Premium members of The Religion Teacher have access to hundreds of practical resources to lead their students into an encounter with Christ.
Or learn more:
The three bonuses (details below) expire at 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2022. Join today to get these gifts when you become an annual member of The Religion Teacher.
We’re Overwhelmed but We’re Not Alone
“Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
We are all feeling overwhelmed.
We’re overwhelmed by everything from COVID to classroom management.
When we feel overwhelmed, what we really feel is a lack of control.
And unfortunately when we feel a lack of control, we start to blame others for causing our pain.
As religious educators we can fall into the trap of blaming our students, their parents, and most often ourselves.
The first step out of this mess is to do exactly as the Lord said:
“Come to me.”
How? We pray.
First, we pray asking Jesus to fix what feels broken in our lives.
Then we pray for those we feel like blaming for our overwhelm. Instead of pointing fingers at them, we point up to God.
But how do we actually make the overwhelming feeling go away?
Jesus gives us the answer and it might come as a surprise.
Take My Yoke Upon You
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
This is so counterintuitive.
When you feel the weight of heavy burdens, Jesus won’t just take them away.
Instead of “I will take away your burdens,” he says, “take my burdens upon you.”
This comes as a welcome reminder for us as religious educators.
You are doing God’s work.
The work is not your own. The outcomes are not up to you.
Your responsibility is only to serve, not to succeed.
I want to repeat that because I think it is so important for your to hear especially for those of you who, like me, blame yourselves for being overwhelmed.
Your goal is to serve, not to succeed.
Resources to Help You Serve without Feeling Overwhelmed
As religious educators, every little bit of help goes a long way.
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My name is Jared Dees.
I’m the founder of The Religion Teacher.
In the last thirteen years I have created and shared hundreds of lesson plans, activities, worksheets, and videos with practical ways for religious educators to lead their students into an encounter with Christ.
The textbooks we get at the beginning of the year do not provide enough ideas and resources to accomplish everything we want to do.
Many of the tools we find online don’t work for our students.
There is a better way.
The resources at The Religion Teacher are meant to save you time and energy as you serve your students and their parents. They will make it easier for you to cultivate encounters with Christ in class.
Save Time as a Servant and Student
When I started writing my first book, 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator, I wanted to create a resource with the best teaching strategies for catechists and religion teachers. As I studied the Bible to see what Jesus said about teaching, however, I realized something profound:
To be a better teacher, we have to be a better disciple.
To be a better leader, we have to be a better servant.
By becoming a servant and student, we can find rest from the stress we experience as educators:
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Jesus is gentle. Jesus is humble.
When we are humble, then we let him take care of the results.
All we have to do is serve our students and learn along with them.
But lesson planning and teaching can still feel overwhelming.
How do we serve without feeling stressed out about making an impact on our kids?
That’s where The Religion Teacher can help.
There are now 750+ downloadable resources for members to save you time and energy in preparing and presenting your lessons.
What Do Members Get?
The Religion Teacher membership website provides three kinds of resources for members:
- Printable Worksheets: Downloadable handouts that challenge students to think and reflect on their faith.
- Class Videos: Class videos with graphic organizers to help students understand the most challenging teachings.
- Online Courses: Online training on how to engage and evangelize students and parents.
Hundreds of members now have access to 550+ worksheets, 120+ class videos, and five online courses.
The philosophy behind each of these resources is to keep the learner active and engaged and encountering Christ in class.
550+ Engaging Worksheets and Graphic Organizers
“The weekly reading worksheets have given me a jumping off place to discuss the gospels.”
Nancy Pretto
Middle School Catechist
The Religion Teacher’s worksheets require students to think, reflect, and make connections between Scripture, Tradition, and their personal lives.
They help get students beyond knowing ABOUT Jesus and truly reflecting on their RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.
Sunday Gospel Reading Worksheets
Each week a worksheet is offered to help teach about the Sunday Gospel. These weekly reading worksheets are based on the principles of Lectio Divina, an important Catholic devotional practice that leads people into an encounter with God in Sacred Scripture.
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*The Weekly Gospel Reading worksheets are available in Spanish for the first time this liturgical year!
Share the Lives of the Saints with Your Students with these 150+ Worksheets
Introduce your students to the lives of the saints with this series of worksheets. Each worksheet includes a brief saint biography with questions to help reinforce and challenge students to reflect on the life lessons these saints have to teach us through the way they lived and died. Multiple saint worksheets are available for every week of the calendar year.
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The Religion Teacher’s Activity and Worksheet Packs
Members also get access to packets of worksheets that are usually sold separately for $10-12 each including The Religion Teacher’s Catholic Mass Worksheets, Genesis Worksheets, Ten Commandments Worksheets, The Lord’s Prayer Worksheets, Works of Mercy Worksheets, and the Catholic Social Teaching Activity Pack. New products like these are added to the membership website every year and the library will continue to grow over time. Each of these resources are available for no extra charge to premium members.
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The Religion Teacher’s Advent Activity Pack and Lenten Activity Pack are available to all members. These two products have sold more than a thousand copies each, but members can access them any time without an extra purchase:
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120+ Catechetical Class Videos
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“The Religion Teacher membership website has helped me with specific videos I have needed as well as new ways to approach certain topics.”
Kelly Foyle
Middle School Religion Teacher
The class videos offer an additional level of support and explanation to important teachings of the Catholic Church. As the students watch the videos, they fill out graphic organizers that are custom-made for each video.
With these short classroom videos and their accompanying worksheets, catechists and teachers can supplement their religious instruction and extend their lessons with some additional interactivity.
These catechetical videos include lessons in a variety of topics including Scripture, the Sacraments, the Saints, Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic Symbols, Advent, and Lent.
Each video comes with a printable worksheet for students to complete as they watch the video. The combination of these videos and graphic organizers will allow religious educators to introduce new topics or support in-class lessons in an engaging way.
Online Courses for Religious Educators
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“After so many years of teaching and getting a bit worn out, the beginning of the year course helped re-focus and re-energize me and remind me of some things that I had forgotten.”
Judy Carney
Middle School & High School Religion Teacher
The courses that the religious educators can take to grow and become better are more than just informational videos. They offer effective exercises that will make educators better at what they do.
The easy-to-implement strategies and formation ideas in the courses and online seminars will help catechists and religion teachers focus on how they can become a better religious educators for the students they teach.
Members will have access to highly effective courses including:
- Classroom Engagement: Motivate Your Students to Love Learning the Faith
- Empowering Parents
- Teaching with the Joy of the Gospel: A Series of Reflections on Evangelii Gaudium for Religious Educators
- Starting the New School Year Off Right
- Contagious Classroom Prayer: Convincing Kids to Pray Now and Forever
What are people saying about being a member?
“Being a member of The Religion Teacher has given me countless ideas about lesson plans and material to accompany lessons, as well as tools to get children and parents more engaged.”
Darijana Kline
Elementary Grade Catechist
“I can provide useful ideas for my catechists especially since they are not teachers.”
Bridget Murphy
Director of Religious Education
Join Today to Get These Bonus Gifts!
The three bonuses (details below) expire at 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2022. Join today to get these gifts when you become an annual member of The Religion Teacher.
I am confident that the resources available to premium members of The Religion Teacher will help you lead your students into an encounter with Christ. I am offering a collection of bonuses for anyone who becomes an annual member this month.
(Already an annual member? Email Jared Dees for information on how to access these bonuses, too, if you have not received them.)
If you sign up as an annual paying member today, you will get:
1) A Copy of My Most Popular Book, 31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator
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31 Days to Becoming a Better Religious Educator is full of exercises you can do to become a better disciple, servant, teacher, and leader. The tips on teaching and leading will help you cultivate classroom encounters with Christ.
With more than 14,000 copies sold so far, this book is a key resource for religious educators at all levels and in both schools and parishes.
Value: $11
Note: Only available to those registering in the contiguous United States. Everyone in other countries, email Jared for an alternative bonus.
2) The Religion Teacher’s Lectio Divina Worksheets (Revised & Updated)
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This resource is sold separately at The Religion Teacher. The Religion Teacher’s Lectio Divina Worksheets enable teachers, catechists, and home-schooling parents to guide their youth through a lectio divina process with very little instruction required.
The simple, easy-to-use format of each handout invites students and young people to engage personally with the word of God.
After introducing and practicing each activity, students will be able to come back their favorite handouts again and again for many different Bible passages throughout the year.
Note: Check the box to add this to your order at checkout.
Value: $10
3) New! Digital Version of 15-Minute Stations of the Cross for Kids (Coming February 2022)
The meditations and prayers in this Stations of the Cross book by Jared Dees are short and powerful opportunities for children to encounter Christ especially during the season of Lent. This collection includes five separate meditations to help kids make meaningful connections between the Crucifixion and their everyday lives:
The Fourteen Stations of the Cross with Images and Prayers
A Five-Minute Stations of the Cross
A Family Stations of the Cross
A School Stations of the Cross
A Virtues Stations of the Cross
Each set of meditations will take fifteen minutes or less to complete, but the experience will be heartfelt and memorable every time. Accompanying the mediations are kid-friendly illustrations for each of the fourteen Stations of the Cross by graphic novelist and illustrator Ezekiel Saucedo.
Value: $15
**You must join as an annual member to qualify for the bonus gifts.
Offer expires on January 31, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
How do I join?
There are two kinds of memberships: individual and group.
As an individual member, you personally gain access to all of the worksheets, videos, and online courses. (This option is for individual catechists and teachers.)
As a group member, you will be able to share access with your entire parish of religious educators. (This option is for DREs, pastors, and principals to set up to share with all staff and volunteers.)
Individual Membership (Annual)
$49.99/year
Special Offer! Get summers free.
Access for individual religious educators
Group Membership (Annual)
$179.99/year
Special Offer! Get summers free.
Access for an entire parish or school staff
*Monthly memberships are also available but are not eligible for all bonuses.
What People Are Saying
“I’ve changed how I teach. I focus on them learning instead of me
Olympio D’Mello
“Being a member of The Religion Teacher has given me fresh insights.”
High School Religion Teacher
“I’m able to provide catechists with timely material to supplement their regular curriculum. Jared Dees has supplied great resources for my catechists to look at why they’re doing what they’re doing when it comes to sharing their faith with our children–and how to do it better!”
Laura Mack
Director of Religious Education
I’ve changed how I teach. I focus on them learning instead of me conveying. I use suggestions on teaching methods like the first week of class ideas.”
Kelli Norman
Elementary Grade Catechist