Discover How DIG IN Adapts to Your Church

DIG IN is designed for your ministry

• Adapts to your needs with easy-to-customize lessons
• Saves you and your volunteers time
• Filled with creative lessons that get kids excited about digging into the Bible
• Both a Sunday School and Children's Church option to be used together or independently

How Dig In Works

Frequently Asked Questions

• What do I get in my subscription to DIG IN?
  Each DIG IN program has a one-year undated scope & sequence. Start whenever you choose. You can even purchase and use more than one program at the same time under a single account. Each program is sold separately.

  • 4 age levels spanning age 3 to grade 6
  • All class formats (age graded, one room, large group/small group)
  • Unlimited number of classrooms
  • 11 activity blocks each week (up to 2 hours of content)
  • 13 lessons per quarter, plus an Easter and a Christmas lesson
  • Weekly Bible point and summary verse
  • Online access to content for 15 months from purchase
  • Option to download lessons in editable MS Word format and customize lessons
  • Weekly take-home content
• What's the difference between the demo and full versions?
  • Children's directors can choose whether to build lessons for teachers or have some or all teachers build their own. Building lessons is easy (even for non-technical people)...lessons can be built in just minutes.
  • When teachers build their own lessons, they can choose the activity blocks that utilize their natural strengths and match the interests of the kids in their class, increasing their impact and teaching success.
  • If you choose to use the same activity blocks each week, simply press a button to build out lessons for the entire quarter. Talk about easy!
  • Email lessons to substitute teachers with just a click.
• What's the difference between the demo and full versions?
  The demo version gives you one lesson to build in any classroom format or any combination of the 11 Activity Blocks provided. With the full version you can create unlimited classrooms and each quarter includes 13 configurable lessons. The full version also includes a private web page for your teachers to access published lessons.
• Can I get sample lessons?
  Yes, within the demo you can view or download the first four lessons from each available program.
• Who writes your content and why should I trust them?
  Group Publishing has earned its excellent reputation in the field of children's ministry, with over forty years of experience equipping ministries across multiple Christian denominations. We stand behind our mission: "We create experiences that help people grow in relationship with Jesus and each other."

  • Our team of editors comes with a lot of experience!
  • Combined 93 years volunteering with children.
  • Combined 93 years developing curriculum.
  • Combined 16 years of experience working in a paid ministry setting.
  • Combined 10 years of experience teaching at a school.
  • 7 children and 6 grandchildren raised in Christian homes.

  We currently volunteer with these ages:

  • Elementary (1st-5th) large group/small group format
  • 4th & 5th graders in an age-graded Sunday School setting
  • 3- to 8- year olds
  • infants
  • elementary kids (grades K-6) in an after school tutoring program for at-risk kids
  • 3- to 15-year olds

  Our degrees include:

  • B.A. in Christian Education from Wheaton College, with a minor in Bible & Theology
  • M.A. in Children and Family Ministry from Bethel Seminary
  • B.A. in Elementary Education, from Colorado Christian University with a minor in Biblical Studies

  Plus:

  • Experience leading children’s ministries in small, medium, and mega church settings.
  • Helping create Group’s VBS programs for over 24 years
  • DIG IN was originally developed by an editor with a Master of Divinity
• What is your statement of faith?
  • We believe the Bible is the inspired, authoritative Word of God.
  • We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in his virgin birth, in his sinless life, in his death on the cross, in his bodily resurrection, in his ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in his personal return.
  • We believe people receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Jesus.
• Am I getting anything different when I purchase a license for 20 or 400 kids?
  All the tools and content are the same. We created DIG IN so it’s affordable for any size church or budget. A large church will spend less per student than a small church, but a smaller ministry will spend less overall.
• When will new programs become available?
  The first program, Digging Into the Life of Jesus became available for purchase in 2016. We added Digging Into the Bible in One Year in 2017. New programs will be announced each year.
• When other programs come out, do I have to buy them separately?
  Each program is sold separately. You might choose to use multiple programs simultaneously with different age levels or for different purposes. For example, you might use Life of Jesus for Sunday school and The Bible In One Year for a Wednesday evening program.
• Do you automatically charge my credit card?
  When you purchase, you pay up front for your first quarter. Every 90 days, your credit card will be automatically charged for the next quarter before it's delivered. You can cancel any time prior to the quarterly billing date. Once you've received all content for a specific program, the billing cycle will stop unless you purchase a different program.
• When does new quarterly content become available?
  Your quarterly content delivery schedule is based on the original purchase date of your program. So, for example, if you purchase "Digging Into the Life of Jesus" on June 15th, you will have immediate access to Quarter 1 upon purchase. Your next quarter will become available 90 days later on September 15th when your second payment is made and so on until you have paid for all four quarters. You can cancel or reactivate at any time. If you reactivate, your subscription will start with the next available quarter.
• Can I skip a quarter?
  No, all four quarters will be delivered in sequence. However, you can edit your delivery schedule to get your next quarter sooner, postpone it to a later date, or cancel your subscription and reactivate it later if desired.
• If I cancel my subscription, do I lose access to the lesson builder?
  No, once you’ve paid for a quarter, you have access to that lesson content for 15 months from the original purchase date. Cancelling a subscription just stops the billing cycle so you do not receive any new content until you choose to reactivate.
• Can I return DIG IN for a refund?
  No, the return policy of the publisher states that "Products or services that include downloadable content are non-returnable once content has been delivered. All sales are final." However, you may cancel your subscription at any time to avoid future charges.
• Do I have to start this program in the fall?
  You can start a program at any time. You'll always begin with Quarter 1 and continue through the scope and sequence. We provide additional holiday lessons for Christmas and Easter for you to drop in to your lesson plan as needed.
• Can I change the order of lessons?
  Lessons in DIG IN are intended to follow a specified scope and sequence, so they may not be re-ordered. You may choose to skip a lesson by not publishing it for your teachers to view. Since you can start DIG IN at any time of year, additional Christmas and Easter lessons will be provided to schedule in whenever needed.
• Can I make copies of lessons for my teachers?
  Yes, your license includes permission to print copies of lessons for any number of teachers or helpers within your church as long as they are only used with the number of students specified in your pricing tier.
• How many printed pages per lesson?
  Page count varies based on how you build each lesson; however, you can estimate about 12-pages of lesson content for an hour of teaching time. If you choose to use class handouts and/or take-home pages, you may decide to print these as well. Remember, you have the option to download lessons to an electronic device for teaching…or you can setup a Staples Advantage account, upload your lessons, and take advantage of highly discounted printing.
• What kind of technology do I need?
  DIG IN uses a web browser interface. There’s no software to install, so all you need is a PC or Mac connected to the Internet to build and publish lessons. It’s easy! And teachers can review and even teach lessons from a computer, tablet, or hard-copy printout.
• How are lessons organized in DIG IN?
  Before building lessons, you'll start by setting up classrooms. If your church has multiple services, you may want to name a classroom for each service, such as "9 a.m. Grades 1 & 2" so you can tailor each classroom experience to the particular preferences of the teachers or students involved. When creating a classroom, you can name it and choose the classroom format options such as age-graded, one room, or large-group/small-group. Taking this simple step also keeps teachers from accidentally changing another teacher's lesson.
• Is there any limit to the number of classrooms I can create?
  You can create as many classrooms as you desire — it's up to you.
• What are the different classroom formats available?
  There are three main classroom formats available:

  • Choose Age-Graded Classrooms if your ministry has kids in separate classrooms for age-appropriate learning and activities. You may select up to four different age groupings.
  • Choose One Room if your ministry has kids of various ages (from Preschool to 6th Grade) together in a single room. This option works well for a children’s church, midweek program, or smaller Sunday school program.
  • Choose Large-Group/Small-Group to have all elementary-age kids gathered together for a portion of the lesson and then split into small group crews for interactive experiences and deeper discussions
• Can I use DIG IN for an evening or midweek program?
  Absolutely! The One Room and Large-Group/Small-Group classroom formats work particularly well for children's church, evening, or midweek programs.
• Can I play DIG IN videos through ProPresenter or MediaShout?
  Yes. You can download video files (in mp4 format) for use with your preferred presentation software.
• What are Activity Blocks?
  If you think of a lesson as a recipe, Activity Blocks are the ingredients. Each Activity Block has a specified time duration, and each block is connected to the main lesson point, so everything has a purpose. The most important block is the Core Bible Discovery block because it contains the central Bible story for the lesson. You can mix and match other blocks to add music, crafts, games, and other activities to your lesson to meet your needs for available time and teacher/student preference.
• What is the minimum and maximum length of a lesson?
  Every lesson offers 11 different activity blocks to mix and match. By default, we include the following blocks in every lesson: Opening, Core Bible Discovery, and Life Application Wrap-Up for a total of 30 minutes. If you choose to include all 11 available blocks, your total lesson time would be 1 hour, 55 minutes.
• What Bible translation does DIG IN use?
  New Living Translation (NLT)
• What does it mean to publish a lesson?
  Once you’ve built a lesson, you can add it to the list of Published Lessons for teachers to access online.
• Can teachers build their own lessons?
  You can give each teacher his or her own login to view and/or download lesson content from the Published Lessons page. You can also choose whether to give individual teachers permission to build or edit lessons.
• What if my teachers aren't tech savvy? Do they have to have a computer to use this?
  You may choose to print hard-copy lessons for your teachers or allow teachers to retrieve their own lessons from the Published Lessons page in your DIG IN account. It’s completely up to you.
• Is there a limit to the number of teacher logins I can set up?
  The more the merrier! You may set up as many teacher logins as needed to support the number of students in the pricing tier you have purchased.
• Is there a limit to the number of teacher logins I can set up?
  The more the merrier! You may set up as many teacher logins as needed to support the number of students in the pricing tier you have purchased.
• Do I have to assign teachers to classrooms?
  All teachers can view lessons for all classrooms. DIG IN is a flexible lesson builder that’s easy for you to manage—including giving your team full visibility so they can inspire one another.
• What happens when I have a substitute teacher?
  You have the option to print hard-copy lesson materials, download and email files to your sub, or set up a login for your sub so he or she can download his or her own lesson materials. You're covered.
• Do my classrooms need computers or Internet access?
  No. A computer with an internet connection is only needed to build lessons and download or print your lesson content. Within your classroom, your teachers can teach from a hardcopy printout or a mobile device. For video content, we recommend either downloading video files to a device connected to a TV or projector, or you can purchase a quarterly DVD and play the videos using a standard DVD player.
• I don't want to print out all of my lessons. Can I take my files to a printing provider?
  Yes. We provide a permission release document here that you may take with you to any printing service to certify you have the rights to reproduce the materials for local church use.