Teaching the discipleship to young children and preteens is definitely rewarding when using the Summit 1: God's Greatness Discipleship Guidebook by BCM International Canada, Inc.  This guidebook provides detailed lessons to provide understanding of the knowledge, character, and conduct of discipleship in Christianity.

This course is designed for students ages 6-12 with the hopes of providing foundational truth, building character, obtaining biblical life skills, and earning rewards in the process. The journey begins with a detailed and encouraging letter to the parents explaining the importance of a living what you teach your children. It also explains the process of the program and what each student is expected to obtain during each session.  Parents are also strongly encouraged to use this guide book alongside the Bible and make a commitment to be consistent in study and participation.  Summit Achievement Awards can be obtained by upon finalizing trails, memorizing Bible verses, and completing the outdoor, in home, or community service projects.  At the conclusion of each Peak Guidebook your child will earn a Summit Flag Medal.  All rewards can be printed or ordered via the website and after working through all six books they will join the elite group of disciples known as the Summiteers.

The God’s Greatness Guidebook, also referred to as Peak One, is the first of six within the Summit series.  It includes 12 trails with the purpose of advancing children toward obtaining a victorious life with Jesus Christ.  Each trail is broken down into four color coded growth areas: Bible knowledge, Christian character, faithful conduct, and project awards.  The program is designed to complete one fourth of each trail weekly, ultimately finishing the entire book within one year.  Peak One includes lessons on knowing who God is, confidence in Bible validity, power of scripture, characteristics of Christianity and the conduct that follows salvation. Worship, prayer, obedience, the importance of serving others and so much more are also covered in detail.  Reflection time is offered by asking thought provoking questions and providing a space for the students to write their responses.  Charts, puzzles, graphs, riddles, games, and drawing opportunities are also used to help teach or apply the material. The service projects can be printed or downloaded via the website and use research, presentations, writing, cooking, building, field trips, and much more to further apply the lessons.

In our homeschool we initially used this book once a week as suggested on Tuesdays.  Each lesson took approximately 20 minutes to complete during which we alternated him working alone and us doing it together.  Our son was able to easily work through the activities by himself without any issues.  During those times we did review the material with him to make sure that he truly understood.  I often noticed that he reached for the book rather than being told that it was time to do it.  This was my first indication that he was enjoying the material.  My second came when I noticed that he was moving forward in the lessons faster than suggested therefore we added Fridays.

Some fun features included within this Bible study was the Morse code used throughout. By using the decoder in the back of a book my son was able to figure out different messages and has actually started memorizing Morse code.  Another thing that we loved is the buy one give one program. For every Peak Guidebook that is purchased through the website they actually donate another to a family.  It feels good to know that when in purchasing this product we are partnering to share the word of God with others around the world.  We all enjoyed family discussion, encouraged within each lesson that provided opportunities for in-depth conversations.  Finally, the service projects always inspired him to dig deeper and so far his favorites have been cooking, studying mammals and visiting the zoo, and creating a family tree.

Since our time using this book we have already decided to continue this series until the end. It is exciting to see how it all comes together for our oldest son as he willingly worked through each trail.  This Bible study has helped him apply the word to his life and he even shared his faith with others on his basketball team.  We will be recommending this study with families in our homeschool groups.  We also think this will be a good curriculum to use for a youth weekly Bible study or mentorship group.

Throughout the entire Summit series, you discover God Greatness, God's Word, God's Son, God's Church, God's Kingdom, and God's Champions. The overall purpose of each book is to help young people reach their peak potential as a believer in Christ. It is so encouraging to know that discipleship, strong faith in Christ, and biblical principles can be taught and understood at any age.  The Summit 1: God’s Greatness Discipleship Guidebook by BCM International Canada, Inc. does a great job of ensuring children are spiritually prepared and reaching their peak potential in Christ.

-Product review by Ta’Neisha Kemp, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, March, 2018