Free resources for youth groups

Update as of September 18, 2023:

If you’re a high school or grade school student in the Philippines who’s joining the photojournalism contest in the division, regional, or national press conference, I’m offering two free resources to you :

A. 900-plus interactive exercises on English grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal analogy, etc (with around 200 megabytes total file size). The exercises have time limit and automatic scoring, with an average of 10 items per exercise.

Examples of these interactive exercises are: Common English grammar errors: Exercise 01 (nouns - confusions of number); Phrasal Verbs: Expressions with Go; English Placement Test (45 items).

B. 200-plus resources (JPG, PDF, MP4, etc.) on photography and photojournalism, with 600-plus megabytes total file size. For some examples of these resources, surf to the “Free photography e-books, cheat sheets” page.

To avail of these free resources, email me with the following information: your name and school; the name and email address of your journalism teacher or schoolpaper adviser; the division, regional, or national press conference that you’re joining.

(I’ll be able to reply to you within two to three days; if you don’t see my reply in your Inbox, check your Spam folder. Or, you can text me.)

Atty. Gerry T. Galacio
gtgalacio@yahoo.com
0927-798-3138


Free e-book “130 Youth Group tips and ideas” from Student Ministry Network (filled with great ideas to fuel your leadership in youth ministry, especially written by Tim Schmoyer for the small-church youth leaders who volunteer their time from a huge heart for students but have very little training and even feels a little lost in this whole youth ministry thing.)


Free game resource “Minute to Win It” from StudentMinistry.org (Challenge your kids to beat the records in Candy Elevator, Ka-Broom, Stack Attack and almost 100 other games; This 106 page PDF document includes a Table of Contents listing games alphabetically. Each game includes a game description, rules, items needed and a challenge to beat the current record.)


Free e-book “40 Icebreakers for Small Groups” from Grahame Knox (Help your youth group students participate, connect with, listen to one another; Use the icebreakers in this eBook to help your students connect with each other during Sunday school classes, small groups, or retreats; These icebreakers are broken into two different sections: Getting to know you activities and group builders. Many of these activities can be done with little or no additional supplies.)

Free teaching game “Islands Initiative” from Leader Treks (This interactive game will teach your students about the importance of focus and will build teamwork; Two-page PDF document includes directions, a script, and diagrams for setting up, along with the goals for this activity)

Free discussion guide for “Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are” by Alex and Brett Harris, from WaterBrook Multnomah (This 16 page PDF discussion guide contains questions for each chapter of the book, but you can also use these questions as part of a separate series on living for what really matters; Challenge your students to do hard things, and to turn the world upside-down for Jesus.)

Free PDF Big Story Gospel Presentation, from James Choung’s book, “True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In” (a simple way using four circles to share a holistic picture of the Gospel, with a Frequently Asked Question section at the end. Watch him explain in this three-minute video clip, The Big Story.)


Free discussion guide “Discovering Jesus” from Mosaic Church (Use this 14 page PDF document to guide your small group into a deeper discussion of Jesus’ true identity and the transformation He offers to us. This six session guide would also be a great way for your small group to introduce Jesus to their non-Christian friends.)

Free devotional “Courage Under Fire: Meet Job” from Ginghamsburg Church (Help your kids to develop their daily walk with God using this week-long devotion on the life of Job; This 2 page PDF devotion includes: Background on the story of Job (helpful for parents as they lead their kids in devotions during the week); Short readings and questions for each day of the week; Memory verse; Prayer journal space)

Free e-book “Do You Want a Friend?” from Desiring God (38 page PDF eBook to read to your students to reinforce a teaching about what an incredible friend we have in Jesus; you could also send this as a resource in an email or newsletter to the parents in your ministry, so they can read it with their kids at home.)

Free youth media study “Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-years old” from Interlinc (Use the findings of this 85 page PDF document from the Kaiser Family Foundation to gain insight into the impact media has on your students, including television, cell phones, computers, video games, music, and movies.



Free e-book “Christianity: Hoax or History” from Josh McDowell Ministry (100 pages, 3.43 MB; equip your church members to share their faith boldly; in this book, McDowell shares compelling evidence for the resurrection of Christ, the authenticity of Scripture, and what it all means for us today.)

Free e-book “Skeptics Who Demanded a Verdict” from Josh McDowell (116 pages, 4 MB; read how three skeptics - Chuck Colson, C.S. Lewis, and Josh McDowell - came to faith in Jesus Christ. Encourage your congregation to use this resource for reaching out to friends who might be skeptical of faith)

Free evangelism resource “Discover Your Evangelism Style” (12 page PDF resource by Mark Mittleberg, co-author of How to Become a Contagious Christian with Bill Hybels; As your congregants discover their personal evangelism style, encourage them to be themselves as they share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others)


Free drama scripts and resources for church groups

“A Calling to the Stage” is a free PDF book by Davis S. Lampel for those involved in Christian drama—be they directors of an independent group, an actor in the local church, or the music minister who seasonally directs actors in his or her musicals. The Director’s Edition contains all chapters in all four parts (The His Company Way; A Director's Guide; An Actor’s Guide; The Next Level). The Actor’s Edition does not include Part Two, two chapters from Part One, and two chapters from Part Four. There is no charge for either edition: both books are immediately available for downloading, in their entirety. Both books are copyrighted, however, so when printing them for your use, all pages—and especially the copyright page— must be kept together.

Download Director’s Edition (15 mb PDF file; 34 chapters; 262 pages); Download Actor’s Edition (9.20 mb PDF file; 18 chapters; 132 pages). Other free resources from Davis S. Lampel are Newest Script, Monologues, Sketches, One-acts, Multi-acts, Musical Resources, The Twelve, and Worship Resources.

Dramatix is a collection of drama scripts written by Christians around the world. The collection currently totals more than 1200 scripts. The majority are available free of charge (see conditions of use at the foot of each script). Categories include: Bible Stories; Easter; Christmas; Children’s; Christian Belief; Christian Walk; Evangelism & Pre-evangelism; Issues; Festivals; Historic & Fantasy; Humour; Mime; Mission; Musicals & Longer scripts; Archived Scripts

Christian Scripts Free by Bob Snook (over 1000 scripts for stage, radio and seasonal; download zipped e-book all scripts for the stage, 3000 typewritten pages; download zipped e-book all scripts for radio, 900 typewritten pages)

Free Christian comedy and drama skits from Christians Kit Scripts
 
What is good Christian drama? by Dramatix co-ordinator John McNeil (RTF file)
How can I do drama when we don’t have a drama team or any actors? One answer is to use still photographs and PowerPoint.
SermonCentral.com dramas

Heartlight Magazine offers numerous free resources for churches and ministries:

[1] Heart Gallery (thousands of scriptural artwork images available for viewing; select from the most recent, past favorites, or search to find exactly what you're looking for)

[2] HeartCards (a free electronic Christian greeting card service for friends and loved ones world wide with topics such as Salvation, Friendship, Love, Thanks, Comfort, Encouragement, Praise, Inspiration; you can customize the e-card as to style, sound and date.)

[3] PowerPoint resources (collection of templates, images, and slide show presentations to help assist you in your particular ministry; Templates - with various themes; Backgrounds - images for presentations; Seminars - presentations done by Heartlight staff

From Heartlight’s Rules of Use
We are truly pleased to provide these resources for you to use in your ministry. Our mission is to provide resources for victorious Christian living in today’s world.

You are free to use and share this copyrighted material for personal, church, and ministry use for both public and private presentations as long as this notice, the materials themselves, and any of the associated images are not changed and it is not distributed, bundled, or reproduced in any form and sold, or requires shipping or handling charges. These materials are intended for free distribution for Christians to be used to the glory of the Lord Jesus.

Unless otherwise indicated, all PowerPoint resources are Copyright HEARTLIGHT®, Inc., 2001. http://www.heartlight.org.
ChristianPhotos.net is a leap of faith. Everything is free - you can download high resolution stock photography for Christian purposes without having to pay anything - expenses are covered by donations and ads. The photos can be used freely in Christian advertisements, program booklets, bulletins, invitations, newsletters, religious education materials, flyers, posters and any other project for which photos are needed. The vision of ChristianPhotos.net is simple: it wants to help churches to publish better material for spreading the word of Gospel. You can also submit your own photos. Photo categories include Religious, People, Animals, Scenery, Plants, Macro, Artistic, Objects, and Uncategorized. Apply now for a free account.

The Great Doctrines of the Bible, by William Evans (God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Man, Salvation, Church, Scriptures, Angels, Satan, Last Things); download zipped e-book

Free graphics and Powerpoint presentations (zipped files) in creationism, from Answers in Genesis

Free graphics (please read usage policy)

Astronomy and the Bible
Creation Cloning and Life
Creation/Evolution
Dating Fossils and Rocks
Can You Defend What You Believe?
Facts About Apemen
The Fossil Record
Origin of Life
Origin of Man


Why It Pays to be a Christian by Norbert Lieth (93 pages PDF, 1 MB total file size; from Midnight Call Ministries)

Excerpts:
The Encyclopedia Britannica uses 20,000 words to describe Jesus. This description takes up more space than the encyclopedia devotes to Aristotle, Cicero, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed and Napoleon.

The following statements are from well-known people concerning Jesus:

French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said: “It would have been a greater miracle to invent such a life as that of Christ than His actual existence is.”

At the end of his life, Napoleon Bonaparte, who engaged half of Europe in war, wrote these words in his diary: “With all my armies and generals, I have not been able to make one single continent subject to me in a quarter of a century. But this Jesus has conquered nations and cultures without the use of arms for centuries.”

Well-known historian H.G. Wells was asked what person had the greatest influence on history. He answered that if one were to judge the greatness of a man according to historical aspects, Jesus would be at the top of the list.
Where is God When Things Go Wrong?” by evangelist/apologist John Blanchard is a free PDF booklet to download from David Legge's www.preachtheword.com and by kind permission of evangelicalpress.org (Note: This download is for personal use only and should not be printed or copied. The book can be ordered singly or in bulk from Evangelical Press)

Excerpts:
Why should issues of good and evil, or human suffering, cause any problems? If the British philosopher Bertrand Russell was right to dismiss man as ‘a curious accident in a backwater’, why should it matter in the least whether lives are ended slowly or suddenly, peacefully or painfully, one by one or en masse? If the Oxford professor Peter Atkins, another dogmatic atheist, is right to call mankind ‘just a bit of slime on a planet’, why should we be remotely concerned at the systematic slaughter of six million Jews or half a million Rwandans? Are we traumatized when we see slime trodden on or shoveled down a drain? The whole world wept over the destruction and death brought about by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, but why not have the same anguish over the fate of beetles or bacteria, rats or reptiles? If human beings are simply the result of countless chemical and biological accidents, how can they have any personal value, and why should we turn a hair if dictatorial regimes or natural disasters dispose of them by the million? The same applies to violence or bloodshed on a personal or limited basis. If we are nothing more than biological flukes, with no meaningful origin or destiny, why should the way we treat each other matter more than the way other creatures behave?

How can we jump from atoms to ethics and from molecules to morality? If we are merely genetically programmed machines, how can we condemn anything as being ‘evil’, or commend anything as being ‘good’? Why should we be concerned over issues of justice or fairness, or feel any obligation to treat other ‘machines’ with dignity or respect? When people respond to tragedy by asking, ‘How can there be a just God?’ their question is logically flawed, as without him words like ‘just’ and ‘unjust’ are purely matters of personal opinion.
The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood (free resources like articles, journal articles, sermons, book reviews, conference audio, online books, questions and answers, evangelical feminism and Biblical truth; with multi-lingual resources in Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish)

Free internet filtering, parental controls and Christian accountability software:
[1] TechMission Safe Families We-Blocker internet filtering software from http://www.safefamilies.org/download.php (Free software to block inappropriate material)

[2] X3Watch from http://x3watch.com/ (An accountability software program helping with online integrity. Whenever you browse the Internet and access a site which may contain questionable material, the program will save the site name on your computer in a hidden folder. A person of your choice (an accountability partner) will receive an email containing all possible questionable sites you may have visited within the month. This information is meant to encourage open and honest conversation between friends and help us all be more accountable.)

[3] TUKI from http://tuki.com/ (Web browser designed for children that has parental controls)

[4] Dan’s Guardian from http://dansguardian.org/ (An award winning Open Source web content filter which currently runs on Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, Mac OS X, HP-UX, and Solaris. It filters the actual content of pages based on many methods including phrase matching, PICS filtering and URL filtering. It does not purely filter based on a banned list of sites like lesser totally commercial filters.)

[5] Accountability Pal from http://sourceforge.net/projects/accpal/ (Monitors your network and keeps track of who is using the Internet and what they are viewing, downloading, uploading, etc. It emails a report of each user's activity to the person/people you specify. Great for parents and businesses.)

[6] Naomi from http://www.naomifilter.org/ (An advanced internet filtering program. Easy to use and totally free, this is intended for families, and kids in particular.)

Other Internet filters:

Care2's Race for Children - click daily (for free) to help provide children in need with food, medical attention and education
K9 Web Protection - a free internet filter
Safe Families - free internet filtering and parental control software
Reveal - a free program for finding if porn files are stored on your computer
File Sharing Sentinel - free parental control tool for blocking file-sharing programs
SurfPass - free version of the SurfPass filter, which also allows time limits, logging, etc.
B Gone - free web filter based on keywords list
NoWorrys - allows access to trusted sites (list) only (see also: PpGuard)
ICRA Plus - free tool, offers control over access to labelled sites
WebWatcher - one of the best commercial parental control tools
X3 Watch - free accountability program (informs about accesses to questionable sites - for PC and MAC)KidRocket - web browser for young kids (limits access to web sites)
Hosts-File.net - easily block scammer, phishing and other malicious websites (Windows only)
LogProtect - prevent your child from transmitting his personal coordinates (can be bypassed, though)
Popup blockers - free software for removing unwanted pop-ups
FraudEliminator - anti-phishing (email frauds) toolbar
SpyBot - free program to remove dialers, spyware, and other malware from your pc
HiJackThis - invaluable tools for removal of hijackers, dialers, and more (download CWShredded and HiJackThis)
Free tools - listing free filters, website is in French
Squid - proxy/blacklisting for administrators
Censornet - a free filter for Linux

Gospel downloads

The Scripture Memory Connection (support and free software for Scripture memorization)

Angel Verses - Kids Verse Cards (free Bible Verse Cards for children to download and print, to help motivate kids to learn scripture)

Craft Ideas For Kids (craft ideas, resources, projects)

Free craft idea for kid (download free printable kid craft template)

Faith Kids Sunday School Bible Bytes (unique Christian children's activities, easy 3D crafts, lesson support info for teachers, on-line interactive programs and room posters freely shared in faith. P3 to grade 8)

Cyberspace Ministry - At Your Service! (download our Bible games like Quest for God's Armor, Bible in Mind, Bible Wordokus; join one of our online Bible classes, The Moment of Truth, If I Were Told the Future, The Last Countdown, or take online test to discover your spiritual gifts!

100% FREE 3-D Christian Computer Wallpaper (free, 3D computer rendered, unique Christian Wallpaper for your computer desktop. These cool wallpapers can't be found anywhere else.

100%FREE Bible Software, MP3 Bible, Study tools, Jesus Movie... (free Bible Software, MP3 Bibles, online movies, biblestudy tools and other link that help you grow into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ!

3D Christian Wallpaper and Computer Backgrounds (all original, high quality, free 3D rendered Christian desktop wallpaper. All of the computer backgrounds can be downloaded with or without the Bible verses that inspired the picture.

Bible Study Charts.com (free PDF Downloads - Bible Studies, Outlines, Time Line Charts, over 500 Midi Hymns, Scripture Bookmarks & Magnets prayerfully designed to be used as tools to encourage you to study God's Word.


Bible Explorer 4.0 (free download of over 200 free Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, and more)




Free Powerpoint and PDF for children, from Jim Eliff’s Christian Communicators Worldwide ministry
“The Eaglet” from CCW is a story explaining true faith and repentance, vividly illustrated by Caffy Whitney. This publication is two new formats - as a Power Point file and as a PDF file for Adobe Acrobat. You can use these files to print color transparencies for overhead projectors, to read with your child directly from your computer, or with your video projector for VBS or other events.

[1] Download with text (Powerpoint or PDF)
[2] Download with no text (Powerpoint or PDF)
[3] Thumbnail preview of The Eaglet 

The Pictorial Survey of the Bible by Buz McNutt from CCW is a graphic overview in a simple format to help children and adults understand the chronology of the Bible. CCW has been distributing the survey for years. It now offers a revised survey in new formats—as a Power Point file and as a PDF file for Adobe Acrobat. By teaching one of the 36 points each week, it is possible for children and adults to learn the entire Bible in one school year. The survey can also be used in a single session overview to encourage believers in their understanding of the Bible.
[1] Pictorial Survey of the Bible in Powerpoint
[2] Pictorial Survey of the Bible in PDF
[3] Thumbnail preview of the survey (Please be patient, the graphics take a while to download)

Free e-book “Leadership Learnings from Bloggers”, from Exponential Network (over 250 pages of leadership insights from leading bloggers such as Mark Batterson, Seth Godin, Alan Hirsch, and Craig Groeschel; Use insights from this 279-page PDF document to sharpen your leadership team on a wide variety of topics, including compassion, authenticity, and innovation)

Free e-book “Fired Up or Burned Out” from by Michael Lee Stallard and Rev. Jason Pankau on how to transform your organization through the power of connection; you can use this e-book to build up your ministry staff, or pass it along to your congregants to use in their own work and marketplace ministry. It provides insight into the following: What Fires Us Up? The Three Keys to Connecting Your Team and Lighting Their Fires (based on Christian values); The Fire Starts with You: Become a Person of Character and Connection to Light the Team Around You; Learn from Twenty Great Leaders Over Twenty Days.

Desiring God, by John Piper (read this book online or download the PDF 399 pages, 1.2 MB; you can also download Desiring God study guide 90 pages, 248 kb or Desiring God study guide for groups 16 pages, 640 kb).

The great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. Discord between duty and delight doesn’t exist: delight is our duty. Piper stuns us again and again with things we saw in the Bible, but never dared to believe. Join him on this dangerous quest for maximum joy in God. But beware, it may cost you your life. Never mind – “the steadfast love of the Lord is better than life” (Psalm 63:3).

Don’t Waste Your Life from John Piper (PDF complete book 198 pages, 2 MB and study guide 128 pages, 1.44 MB
God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work, not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives.)

Framework for Christian Faith, by Galyn Wiemers (founder of Generation Word ministry and teaching pastor at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Audubon, Iowa)

This free e-book (262 pages, 5.64MB total file size) compiles the notes and handouts from a yearlong Bible School series. It is designed to help believers advance in their own understanding and personal study skills and contains a wealth of information from any areas of Christian study, including apologetics, hermeneutics, the history of the English Bible, Old Testament, the life of Christ, the book of Acts, church history, Greek, the New Testament letters and biblical theology.

The material was originally taught in a fifty-week series of one-hour classes. Each section ends with a list of important facts, review questions, discussion topics and suggested readings. In addition, countless charts, maps and diagrams are found inside to help with visual learning. A companion CD (available only in the US upon e-mail request at gw@generationword.com) also contains the complete text of the book, maps and diagrams - so all may be reproduced by the reader for personal use or use in teaching and presenting.


Free website usability guidelines book, from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Throughout your Web design or redesign project, you should take advantage of what is already known about best practices for each step of the process. The Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines (PDF, 20.64MB) brings you these best practices compiled through an extensive process of research and review. (From usability.gov)

You can also download specific sections of the book:
Note: This ministry does not necessarily endorse or share all the views and opinions expressed in the materials, resources or links mentioned in these posts. Please always refer to the Articles of Faith and Biblical distinctives of Baptists when you study these materials.

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