Goals: to Pinpoint Best Resources and Guide New Developments

Morehouse Education Resources (MER), a division of Church Publishing Incorporated (CPI), is inviting anyone who is currently involved in Christian education to take its 2013 online curriculum survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DRFKZ36.  The survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, will be used to determine those resources being used most successfully on the congregational level and to incorporate user observations, feedback, and suggestions in the development of new resources.

Participants will be asked to select any and all curricular resources currently being used for specific age groups within their congregation(s) from a menu of programs that range across the denominational spectrum. Respondents will also have an opportunity to share their ideas for maximizing resource utility and effectiveness in faith-formation settings. All respondents will subsequently receive a copy of the survey results, plus the results will be posted on the Church Publishing website, churchpublishing.org.

“In addition to continuous and regular conversations with Christian educators across the church, I find it helpful to survey the broadest audience possible every 18 months or so to discover what resources are being used most successfully in congregations,” said CPI’s Christian Formation Specialist Sharon Ely Pearson, who developed the survey. “I am also always interested in what individuals, who oversee ministry with children, youth, or adults, would like to see published – especially the types of resources that they currently cannot find. It is part of our service to the church to develop new resources to match the greatest areas of needs and opportunities.”

Again, the survey link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DRFKZ36 and it can be completed anytime between now and May 1, 2013.  The results will be released in early June, 2013 through email announcements, the CPI website posting, plus as a special report to be featured in “Living IN-Formation” – Ms. Pearson’s free monthly newsletter to over 7,000 professionals working in Christian education and faith formation.

CPI will contrast the findings with a Curriculum Survey it completed in October, 2010.  Results from the earlier survey paved the way for production of at least two unique new resource franchises, including the popular “Embracing series” – easy-to-use and timely DVD-based adult studies produced from a mainline denominational perspective – and “Skiturgies,” an inexpensive and easily accessed resource bank of pageants, plays, rites, and rituals, originally produced by local congregations and newly made available by CPI to a far wider, ecumenical audience.

Pearson is hoping that the results of the new survey will illustrate nationally, regionally and denominationally the curricula being used most frequently with each age group, as well as assessing the perceived needs of congregations for new materials. “With the face of curriculum changing in our digital world, it is expected that there will be major shifts in responses from 2010,” she said.

Most Church Publishing books and resources can be sourced through any member store of the Episcopal Booksellers Association, direct from Cokesbury customer service at 800-672-1789 or Cokesbury.com, or through any bookstore or online bookseller.  However, certain CPI formation programs are available only through proprietary websites, including the popular Living the Good News Online (livingthegoodnews.com) and Weaving God’s Promises.

Founded in 1918 and headquartered in New York City, Church Publishing Incorporated is the publisher of official worship materials, books, music, and digital ministry resources for the Episcopal Church, plus a multi-faceted publisher and supplier to the broader ecumenical marketplace. Publishing imprints include Church Publishing, Morehouse Publishing, and Seabury Books. Additional CPI divisions include Morehouse Church Supplies, a provider of church supplies and clergy shirts, and Morehouse Education Resources, which produces lectionary-based curriculum and faith formation programs.

“MER seeks to serve the church and its Christian formation needs in providing the best resources and programs to assist churches in supporting lifelong learning in the Christian faith, said Pearson. “Whether it is regarding children, youth or adults, MER strives to listen to the needs of the church to offer curricula and program resources for building faithful communities that empower their members to live their faith out in the world.”

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