Jennie Allen
Thomas Nelson, 2012, Study Guide: 80 pp., $39.99

Chase is an 8-session study aimed at adult women. The leader guide has a lot of information about leading the group. Each session comes with a main idea and main goal. The videos are good and consist of Jennie talking. Each kit comes with a stack of conversation cards with about 10 cards per session. I like the main idea and main goal in each session, which help organize the discussion; and the conversation cards are a good resource for sparking discussion. The study guides have extensive homework and projects, and the study book is very in-depth. However, the leader book doesn’t provide much direction beyond the main idea and goal. Some of the questions in the study guide are very directed at a point rather than being open ended. Could I use this with a youth group? No, because it is aimed at adult women. I think the homework would be too similar to schoolwork, and some of the points Jennie makes are aimed at older women.
—Chris St. Clair

With intimate, soul-searching teaching, Bible teacher Jennie Allen offers an insightful study of the importance of not wasting our lives chasing worthless things that often have the appearance of being good, but leave us empty and unfulfilled. Allen encourages that to find peace and contentment we must continually chase after the heart of God. Chase is a DVD-based Bible study, facilitated by Dallas Theological Graduate and Bible teacher Jennie Allen. This 8-session DVD complete with interactive conversation cards, study and leader’s guide will assist those particpating in recognizing the importance of chasing after God in every situation in our lives. Chase is set in a scenic town in Texas that provides a beautiful backdrop for each session with visuals that seem to marry Jennie’s very words as she shares her life experiences (such as her family’s journey through adopting an African child), King David’s life (through his battles with Saul, harassment from his son, Absalom and his deceitful behavior with Uriah and Bathsheba) and sound biblical principles to encourage everyone to stop chasing meaningless things that consume our time and hinder our walks with God. Those who work with college and career aged students or want a in-depth study for their more mature high school students will find Chase leads the listener to wiser choices in who and what they focus on ultimately leading to a stronger committed relationship with God.
—Rev. Regina K. Foster, Founder, Bride of His Son Ministries/The Queen Esther Movement 1/The Queen Esther Movement 2

My wife and I sat down and went through this study together. If it didn’t say “Women and God” all over the packaging I wouldn’t have thought it was a study specifically for women. It’s very well done; and if you could get guys to ignore the packaging, I think it could be a beneficial study for anyone. The format is great. The quick videos keep your interest and provide a great jumpstart to conversation. The book work per week takes about an hour and a half, which is not too daunting for most. It also has cards that go with each session that will help to get discussion started. I would reccomend this study for high school small groups or Sunday School. I’d have no problem taking a group of high school guys and gals through it and maybe only assigning the main stories from Scripture as homework during the week.
—Wayne Wrzesinski, Music and Media Director, BreakPoint Assembly

I would recommend Chase to youth workers. The packaging is simple and clean cut. I had junior highers through women in their 40s who expressed interest in this resource. We found the material to be simple to use, simple to understand and very user-friendly. The questions provided our group relative openness, and the material was widely informative and biblically solid. The variety of study guide material approaches and projects are extremely helpful. The favorite in our groups were the conversation cards. (Many said they would be open to purchasing these alone.)
—Jackson Fong, Associate Pastor, Community Church, Susanville; B.S., Youth Ministry, Liberty University

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