Focus: A 6-Lesson Bible Study on the Book of Colossians
ym360, 2011, $69.99

I’m a huge fan of simply letting the Bible speak for itself when it comes to large group teaching and small group curriculum. Focus, a 6-week walk through Paul’s letter to the Colossians, does just that. Youth workers can use this curriculum as a guide through a large group series, but where Focus really shines is as a small group curriculum. It gives plenty of background information on Colossians that will help small group leaders feel confident about leading an in-depth Bible study with their groups. There are also short, online preparation videos for leaders to follow along with each week if they want some additional help preparing. This isn’t a surface-level study–this is an exegetical Bible study that not only will help groups dive into Colossians, but it also will help students grasp the importance of getting a solid grasp of God’s Word and applying it to their everyday lives. I highly recommend this biblically-based resource.
–Benjer McVeigh

This is my first use of a ym360 product, and it definitely won’t be my last. I love the Book of Colossians, so I was excited to see what ym360 had in store for these lessons. I was greatly impressed! As the package says, Focus is a 6-lesson Bible study on the Book of Colossians. Inside the package, you receive a master CD with the files and a DVD with the lesson videos. The leader guides are packed with everything you need for the lesson: prep videos, background info, notes, questions, insights and tons of Scripture. The student worksheets are single pages with plenty of room to add notes and answer questions. Included in each lesson are docs and PDFs, along with PowerPoints. The file CD also provides promotional material (print, Facebook, email), Scripture cards and (my favorite) parent resources. This Bible study provides leaders, students and parents all they need to know for studying and applying the Book of Colossians in their lives. ym360 has sold me to its products because they offer the things I look for in Bible studies: practicality and authenticity, biblical truth and family involvement.
—Shawn Harrison, Student and Family Ministries, Saint Marys, Ohio

The Focus material is well-organized and thought out. The lessons are very teacher friendly with a good number of discussion questions for student interaction, video options and the freedom to add the teacher’s own insight. It gives the teacher plenty of tools for a thorough and interactive lesson. The focus material provides good flow from week to week to help the students connect the current lesson with the previous lesson, as well as helps students get a good view of the whole Book of Colossians.

One thing teachers need to add in their preparation is to go deeper in some of the discussion questions and the analysis of Scripture. Some of the lessons, in certain areas seem shallow. I think it can be a great curriclum tool for a youth small group, and I plan to use it with my students. This is a good overview of Colossians in a short amount of time that keeps the students engaged.
–Dr. Scott Newton, Student Minister FBC Moore

I have enjoyed using many of ym360’s materials. This study does not disappoint. The material is very easy to use, and the amount of resources is amazing. I can’t wait to use this study with our youth.
–Jonathan Tripp

Focus is a 6-lesson study on the Book of Colossians from youthministry360. One thing I really like about this study is the access to online videos, teaching material and student material. Each lesson is easy to follow and will get your students talking. This is a great resource to use with your students either as a study on Colossians or as a single lesson based on topic. You will not be disappointed in this material, and your students will receive high-quality material.
–Mike Kupferer, Bethel Church of Christ, Ohio

youthministry360’s new study on Colossians is a great new tool. For those who are ready for a break from topical studies and want to dig a bit deeper into the Word of God while maintaining all of the cutting-edge features of 21st-century curriculum, this fits the bill very nicely. The Integrated Parent’s letter to be sent out as a resource for their follow up allows and equips parents to be about their Deuteronomy 6 responsibilities. Also, with the provided e-devotionals, it is fast and easy to give a brief word of encouragement via Facebook. Just copy, tweak and paste. Every part of the resource is available in Word and PDF. Perhaps the only negative about the curriculum–and this tends to be one for a lot of them–is that the PowerPoint background looks good (basically the cover of the DVD), but the text is not designed/placed well on the slides. Anyone with a little design concern would spend a little while tweaking the slides. The lesson CD has alongside it a media DVD. The content of the three (that’s every other lesson) videos is good, and they are all three typographical videos, meaning they put the words (and some graphics) on the screen in flashy ways while the voice-over plays. It is a good thing this is only every other week as it could get a bit humdrum even with the videos only being a little under 2 minutes long.

Overall, I’d say this resource is a very strong tool for youth workers. The content is good and the resources for parents, as well as the social media complement it well. These elements far out weigh any small negatives in PowerPoint or video illustrations, especially as readily available as Bluefish and Sermonspice are. This resource will help make a good youth worker even better by providing good tools for reaching beyond the teaching time.
–Shean Phillips, Professor of Youth Ministry and Christian Education, Piedmont International University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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