Following a month-long online pre-training in October, the Korean Union Conference (KUC) in South Korea hosted an “Alive in Jesus (AIJ) Leadership Workshop” from November 1 to 2, 2025.

The event brought together more than 50 leaders and teachers from across Korea. The event offered a first, in-depth introduction of the newly launched AIJ children’s Sabbath School curriculum to Korean churches, following earlier presentations by the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference (GC) and the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD).

Orathai Chureson, GC Children’s Ministries director, opened the workshop by presenting AIJ’s core philosophy and stressing that the transition represents growth rather than replacement. She explained that AIJ retains the strengths of the current GraceLink curriculum while offering a deeper, more biblical, and practical educational framework for children, families, and churches in the twenty-first century.

The GraceLink curriculum was first introduced by the Adventist Church in 2000.

The new Alive in Jesus curriculum spans 12 years, from Beginners through Juniors, and includes 624 story-based Bible lessons.

Raquel Arrais, NSD Children’s Ministries director, followed with a presentation comparing GraceLink and AIJ. She noted that GraceLink follows a structured sequence of preparation, Bible study, application, and sharing. AIJ, by contrast, uses a more flexible model that intentionally strengthens “multiple intelligences” learning.

Children are encouraged to engage Scripture through sensory activities, nature exploration, story time bags, and hands-on experiences that help them explore and discover Bible truth for themselves.

Kim YoungUn, KUC Children’s Ministries director, outlined how the new curriculum will be introduced in Korea. He shared practical implementation strategies that reflect the educational reality and culture of Korean congregations and emphasized the importance of building a faith-nurturing environment that connects home, church, and the wider community.

“AIJ will serve as a tool that naturally connects faith across generations,” he said.

During the workshop, teachers experienced key AIJ elements firsthand, including sensory stations, the story time bag, a nature box, and examples of biblically grounded, activity-based learning. These demonstrations were designed to show how classes operate in real settings.

One teacher commented that “AIJ helps children see, touch, smell, and move as they discover biblical truth for themselves.”

Another noted that “it is refreshing to see an approach that fully involves children’s senses and experiences instead of relying only on listening and memorization.”

YoungUn concluded by reaffirming the KUC commitment to AIJ.

He said, “AIJ is not simply a curriculum change. It is a journey to build a faith environment where children grow in a living relationship with Jesus.”

He added that the KUC will continue working with conferences, missions, and local church teachers to support the curriculum so that every child in Korea can grow as a disciple of Jesus.

The original article was published on the Northern Asia-Pacific Division news site.