New School Year, New Resources, and…My Top 5
A new school year always comes with a rush of mixed emotions for me. Of course, there is some relief to get the schedule and routine back in the house- not just for me, but for the kids. There is some tension with said kids who are not as “relieved” to have school coming back (and “denial” that summer is coming to an end). And of course – throw in some anxiety because of all the “things” – supplies that need to be bought, forms that must be signed, back to school meetings or tryouts that must be attended… and maybe that last beach trip to squeeze in.
If you are also in youth ministry, Bridges to Orthodoxy hopes to help you with the curriculum planning. Every year we try to compile Orthodox resources we find. See that list HERE.
As for BtO specifically, we have a great 2025-2026 scope this year and we hope you keep looking back. Occasionally, I will get an email asking me if we had any units with particularly good feedback or my personal favorites, so I figured I would dedicate this post to my personal top 5 favorite units over the years (and it was hard to choose).
5. Perfect Timing (Bible Study on Esther)
I really love the story of Esther in general, but as we got into writing this unit, we researched Biblical commentaries from our Church Fathers, various old translations, and other books that went beyond just learning the story of Esther, and instead really studied it and showing teens how to study a Bible passage over and over again for new depth to gain a deeper spiritual message.
The deeper I went, the more I saw how timing was in EVERYTHING in this story – the timing in which Esther became queen, the timing in which the edict went out, the timing in which Esther chose to reveal her true heritage to the King. God’s name was never mentioned in the book, but His hand is truly all over this story showing us even if we think He leaves us, He never does… we ought never doubt He is with us and reveals things to us not in our time, but exactly in perfect timing. Some units literally write themselves and this was one of those for me.
4. The Ancient Faith (Orthodox Faith Topic)
When I was growing up, most of my friends who were Christian were some sort of Protestant and when I would say I was Orthodox, they’d say, “What’s that?” I didn’t really have a great answer. I also really couldn’t tell you what was different about what we believed versus what “they” believed about salvation, our Church, the Virgin Mary, the intercession of Saints, and other things like that. BtO has deep “catechism” type subjects, but this unit was a little lighter - dedicated to all those kids out there who are just like me when I was a kid and do not have a firm grasp of the basics.
Because this unit is broader and not focused on one topic as other Orthodox Faith units (such as “Defenders of the Faith,” which is solely about the Ecumenical Councils), it allows for more open discussion about all sorts of questions that teens may be confused about. It ended up being one of my favorite months.
3. The Secret (On finding St. Paul’s secret to Contentment)
This was a crowd pleaser for sure because in this codebreaker month every week we focused on a different thief of contentment: comparing, FOMO, control freaks, insecurity/shame, etc. The weeks were so different and relatable – our discussions, centered around extremely relatable lesson-created scenarios, were lively and (at times) hilarious. Everyone found at least one thief of contentment and it was interesting to see the lightbulbs come on as they realized how miserable they’d make themselves because of silly things like scrolling social media feeds or worrying about test scores they couldn’t control. It was, thank God, a spiritually fulfilling month.
2. The League of Justice (understanding God’s definition of Justice is in a different league than ours)
Ok, maybe this one is my favorite because it combines my legal occupation and my boy-mom obsession with superheroes. You may see both themes permeate throughout the series as I have my fun, but the point is that God’s goal in justice is not as trivial as punishing wrongdoing. His ways are far beyond our ways and because of that, His “league” of justice can be hard to understand. We don’t “get” why some people seem to get away with everything and why “bad things” seem to happen to “good people.” This month we will explore some hard stories and concepts that even adults struggle with – that mercy and truth can coexist, and that love, and humility are more important in God’s eyes.
It also scores so high on my top 5 because the Key Verse happens to be my favorite verse of all time:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8.
1. The Devil Made Me Do It? (on Spiritual Warfare)
The number one series for me isn’t really a Church School unit, but instead a retreat. From our “Difficult Conversations” series, “The Devil Made Me Do It?” was so fun to research and write because I got to learn about things like angels, demons, heaven, and hell… and every invisible principality.
The retreat was one of the most fun retreats we ever did, and the materials even included a fun C.S. Lewis inspired “Conquering Demons” battle challenge. The skits the teens put together made me laugh so hard my sides hurt.
Many saints and Church Fathers write about their own experience, and Christ Himself was the best teacher in His parables about what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. We also learn from His time on Earth and what He taught His disciples that we ought not be afraid of serpents and scorpions or any power of the enemy as we have the power to trample them all through the power of the Holy Spirit from the moment of Baptism. You can learn more about this cool retreat with a video we created HERE.