How a Church Club Works

Download the Club Guide PDF

THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CLUB

Director/Teacher

This individual is in charge of directing and administrating the club night, the leaders, and the children of a particular division.

Game Director

The Game Director plans and prepares games for the children to play each night. This person’s main responsibility is to organize and have an activity planned for the children every week.

Leader

The main responsibility of a leader is to have adults interact, oversee, and mentor the children. The leaders are in charge of the children’s small groups and reading through the Forgiven Tract with new children. Throughout the night, the leader stays with their small group.

Assistants

Assistants work with the director to register new children, maintain the records, and oversee the store.

Age Groups

Tiny Trackers (Preschool)

The Truth Journals for Tiny Trackers teach preschoolers truth by having them learn a theme word for the week. The word is usually found in their verse. They review their verse throughout the week, and they learn more about that word through daily-preschool devotionals the children can do with the help of a parent.

A child in Tiny Trackers use the Truth Journals to daily review the verse for that week. A parent (or another adult) reviews the verse with the child throughout the week.

After the parent reviews the verse with the child, there is a short devotional the parent can use to reinforce the verse. At the end of the week, a parent (or another adult) signs the child’s Truth Journal

At the Tiny Trackers club, children review the verse and learn the weekly word. The children learn the word’s definition, hear a Bible lesson, enjoy a puppet show, and color a paper.

Tiny Tracker children earn points as they daily review their verse and daily work through a short devotional. Those points can be used to buy items at club in the Tiny Trackers store.

Scripture Spies/Faith Force (Elementary)

The Truth Trackers program includes two theme groups: Scripture Spies and Faith Force.

The Truth Journals for Scripture Spies and Faith Force teach elementary age children by having them learn through verse meditation and daily devotions. Children daily meditate on their verses with multidisciplinary verse review and daily complete simple devotionals.

A child in Truth Trackers uses the Truth Journals to daily review the week’s verse and to daily complete their devotions. A child using the Truth Journal review his or her verse daily in three different ways: by tapping the words of the verse as they read it out loud, by hearing their verse read by another person, and by writing the first letter to each word of their verse. At the end of the week, a parent (or another adult) listens to the child recite the verse, helps the child add up the week’s points, and signs that week’s points page

At the Truth Trackers club, children listen to a lesson that teaches the doctrinal topic for the week. The children can use the points they earn to purchase items from the Truth Trackers club store.

OPTIONS FOR NIGHTLY SCHEDULES

Option #1: 1 hour and 15 minute club with children saying the verse at home

Registration (15 minutes)
Club Start
Game Time (30 Minutes) – Game Leaders in Place
Lesson Time (30 Minutes) – Teachers in Place
Club Dismissal

Benefits:

Only a few volunteers needed to run the club.
Puts discipleship back into the hands of parents at home.

Option #2: 1 hour club with 30 minute before club verse listening window

Verse Listeners (30 Minutes before club) – Verse Listeners and Leaders in Place
Club Start
Game Time (30 Minutes) – Game Leaders in Place
Lesson Time (30 Minutes) – Teachers in Place
Club Dismissal

Benefits:

Utilizes volunteers (who don’t work in the club) to listen to verses before club.
Needs fewer volunteers than option #3.

Option #3: 1½ hour club with small group time

Club Start
Game Time (30 Minutes) – Game Leaders in Place
Lesson Time (30 Minutes) – Teachers in Place
Small Groups (30 Minutes) – Leaders Ready
Club Dismissal

Benefits: Integrates small discussion groups.

The Calendar

A calendar needs to be established to help your church stay on track with their Truth Journals and Truth Lessons. Also, this calendar will help your church plan Friend Nights and Family Activities. This calendar should written by the parents in the front of the book. In the Church Members area, churches can download and a customizable Microsoft Word document to print of for children and families.

There are three types of calendars your church can setup. Here's an example of Calendar #1, a 31 week program, and Calendar #2, a 34 week program, and Calendar #3 (not shown), a 40 week program.

31 Week Program

August 22 - Truth Trackers Training
August 22 - Truth Trackers Training
September 5 - Week 0
September 12 - Week 1
September 19 - Week 2
September 26 - Week 3
October 3 - Week 4
October 10 - Week 5
October 17 - Week 6 - Friend Night
October 24 - Week 7

34 Week Program

August 22 - Truth Trackers Training
August 22 - Truth Trackers Training
September 5 - Week 0
September 12 - Week 1
September 19 - Week 2
September 26 - Week 3
October 3 - Week 4
October 10 - Friend Night (Make up week)
October 17 - Week 5
October 24 - Week 6

40 Week Program

August 22 - Truth Trackers Training
August 22 - Truth Trackers Training
September 5 - Week 0
September 12 - Week 1
September 19 - Week 2
September 26 - Week 3
October 3 - Week 4
October 10 - Special Agent Review (and/or a make up week)
October 17 - Week 5
October 24 - Week 6
October 17 - Friend Night
October 24 - Week 8

First, notice all calendars start with Week 0. This night the children will get their books, be instructed how the program works, and learn what they need to do for the next week when the program officially begins.

Ideas for Your Church Calendar

Your church may want to invite the parents to this first night to walk through the night and to see what the children learn and do on a typical Truth Trackers night. Parents are responsible before God to disciple their children, and this is a great way to show parents how you are assisting them and how they can use the Truth Trackers program to disciple their children.

You will want to establish the nights that you cannot have Truth Trackers. You might have events like Christmas break or missions conferences that you cannot have Truth Trackers.

Also, you will want to plan any special Truth Trackers events you want to have throughout the year. Some of these nights may include: Friend Nights, Family Blast Activities, Quiz Nights, and an Awards Program.

The church and curriculum is intended to run from the fall until the spring. For a 31 week calendar, these nights would be on a regular Truth Trackers night.

For a 34 week calendar, three Friend Nights are scheduled on separate nights from your regular Truth Trackers program. Notice on the example calendar above how the Friend Night is scheduled for Oct 17. There is no Bible memory or Bible lessons scheduled for that week. That night is solely devoted to evangelism.

For a 40 week calendar, your church will add a special agent review night after each doctrine is completed. That will add six nights to the year. So the 31 weeks + the 3 Friend Nights + the 6 review nights = 40 nights of Truth Trackers.\

Evangelism

How are evangelization and visitors addressed in Truth Trackers?

Truth Trackers is a discipleship program for children. By that we mean that we focus not just on the first step of discipleship, which is becoming a believer, but we also focus on teaching the key doctrines of the faith. We believe the first step of discipleship is a very important step. Our approach to evangelism is different than most children's programs. We use two strategic methods to evangelize the children – The Forgiven Tract and Friend Nights.

Forgiven Tract

The Forgiven Tract is the entrance tract the children go through to enter the program. Every child must personally sit down with a leader and go through this tract. When a child comes to Truth Trackers for the first time, a leader sits down with the visitor during the memory time and reads through the Forgiven Tract with the child.

The goal of the Forgiven Tract is to give the child the gospel. First the leader turns to the back of the tract and explains the requirements to enter the program. His/her name is written in the tract, and the expectations and rewards are explained.

The tract is designed so a child can easily fulfill the requirements. There are two requirements written on the back of the tract. Requirement 1 is completed when a child reads through the tract with a leader. The child and leader both sign this requirement. After the completion of Requirement 1 the child will go to the registration desk and receive an award. Requirement 2 is completed when the child returns home and reads through the tract with a parent or guardian. The parent or guardian signs Requirement 2 and then when the child returns the next week, the leader signs Requirement 2. The child will also receive an award for completing this second requirement.

This is not only an opportunity for the leader to assist a child in completing the tract, but also, and most importantly, we want to help this child understand his/ her need for Jesus Christ. We do not encourage the leaders to push a child into a decision or scare him/her into a decision. This is not a time to push for a decision, but rather leaders can use this time to help the child understand God's Word and to make themselves available for future counsel. This is also a great opportunity to enter into the home of that visitor and talk with their parent (who has read through the tract with their child) about the gospel.

After the child has completed the Forgiven Tract, he can purchase materials to enter into the program.

Friend Nights

Friend Nights are special nights set aside by your church to evangelize the children's friends and neighbors. Your church will schedule three Friend

Nights somewhere in your yearly calendar. These nights either replace or fall on the same night as Truth Trackers. This allows for your church to have a children's evangelism night every season: fall, winter, spring, and summer (if you have VBS). These nights are special Truth Trackers nights for evangelization. A theme can be picked and prizes can be award to children who bring the most visitors. Many churches have seen these nights be fruitful nights of strategic and focused evangelism for their church.

Your church can decide exactly how you want to do the Friend nights but here are some suggestions:

Pick a special theme, announce a prize for the child who brings the most visitors, and encourage the children to obey God by evangelizing their friends and neighbors.
Have the children pray for their friends in their small groups and have them write invitation cards to them during a small group time.
Allow the event to build and be anticipated by announcing and promoting it.
Tell parents and adults in the church that a clear gospel message will be preached targeting the lost and encourage them to invite unsaved children.
Prepare you leaders to talk to children about Christ on that night. Talk to them about how to lead a child to Christ.
Promote and advertise the event in your church and community. Also, promote Friend Nights in the preceding weeks to the children through flyers, skits, and other unique announcements. This helps the children look forward to the night and remember to invite their friends.
If friend night falls on a regular Truth Trackers night, have the Memory Time at the beginning of the night. Don’t let the Friend Night interfere with the children saying their verse.
If you don’t want to worry about the Memory Time, schedule your Friend Night to fall on non-Truth Trackers nights. At the beginning of the year, set up your calendar to include extra nights when no verse will be said and the night will focus on evangelism.
Plan your themes at the beginning of the year. In the fall, a Fall Festival is a fun theme. Christmas always gives an opportunity for a winter theme. Use this theme to build up the night.
Announce the contests and prizes in the weeks preceding Friend Night.
Have a special speaker. Bring in a speaker who can preach the Gospel clearly to the children.
Play some unique, fun games.