Exploring Four All-New XP3 Series for Spring 2022

It’s time for another season release, and we couldn’t be more excited about it!!! 🎉

If you didn’t know, we release curriculum quarterly to stay on the cutting edge of youth culture and trends. Today, the new Spring 2022 season is available to all XP3 curriculum subscribers!

This spring season has a knock-out lineup of four new series, and we want to give you a little more information about each new release!

PRAYER

First up, we have a brand-new series on prayer!

Titled: “Direct Message” for middle school, and “Thoughts and Prayers” for high school. This series is designed to help your students discover a real connection to God through prayer. As you already know, when it comes to prayer, most students have more questions than answers.

How can God listen to everybody at the exact same time?
Are there certain words I’m supposed to say?
What if my prayers aren’t answered?
Why don’t I feel closer to God when I pray?
Is there a right way to pray?

These are REALLY great questions. This new series can help your students discover the answers to those questions and more!

We want students to see that prayer isn’t just something God tells us to do. It’s something that gives us direct access to God! We’re going to help students eliminate the worry about “what to say” when they pray, and help them see that prayer can be achievable for everyone. Just imagine what would happen if students started approaching prayer with the confidence that they were being heard!

SEX, DATING, & RELATIONSHIPS

Next up, we’re tackling the topic of sex, dating, and relationships. Yes friends, we are about to have “the talk” with students. At church.

Here’s the deal: We know this isn’t an easy topic to cover. We know it has the potential to be really awkward, really uncomfortable, and really difficult to navigate with your students. But we also know that it’s really important to create a safe space to have REAL conversations about the things which can have a meaningful impact on the lives of your students, both now and in the future.

DISCUSSING SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUTH

In the high school series, “The One,” we focus on how becoming the one is better than finding the one, fighting unhealthy obsession, dealing with breakups, and challenge students to pick their perspective when it comes to dating and disappointment.

For the middle school series titled “Real Talk,” we’re going to unpack the different messages we get about sex and relationships. We’re going to talk about pornography. Why? According to research, the average age of first exposure to pornography is somewhere around age 11. We’ll talk about how unwise choices can take us somewhere we don’t want to be. Wise choices can lead us to becoming the kind of person that honors ourselves, others, and God. We’re also discussing dating, relationships, and choosing to be single!

We know not all students are dating or in relationships yet. But we think it’s important to talk about this right now anyway, because they might choose to date someday. And we believe these conversations are foundational for the kind of relationship they may pursue in the future. Hinging on the Greatest Commandment, we are going to challenge students to consider how their words, thoughts, or actions may or may not be loving or honoring toward themselves, others, and God.

*Because this is such a sensitive topic and we know you value partnering with parents, we’ve included a parent preview video for you to share with parents. This will give the exact overview of the new series. We’ve also included a ton of great additional resources for your ministry team, parents, and small group leaders to prepare everyone for the conversations to come!

RACIAL TENSION

This season, our stand-alone new series takes an honest look at the way racial tension is impacting the world your students are navigating right now.

Titled: “Trending” for middle school, and “I Have Questions” for high school; we’re leaning in and asking a new question.

What could happen if we all carried a healthy curiosity about each other’s stories and experiences?

You know better than anyone the way your students may be experiencing or processing the reality of racial tension in your specific community or context. Maybe they’ve seen stories on the news or online about racial tension in the world. Perhaps they come from homes or families where race is talked about openly, for better or for worse. Maybe they’ve seen the impact of racial tension in your community, at their schools, or in their neighborhoods. It could be they don’t know all that much about it because it isn’t something they’ve experienced or seen firsthand. Or maybe they know it all too well because they’re dealing with it every single day.

STAND-ALONE TALK ON RACE

This unique standalone talk features a collection of stories from people of different races and ethnicities.

No matter what your student’s experience or knowledge of racial tension is, we want to introduce them to some real people who have had their own unique experiences, lessons, and perspectives when it comes to racial tension. Your students will hear their stories. They will see how God has worked in and through them. Finally, they will be challenged to take a step to apply some of what they’re learning this week, just like the people they’ll hear from have applied it in their own lives.

We know this is a different approach to a message like this, but we know how powerful stories can be. Our prayer is that after hearing these stories from real people with real experiences, we’ll all be changed, challenged, and encouraged.

We believe that when we stop to listen to each other we begin to recognize the truth that we are made in God’s image, and therefore together we reflect the image of God.

Be sure to also checkout the blog A Safe Place for Every Race, written by our high school series author DJ Coleman.

EASTER

And last, but certainly not least is our Easter series! As we look back on Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we have a chance to get know Him in new, amazing ways. And that’s a really big deal because knowing Jesus changes everything!

In this Easter series, we’re diving into discovering more about Jesus and what He means to us in our five-week series.

Titled: “Who Is Jesus?” for middle school, and “Prism” for high school.

Whether your students are brand new to faith or have been at church every Easter since they were born, the reality is, your students have questions about Jesus. Honestly, who doesn’t?! We want students to know it’s okay to ask those questions!

QUESTIONS TO TACKLE WITH YOUTH ON EASTER

Over the course of the Easter season, we’ll dive into some of the truths about who Jesus really is and what that means for who we are, too! We’ll help students see that Jesus is the One who…

1. Connects us to God,
2. Helps us make wrong things right,
3. Makes a full life possible,
4. Doesn’t let our mistakes hold us back,
5. And never leaves us alone.

As we take a closer look at the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we’ll find that the Good News of Easter may be bigger, bolder, and better than we ever imagined, and in doing that, discover a new way of engaging Jesus and five life-changing things He doesn’t want any of us to forget.

This series is based on a study by W. Paul Jones found in his book: Theological Worlds

You can also click here for our free download: 5 Perspectives to Elevate the Gospel

That’s it! If you’re an XP3 subscriber, you can find those new series in your downloader. Be sure to connect with your Orange Specialist to catch up, or for any other pro-tips as you plan out your next season of content.

If you want to learn more about XP3 curriculum and talk to a curriculum guide, start your free trial today.