Theo: God's Heart DVD Review - and Give-Away!

We want children to come to know God, understand His Word and grow to love and walk with Him throughout their lives; this is why we serve in children's ministry. We can plan effective ministry at church, choose the curriculum which is our best "fit", plan special events which will engage children and help them learn and live God's Word, but, even with all these things, we really only have children in our ministries a few hours a week. This is why along with doing all these things, we also need to equip parents so they are able to do as Deuteronomy 6 says and teach their children in their day-in-day-out lives.

Part of doing this involves providing resources for families to use at home. This can be a challenge because, while there is no shortage of resources for families to use at home, the ones which are available are not all well written and designed to engage families and help them really learn to know God, understand His Word and grow to love and walk with Him throughout their lives. Happily a resource which does these things is available; Theo Presents Home Edition!

I was recently invited to share a new Theo Presents DVD with you; one copy was sent to me for free to review and an additional copy is available for me to give away! I am so delighted to share this with you!

Theo Presents: God's Heart
Produced By: Whitestone Media
Website - Theo Presents
Ages 4+

Favorite Features -

• Solid teaching of God's Word; theology is presented in a way children . . . and parents, will understand and remember!
• Excellent animation - second to none!
• Characters children will enjoy
• Family Edition includes a booklet with activities, conversations and questions for families to work through together - one week's worth for each Lesson
• This Edition - God's Heart - includes three Lessons - Justification, Adoption, A Day in Prayer and a Bonus lesson, The Good News!
• Activities for families are excellent! Extremely well written and engaging with a focus on understanding and living what they learn!

Whitestone Media has this to say about Theo Presents; "The animation series of Theo guides children and adults through a careful study of systematic theology. Theo discusses doctrines about sin, God’s character, the Bible, salvation and godly living with easy-to-understand illustrations which make children want to learn more about the Christian faith. Theo was created to reach kids of all ages. The Gospel-centered lessons can be used for Sunday school lessons, Christian school curriculum, missions, evangelism and homeschooling. And now, with THEO HOME EDITION, parents can confidently create devotional time with their families at home. Each animated lesson is created with world-class quality and is written, animated, and produced right here in the U.S.A.  Our Buy One, Give One program provides a free DVD to children in need for every DVD purchased by our customers. Since 2010, over 10,000 children have received a Theo volume." They are absolutely correct. Teaching children - and adults - about theology can be a huge challenge, but Theo Presents has figured out how to do this; and do it with excellence!

If you visit their website, you will also find a wealth of free resources! Yes, I said, FREE! Check these out - and recommend to the families at your church . . . 

• Whitestone Media has two apps available through the itunes app store. The free Theo app, and the Theo Presents Abraham storybook app. You can download directly from the app store onto iPads, iPhones, or iPod Touches - More info here.
• Free, downloadable Parent Guides - More info here.
• Good News! Bonus episode where Theo shares the good news – the gospel. He explains we all fall short because of a problem called sin. All human beings have sinned and are in desperate need of a Savior. Jesus Christ is the Savior Who came to redeem mankind from our sin which separates us from God. We must accept this free gift of salvation in order to have eternal life - More Info here.
• Lifeway was kind enough to provide the curriculum for this episode; Good News! - for free! You can download it HERE.
• FREE coloring pages of Theo and his friends Luther and Belfry - More Info here.
• FREE puzzle and game pages of Theo and his friends Luther and Belfry - More Info here.

As I said, a "wealth" of FREE resources! You can recommend Theo Presents to the families in your church with confidence because Whitestone Media has partnered with Lifeway and CEF, so you know the content is solid and trustworthy.

And one more treat for one reader; a copy of Theo Presents: God's Heart! I'm giving one away on December 15, 2013 (USA only)  If you would like to be in the drawing for Theo Presents: God's Heart, please comment below to let me know if you have followed on Google Friend Connect, followed by liking on facebook with the tab in the "Find us on Facebook" box ON THE BLOG or at this link (not just liking the post) and/or have followed About the Children's Department by email. For each of these which you have done you will receive one entry. In addition, if you "share" this post, you'll receive an additional entry (please let me know if you share). This will help me be able to draw names from among people who would like to win Theo Presents: God's Heart and  it gives you several ways to enter the give-away! Thank you for reading About the Children's Department and for sharing it with the people you know!