Scripture Spies & Faith Force (Elementary)

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

The Truth Journals for Scripture Spies and Faith Force teach elementary-age children through verse meditation and daily devotions. Children meditate on their verses each day using creative, multi-sensory review methods and complete short, simple devotionals.

Each child uses their Truth Journal to review the week’s verse daily and complete their devotion. Children review their verse in three different ways:

• Tapping the words of the verse as they read it out loud
• Hearing their verse read by another person
• Writing the first letter of each word in the verse

At the end of the week, a parent (or another adult) listens to the child recite the verse, helps add up the week’s points, and signs the points page.

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

Doctrines and Topics

The Tiny Trackers and Truth Trackers verses, devotions, and lessons are divided into thirty weeks. As you look at a sample Truth Journal, you’ll see a numbered week on the verse pages (for example: Week 10). Next to the number is the doctrine and the specific topic being studied that week (for example: Week 10 – Doctrine: Jesus Christ – Topic: Jesus Christ is God).

There are six doctrines covered in one year. The chart below shows which doctrines the children will learn each year. You’ll also notice the books are not numbered by grade but are color-coded. This is because all age groups go through the same material at the same time.

One year your club may be using the Green Books, which cover the doctrines of Salvation, God Created, The Bible, Growing Spiritually, The World, and The Future. All Tiny Trackers would have green Tiny Tracker Truth Journals, and the older Truth Trackers would have green Scripture Spies or Faith Force Truth Journals.

Green Books	Red Books	Blue Books
1.  Salvation  2.  God Created  3.  The Bible  4.  Growing Spiritually  5.  The World  6.  The Future	1. My Struggles  2.  The Law  3.  Jesus Christ  4.  God’s Goodness  5.  Solving Problems    6.  Evil Forces	1. God’s Nature  2. God’s Greatness  3. Christ’s Death  4. Prayer   5. Trials   6. The Holy Spirit

Topics and Doctrines Covered

Truth Trackers is made up of two elementary theme groups: Scripture Spies and Faith Force. Each group has three years of curriculum, covering a total of 18 doctrines. These doctrines are divided into three color-coded years: Green Year, Red Year, and Blue Year.

Each color year includes six doctrines, which are taught and reinforced through Bible memory, daily devotions, and Bible lessons.

A Child’s Truth Journal

Children purchase a Truth Journal to use for the entire year. These journals are designed to help children “lock in” truth every day as they memorize Scripture and build their faith through daily devotionals. Each yearly Truth Journal contains all 30 weeks of memory verses and 210 daily devotions for Scripture Spies and Faith Force.

The Club Lessons and Discussion Guides

Club materials can be purchased and downloaded online from the Truth Trackers store under the membership page. Clubs can download weekly lessons that teach the doctrinal topics, PowerPoint presentations that go with each lesson, and small group discussion guides.

Truth Journal Stickers

When ordering Truth Journals online, you can choose the Bible version you want the children to memorize. You will receive the matching verse stickers with your books. As a lower-cost option, your club can print the stickers yourself at a discounted rate.

Parents should go through their child’s journal and place the verse stickers in the spaces provided.

Daily Verse Review

Children use their Truth Journals to review the week’s verse each day. At the end of the week, they recite the verse.

Truth Journals are powerful tools to help parents hide God’s Word in the hearts of their children.

Truth Journals work best when parents and leaders understand the philosophy behind them. Truth Trackers’ approach to “locking in” truth focuses on daily verse review through a multi-sensory, multidisciplinary method with an emphasis on quality Bible memory. To better understand our approach, goals, and philosophy, please read The Distinctives of the Truth Trackers Memory Program.

To encourage daily verse review and meditation, children review the week’s verse in three different ways each day:

1. Tap – The child taps on each word as they read the question, verse, and reference out loud. Once completed, they mark the points page.
2. Tell – The child reads the question, verse, and reference out loud to another person (an adult or another child). Once completed, they mark the points page.
3. Write – The child writes the first letter of each word in the verse and reference on a separate piece of paper. Once completed, they mark the points page.

End of the Week Verse Recitation

Clubs have two options for verse recitation. The Truth Journals are designed to support either method:

Option #1: Recite the Verse at Home At the end of the week, a parent (or another adult) listens to the child recite the current week’s verse plus the previous week’s verse, helps add up the points, and signs the points page.

Option #2: Recite the Verse at Club At the end of the week, the child brings their journal to club and recites the current week’s verse plus the previous week’s verse to a verse listener. The leader then helps add up the points and signs the points page.

Daily Devotional

Children use their Truth Journals to complete a short daily devotional in addition to their verse review.

After finishing each day’s devotional, the child marks the points page. Younger children will need help from a parent or older person to complete the devotionals.

FAQ

Question: What if a child misses a week of Truth Trackers?

Answer: The program is designed so all children learn the same verses at the same time. Everyone should stay on the same week, whether they need to catch up or missed a week. Since awards are based on points, children who join late or miss a week can simply jump in with the rest of the club and start earning points with that week’s verse and devotions.

Question: What about making up a week?

Answer: Your club will need to set its own guidelines. Generally, a child should not be allowed to make up more than one week per week.

Question: What if a child doesn’t recite their verse for the night?

Answer: Clubs should encourage children to review and recite their weekly verse each week. However, if a child does not recite the verse, they can still receive points for daily reviewing it. Encourage them to keep reviewing and to try reciting the verse the following week.

Question: What if a child begins attending in the middle of the year?

Answer: The child should start on the current week that the rest of the club is studying. Depending on how far into the year it is, the child can go back and make up previous weeks (with a limit of one per week). However, clubs should encourage the child to focus on the doctrine the whole club is currently studying. Since awards are points-based, it is not necessary to make up every past week. By jumping in right away, the child can continue earning the same weekly points as everyone else.

Question: How can a child recite the “last completed week” if they have not recited any previous weeks or have missed several weeks?

Answer: The child is only required to recite the most recent week they have already completed. For example, if a child is attending for only the fourth time in a couple of months, they will recite the week they completed four weeks ago — even if it belongs to a different doctrine.

Question: Why can’t the children recite as many verses as they want?

Answer: The Truth Trackers memory program is intentionally different. We focus on qualitative learning rather than quantitative. Most children who rush through 4 or 5 new verses a week are not truly retaining them. Our goal is long-term, meaningful memorization. This program is also designed as a family memory program — it helps families memorize together when everyone is working on the same doctrines and verses.

Question: Do the children learn the verse during lesson time?

Answer: No. The verses are not taught during lesson time. Children review their verse during the week and recite it before club. The doctrine that the verse teaches is reinforced during the lesson. The week’s verse and devotions are designed to match the lesson topic. In other words, the lesson wraps up the children’s week of learning about that particular topic from their Truth Journals.

Question: I feel bad for a child who comes to club without reviewing or reciting their verse that week. Can’t I just help them learn and recite it right then?

Answer: A verse that a child glances at and recites in two minutes will not be retained long-term. You are not truly helping the child by letting them “get by” for the week. Instead, focus on teaching spiritual disciplines. Scripture meditation and memory require God’s grace and consistent hard work. If you want to help, talk to the child’s parent and encourage them to work through the Truth Journal with their child.

Question: I have a child whose parents don’t care. What do I do?

Answer: Sometimes children attend whose parents are either not Christians or are unable to help with memorization. In these cases, ask the parents for permission to “spiritually adopt” their child — befriending them and encouraging them to review the verse throughout the week. With permission, you can call or text the child as a reminder to complete the Truth Journal. If several children are in this situation, invite other church members (singles, elderly, or teens) to get involved and spiritually adopt a child. This is a wonderful discipleship opportunity!

Awards

Points

Scripture Spies and Faith Force children earn points each day as they review their verse and complete their devotional. A child can earn up to 48 points per week.

At the end of the week, a parent (or another adult) should sign the journal to verify the points earned. That adult should then help total the points and write the weekly total in the Truth Trackers’ Bank at the front of the child’s Truth Journal.

Truth Trackers’ Bank

Children should bring their Truth Journal to club each week so their points can be recorded and so they can use their earned points at the Truth Trackers store.

Store

Clubs can set up a closet or a table full of items “for sale.” These can include inexpensive items from the dollar store, Oriental Trading, or donated prizes.

The club should schedule regular store nights so children have the opportunity to purchase items with their points.

Assign higher point values to “better” prizes. Once a child uses their points to purchase an item, the “banker” should deduct those points from the child’s Truth Trackers’ Bank account, which is located in the front of the Truth Journal.

Doctrine Pins or Doctrine Tags

Your club can choose from two options for children to earn doctrine pins or tags.

Option #1: Special Agent or Special Faith Force At the conclusion of each doctrine, children recite all the verses within that doctrine to earn the pin or tag. At the back of each child’s Truth Journal, there is a section listing every doctrine with its corresponding questions and verses. This section is called Special Agent for Scripture Spies and Special Faith Force for Faith Force.

Option #2: Points Children earn a minimum number of points for each doctrine to receive the pin or tag. If you choose this option, be sure to give plenty of grace so children can easily earn the award. For example, the doctrine “My Struggles” is 5 weeks long. Since children can earn up to 48 points per week, the total possible points for that doctrine is 240. You might set the minimum at 150 points (an average of 30 points per week).

Scripture Spies and Faith Force Medallions

Your club can choose from two end-of-the-year medallion options.

Option #1: Completing All Doctrines Medallions are awarded when a child completes all 6 Special Agent (Scripture Spies) or all 6 Special Faith Force (Faith Force) sections.

Option #2: Total Points Medallions are awarded based on the total points earned over the entire year. If you choose this option, decide and clearly announce the minimum number of points required. Children have the potential to earn a maximum of 1,440 points per book each year. Most clubs set 1,000 points as the minimum needed to earn the end-of-the-year medallion.

Scripture Spies Bags

Scripture Spies children can pin their earned doctrine pins onto their Scripture Spies Bag. They receive these pins for completing all verses in a doctrine. If a child participates in Scripture Spies for all three years, they will collect a total of 18 pins to display on their bag.

Faith Force Bible Covers

Faith Force children can attach their earned doctrine tags to the keychain on their Bible Covers. They receive these tags for completing all verses in a doctrine. If a child participates in Faith Force for all three years, they will collect a total of 18 tags to display on their Bible Cover.