1,000+ Tools to Help You Plant Seeds as a Religious Educator

Premium members of The Religion Teacher have access to hundreds of practical resources to lead their students into an encounter with Christ.

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The three bonuses (details below) expire at 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2024. Join today to get these gifts when you become a member of The Religion Teacher. 

Hope is Stronger than Fear

If you are like most religious educators, then you share in a common hope.

We want our students to grow up knowing the love of God.

We want them to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

We want them to go to church.

We want them to pray.

When things go bad in life, we want them to rely on the Lord.

These are the signs of success.

Yet, all religious educators share something else in common.

We sometimes, maybe often, are afraid to fail.

We are overwhelmed by feelings of failure—for not teaching enough, not reaching enough kids, or not making a big enough impact.

We panic because there is so much to teach and so little time.

What can we do?

When I feel overwhelmed, I remind myself:

“Just plant seeds.”

This phrase is inspired by the Bible passage from Saint Paul’s letter to the Corinthians:

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” 
—1 Corinthians 3:6 

Be like Saint Paul.

Let God give the growth.

Most of the time as religious educators, we don’t get to see the seeds grow.

We don’t get to see the fruits of our labor.

We don’t get to see what happens to the students we teach.

We may never know if they become dedicated Christians or not.

Instead, we will find joy in the planting. 

The challenge, therefore, is to plant seeds that have a long-term impact.

Ask ourselves:

How can we make our lessons as memorable as possible?

How can we be sure that the seeds we plant bear fruit in the years to come?

Where can we turn for help?

Resources that Lead Kids to Encounter Christ

As a religious educator, know that you don’t have to be alone. There are resources to help.

My name is Jared Dees. 

I’m the founder of The Religion Teacher.

In the last fifteen 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.

These tools will make it easier for you to cultivate encounters with Christ in class.

Tools to Alleviate the Frustration

Teaching isn’t easy.

Kids are often unengaged.

Sometimes they misbehave. They can be disrespectful.

It gets frustrating when the things we teach seem to be almost immediately forgotten.

The frustration can lead us to force faith upon our students.

Instead of putting our hope in God to grow faith in our kids, we try to force it.

When we force faith, we start to:

1. Teach too much (instead of focusing on what is most important and memorable).
2. Teach trivia (instead of relevant and personal life lessons).
3. Teach ABOUT Jesus (instead of inviting students to meet Jesus).

And so the cycle continues.

Kids are unengaged. They are distracted or rude.

It feels like nothing we do is getting trough to them.

But remember:

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” 
—1 Corinthians 3:6 

This is our mantra: just plant seeds.

Plant Seeds They Will Remember

Which seeds?

Which seeds will they remember?

They will remember the way we made them feel.

They will remember many of the stories we shared.

Most of all, they will will remember the encounters they had with Christ in class.

I have been a religious educator for 20 years and spent most of that time developing resources for other teachers and catechists to use in class.

This year members of The Religion Teacher will have access to 1,000 downloadable tools with one goal in mind: lead kids into an encounter with Christ.

The Religion Teacher membership exists to save you time and energy in planning your lessons.

You will be able to teach Catholicism with confidence.

You will have access to easy-to-use, practical resource for every topic you could teach this year.

Plus, you will get books and online courses to help you become a better disciple along the way.

Here is what you will get as a member:

What Do Members of The Religion Teacher Get?

The Religion Teacher membership website provides three kinds of resources for members:

• Printable Worksheets: Downloadable handouts that challenge students to think, meditate, and pray. There is no “busy work.”
• Class Videos: Class videos with graphic organizers to help students understand the most challenging Church teachings.
• Online Courses: Online training on how to engage and evangelize students and parents.

The philosophy behind each of these resources is to keep the students actively learning, engaged, and encountering Christ in class.

700+ Engaging Worksheets and Graphic Organizers

“I do not have to spend as much time pulling resources off of the web because The Religion Teacher has such great ideas for members.”  

Karan Giera
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 Christ and truly reflecting on their RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.

Sunday Gospel Reading Worksheets

“The weekly reading worksheets have given me a jumping off place to discuss the gospels.”

Nancy Pretto
Middle School Catechist

Each week you will get a worksheet 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.

*The Weekly Gospel Reading worksheets are also available in Spanish.

Share the Lives of 200+ Saints with Your Students

“These activities bring our saints alive to the students.” 

Elizabeth Kogler
Director of Religious Education

Celebrate the major saint feast days throughout the year with a series of saint 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.

The Religion Teacher’s Activity and Worksheet Packs

“My teachers have saved time by being able to easily access worthwhile worksheets.” 

Heather Irvine
Religious Education Coordinator

Members have access to the many collections of worksheets and activity packs that are usually sold separately for $8-12 each including The Religion Teacher’s Catholic Mass Worksheets, Beatitudes Worksheet Collection, Ten Commandments Worksheets, The Lord’s Prayer Worksheets, Seven Sacraments Worksheets, and the Catholic Social Teaching Activity Pack. Every new product from The Religion Teacher will be available to members at no additional charge.

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 to the lesson plans, videos, activities, prayers, and worksheets without an extra purchase.

200+ Catechetical Class Videos

“The Religion Teacher videos seem to fill a hole in our religion curriculum. In particular, there is excellent resources for the liturgical year.”

Becca Gann
Middle School Religion Teacher

Supplement your lectures and lessons with a series of short videos about Catholic Scripture and tradition.

Members have exclusive access to graphic organizer worksheets students can use to listen and learn from each video.

These catechetical videos include lessons in a variety of topics including Scripture, the Sacraments, the Saints, Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic Symbols, Advent, and Lent.

The combination of the videos with the graphic organizers will allow religious educators to introduce new topics or support in-class lessons in an engaging way.

Online Courses for Religious Educators

“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 Religion Teacher membership has made me a better catechist and DRE for my catechists.”

Olga Saenz
Director of Religious Education

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

“The Religion Teacher has given me many ways to help my students see how they can personally be a light to others. I love the way the questions get students to think and reflect.” 

Cathy Singleton
Elementary School Religion Teacher

Join Today to Get These Bonus Gifts!

The three bonuses (details below) expire at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Join today to get these gifts when you become a 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. To encourage you join, I am offering a collection of bonuses for anyone who becomes a member by the deadline.

(Already a member? Look for an email from Jared Dees for information on how to access these bonuses.)

If you sign up as a member today, you will get:

1) A Paperback Copy of the new book Just Plant Seeds 

You don’t have to feel afraid of failure. Instead, make this your new mantra: just plant seeds. Just Plant Seeds shares a message of hope for religious educators with practical ways to create memorable lessons and experiences that will make an impact in the lives of students decades from now. I wrote Just Plant Seeds specifically for members of The Religion Teacher and want every member to have a copy.

Value: $15

Note: Only available to those registering in the contiguous United States. Email Jared for the eBook version of the book or an alternative version.

2) The Religion Teacher’s Lectio Divina Worksheets (Revised & Updated)

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) Digital Version of Beatitales

The eighty fables and parables in this short story collection for kids will give young people a greater appreciation for the ways they can live out the teachings of Jesus from the Bible. Religious educators have been reading these stories to their students, assigning them as group work, and inviting them to make up skits to act them out.

As a member, you will get access to the eBook version of Jared Dees’s best-selling children’s book. You will get an email with links to download the book after you join.

Value: $7

Offer expires on January 31, 2024 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, your entire parish and/or school of religious educators and teachers will have access to the resources. (This option is for DREs, pastors, and principals to set up to share with all staff and volunteers.)

You can cancel at any time.

What Else Are People Saying?

“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