyone registered with EquipU (http://equipu.kids4truth.com).

PHILOSOPHY OF FUNDRAISING AND RECENT ENDEAVORS

At Kids 4 Truth, we have purposed not to raise money by soliciting churches. Our commitment has been to offer local churches the highest-quality product we can at the lowest reasonable cost we can, and to do it without raising support directly from local churches. We believe God has honored this commitment by working in the hearts of individual donors and by introducing us to grant opportunities and alternative fundraising possibilities. While we do strive to make giving more convenient and above reproach for those who choose to help us financially, we acknowledge that it is ultimately God Who always has and always will give us what we need to do His work. In faith we look to Him to continue to be our ultimate Sustainer and Provider.

The Kids 4 Truth Foundation and “Support the Ministry” Pages

We have partnered with the Servant Christian Community Foundation (SCCF) and formed the Kids 4 Truth Foundation. Having our own foundation facilitates creative giving opportunities designed to profit both Kids 4 Truth and those who choose to invest in Kids 4 Truth’s ministry. Through the Kids 4 Truth Foundation, we can put to God-honoring use such things as mutual funds, stocks, old insurance policies, properties, and even out-of-date business inventory that would otherwise go to waste. The SCCF provides both donors and Kids 4 Truth with expert guidance from beginning to end for any non-cash donation.

A “Support the Ministry” web page explains to donors how they can support Kids 4 Truth efficiently and effectively. The home page itself (http://www.kids4truth.com/donate) contains useful foundation information and informative links, while the corresponding “Support the Ministry” Blog (http://equipu.kids4truth.com/blogs/supporttheministry) showcases creative giving ideas, delineates current needs, and shares encouraging news about how God has been meeting those needs.

GoodSearch and GoodShopping – GoodSearch is charity-friendly search engine that partners with generous commercial sponsors to generate funds for select organizations and causes. For every worldwide web search launched on behalf of a particular charity, GoodSearch contributes (out of the pockets of sponsoring companies) a penny per search to that specified charity. Many friends of Kids 4 Truth have set their homepages to GoodSearch and/or made a habit of looking up things on GoodSearch instead of other search engines. The URL to bookmark would be http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=824752. For every search made with the charity identification 824752, Kids 4 Truth legally and legitimately receives a penny. This may not sound like much, but those pennies have been adding up.

In fall 2007, GoodSearch introduced “GoodShopping” – a sort of online mall gateway. People who shop online can “enter” their favorite stores through GoodSearch’s GoodShopping page and thereby generate a certain percentage of each transaction to the shopper’s charity of choice. The partnering sponsors (mainline companies like eBay, Amazon, Best Buy, Target, etc.) determine how much per sale they are willing to contribute from their sales. Kids 4 Truth saw our supporters’ seemingly-incremental efforts pay off: GoodSearch has sent $500.00 in proceeds from 2007 so far.

FUTURE PLANS TO ENHANCE THE MINISTRY

Our motto for 2008 is “Going from good to great.” The Kids 4 Truth team has purposed to strengthen the curriculum content, the clubs program, the website, and the ministry in general. We want to continue to hone our existing materials and customer support system so as to offer the best we can possibly offer. We have a huge vision for broadening our overall ministry, but we also want to fine-tune what we already have and be wise stewards so that future goals can be realized, as well. In order to do this we have set goals and projects for this next year.

Main Website Redesign – As has already been mentioned, http://www.kids4truth.com will undergo a makeover: New look, kid-friendly links, more interactivity, and more substantial content.

WebNumbers Pages – In 2008, we plan to release the WebNumbers site, which will function as an optional companion site for the curriculum books. The site will contain 360 WebNumbers pages corresponding to the “code” printed in each of 120 units in the curriculum for levels 2-4. Each page will contain supplemental material for more eager kids. Things like quizzes, historical information, further topical details, and/or study helps to accompany the top 120 Q&A.

Continuing Updates to Upper-Level Lesson Plans and EquipU Offerings

Also as already mentioned, we continue to replace the currently-posted TTLPS for levels 2-4

with revised and enhanced lesson plans. New PowerPoint-based review time games are coming soon for group use, free of charge. We are constantly developing and adding new downloadable materials to help clubs workers assess needs, organize available resources, and execute ideas to improve the way their clubs operate. New worksheets, craft ideas, and activity suggestions are lining up over time for each of the doctrinal themes for levels 2-4.

StartUp Resources and a New Tutorial Training and Certification Program

2008 should bring the release of our Directors StartUp and Resource Manual, which will not only help directors launch their clubs, but will also give them valuable organizational tips. We are also finalizing a tutorial-based, multi-level certification program for training workers.

Discoverers Curriculum and Lesson Plan Modifications

In response to parental evaluation and expert feedback, we hope to revamp the Discoverers curriculum and to continue with level 1 TTLPs’ revision and enhancement. New coloring pages, worksheets, and craft and activity suggestions are also slated for the Discoverers level.

Additional Products for the Online Store – We praise the Lord that a generous church recently donated a sizable gift toward the printing costs for the first run of our Gospel tract/fold-out poster. We have reason to hope that this Gospel tract titled “Let’s Talk About God” might be printed and available sometime in 2008. Also, as they draw near to completion, we plan to make the revised TTLPs available in CD and book format. Interested users will be able to purchase unique features such as subscription services for custom calendars, daily devotional PDFs, web-based record-keeping, and much more.