🎥 Watch This Week’s Conversation
If you missed this week’s Facebook Live, catch the full replay to hear the heart and strategy behind each update. This week, Tyler walks through Amazing Students, Amazing Music, Wonder characters, Parent+, and Church Conference.
Amazing Students: From “All the Things” to the Most-Used Things
Student ministry isn’t one-size-fits-all, and Amazing Students reflects that. Unlike XP3, it focuses on the tools and content you actually use most, making ministry simpler, more practical, and easier to lead week to week.
What we learned
XP3 was robust and offered lots of options. However, when our team spoke with student pastors and examined usage patterns, one significant thing became apparent: almost no one was utilizing everything.
Most churches were consistently using three main things: Graphics packages, Small group content, and Media
Why we pruned (and what’s growing next)
Instead of trying to build all the things, we decided to prune on purpose. Pruning isn’t about doing less forever; it’s about doing the right things first so the future growth is healthy and sustainable. So:
- We doubled down on graphics, small groups, and media because that’s what most churches actually use.
- We intentionally shortened the teaching script because a large chunk of users weren’t using it at all. Those who do use it told us they mostly adapt it as a starting point for their own talk.
Does that mean a full, more robust script will never come back? Not at all. But right now we’re focusing on providing a strong base that churches can build on while we grow the library in sustainable ways.
What’s coming soon to Amazing Students
- Games
- Evergreen, student-loved games that come from practitioners
- Designed to actually work in real rooms, not just on paper
- Richer small group questions
- More culturally aware, “this is what’s happening in our world right now” angles
- Clear connection from real-life cultural moments → “this is what the Bible says about it”
- Conversations Videos: Real Stories, Real Scripture, Real Short
- Short, conversation-style stories, driven content around issues students are actually facing. Think: Real Stories, Real Scripture, Real Short.
- Designed to drop into your service at different points: Use as a transition between worship and message, drop it mid-message to illustrate a key idea, or use it as a launchpad for small groups (“What do you need to release to God?”)
Amazing Music: Where It Lives and How to Use It
You already know what it feels like when a song sticks. Parents tell us, “Our kids won’t stop singing these songs in the car.” That’s the goal!
Amazing Music is designed to help you lead age-appropriate worship without writing or arranging everything from scratch, and give families songs they can take home and sing together all week
Here’s how to get it into your rooms:
Where to find Amazing Music
- APlay and APlay Pro
- All Amazing Music currently lives inside APlay.
- You can access the full library through APlay Pro even if you don’t use Apple TV. Log in, pull from the cloud library, and build playlists for your services. (APlay Pro is offline-friendly! So bad Wi-Fi doesn’t interrupt worship or cause buffering mid-service.)
What each song includes:
Every Amazing Music track comes in three formats for maximum flexibility:
- A dance video, for younger ages, or to get kids on their feet
- A lyric video (motion background + on-screen lyrics) for a more “worship set” feel
- An instrumental lyric video for when your worship leaders want to lead live
“Can we download files? Will they be on Spotify?”
- Songs are downloadable for use inside APlay/APlay Pro, not as raw MP4 files to store elsewhere.
- For churches and families who just want to listen, songs are available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major platforms.
- Preschool music (and its adorable new animations) is currently exclusive to APlay. There’s no immediate plan to put those tracks on streaming platforms.
We’re currently at around 123 songs and expect to pass 200+ by next year, with new partnerships and artists joining the mix.
Virtues: Supporting the Bottom Line, Not the Other Way Around
The short answer to a big question: No, the virtues are not going away.
But they are changing roles.
Why we’re adjusting how we use virtues
Over time, we noticed a tension:
- Trying to fit 4–5 Bible stories into one monthly virtue sometimes led to stretching passages beyond their intended context.
- Our theological advisory board—made up of both practitioners and trained theologians—pointed out where certain bottom lines and Bible stories didn’t align or were pulling a text out of context.
We care deeply about:
- Teaching the Bible in its proper context
- Letting Scripture drive the bottom line
What this means in practice
You may start to see:
- Multiple virtues in a month instead of one overarching virtue
- Example: Week 1 → Courage, Week 2 → Forgiveness, Week 3 → Kindness
- Continued emphasis on the bottom line and Bible story as the “main thing” you want kids and parents to remember. Virtues will stay as a way to describe how the Holy Spirit is shaping us… not a box we force every story into
We still love using virtues to:
- Help kids name and recognize Christlike character (e.g., “David showed courage because he trusted God.”)
- Help parents measure growth (“Where do we see kindness, honesty, or perseverance growing in our kid’s life?”)
We’re simply making sure Bible → bottom line → virtue, not the other way around.
Wonder: More Ollie, More Friends, More Representation
Wonder is getting some beautiful updates, especially in the character space!
Why add more characters?
Kids see themselves in stories and characters. When we give them a diverse cast, we give them:
- Multiple personalities and temperaments to relate to
- Different ways to process feelings, conflict, and questions
- On-ramps for quieter kids, more reserved kids, big-feeling kids, and everyone in between
Think: Winnie-the-Pooh-style quadrants. Each character embodies a different way of responding and relating, so kids can say, “That’s kind of like me.”
Ollie isn’t going anywhere
In fact, Ollie is getting more presence as the wise, steady “sage” voice that:
- Helps kids connect their feelings and experiences back to God’s Word
- Guides them through questions like, “What does the Bible say about this?” or “How does Jesus feel about how I’m feeling?”
Ollie’s new friends will help show different ways kids might react to the same truth, and carry the story forward in daily devos and follow-up content.
When you’ll see it
Starting January 1, you’ll see:
- New Wonder episodes with the updated character set
- Updated activity pages that visually match the characters kids see on screen (e.g., the Jesus in the episode is the Jesus they’re coloring or crafting with)
So & So Show: Kellen at the Desk!
Big change, same heart.
What’s happening
- Kellen is taking over the So & So desk in upcoming content.
- John and Brandon are still very much part of the creative DNA: They’re still writing for the show, and you’ll still see them appear in and out of episodes.
Why Kellen?
Preteens have a strong radar for “Is this real or are you just trying to entertain me?”
Kellen uniquely balances silly and serious, can land a Bible truth with clarity and warmth, and connects deeply with kids. The new So & So season uses imagination and questions to take preteens on a journey to understanding God’s Word, not just hearing it.
Content featuring Kellen in this new role begins January content (uploading soon, including February).
Parent+ App: Your Church’s Branded Disciple-Making Tool
You’ve probably heard some buzz about the Parent+ app. Here’s the clearer picture.
What Parent+ is
Parent+ is a white-labeled, customizable parent app that carries your church’s name, logo, and branding. It connects directly to what kids and students are learning in your ministry.
What’s inside for parents
- Weekly bottom lines and Bible stories
- Convo cards with questions to ask kids and students
- Videos and songs that mirror weekend content
- Age-specific content for preschool, elementary, preteen, middle school, and high school
- Devotionals and prayers to pray over their kids
- Customizable blog content you can write or pull from curated options
- A calendar for your ministry events and registrations
- Push notifications (“Ask this question tonight,” “Don’t forget Mom’s Group this Thursday,” etc.)
In early beta testing, churches are seeing around 76% of parents in their ministries actively engaging with the app during the week.
How it works for your church
- Parent+ is available as part of Amazing+.
- Our team walks you through an 8–12 week onboarding process that includes:
- Setting up your Apple developer account so the app is published under your church
- Gathering your logo, colors, and branding
- Building your app to suit your context
- Training you to toggle content, add questions, communicate with parents and customize what they see
If you want to explore whether Parent+ is a fit for your context, visit JoinAmazing.com and connect with our team.
Church Conference: Orange Conference, Reimagined
Yes, the conference you know and love is still happening, just under a name that matches its purpose even more clearly.
Why the shift to “Church Conference”?
We’re still deeply committed to the Orange strategy (home + church) and to influencing those who influence the faith of the next generation.
But that influence doesn’t stop with kids and student pastors.
Church Conference is designed for:
- Kids pastors
- Student pastors
- Parents and family ministry leaders
- Worship and production leaders
- Executive pastors and senior leaders
We want every layer of church leadership to catch the vision for a birth-through-18 strategy, see how their role supports a unified discipleship journey, and leave with practical tools that serve real people in real churches
You can learn more at AChurchConference.com.
Kingdom Quest VBS: Following the Light of Jesus with Peter
Finally, a quick teaser for VBS:
Kingdom Quest invites kids into an epic, game-inspired adventure where they follow the story of Peter and Jesus across several key moments.
Each day helps kids explore:
- What it means to find the light in Jesus
- What it looks like to follow Him in real life
- How the Holy Spirit shapes us into people who live in God’s Kingdom
Learn more here. More details and teasers coming soon.
We’re In This With You
From Amazing Students content, to Wonder updates, Church Conference, and Kingdom Quest—every update has the same heartbeat: To serve you as you serve kids, students, and families.
Have a story, question, or suggestion? We’d love to hear from you. Email us anytime at hello@amazinglife.com – we’re honored to partner with you.
