In 2009 Augsburg Fortress Publishers launched sparkhouse. This new Minneapolis-based resource design group was formed to “reimagine resources like VBS or Bible study in a way that creates new vitality, change, and relevance in Christian communities.”
This month, sparkhouse launched a new curriculum called re:form – the only confirmation program that offers innovative resources for pastors, youth pastors, volunteer teachers and parents who want to radically empower youth to tackle the powerful ideas of faith and theology. re:form makes confirmation an interactive experience through creative, culturally relevant and provocative videos, illustration, humor, and activities that speak to kids on their level and encourage them to explore and make their own personal discoveries about their faith journey.
Its first edition recently rolled off the presses and into our hot little hands. It features books and videos chock-full of thousands of intricate, hand-drawn illustrations, each rendered in the quirky style of our creative director Paul Soupiset. Those pen and ink illustrations were watercolor painted, scanned, color-adjusted, and fed into a production workflow that simplified our client’s video and print production processes. Several main pieces work together to create the re:form curriculum:
- re:form two-DVD Set — We hand-illustrated forty hilarious animated short videos which frame and begin each lesson, framing the tough theological questions that kids are really asking, like “Who wrote the Bible?” and “Why does God let bad things happen?” The Two-DVD set is rooted in historic Christianity yet speaks to kids in their own voice.
- re:form Anti-Workbook—A hands-on 192-page Anti-Workbook is the centerpiece of each kid’s confirmation experience. It’s a sturdy, full-color, wire-O bound journal chock-full of activities and ideas for groups and individuals, with space to journal and doodle, and extras like pullout cards and cool stickers. re:form Leader Guide quickly preps teachers for each lesson and activity.
- re:form Gallery—re:form prompts kids to make videos, take pictures, interview people, and create stuff. Then they can upload all of their artifacts to an online portfolio at the re:form gallery, where they can share with their local congregation what they’ve been learning. re:form empowers youth to discover for themselves what they believe.
Here's one of 40 videos produced for the first edition:
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