Children’s Pastors and Leaders Discussion Guide

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Table of Contents

To the Leader Page 4

Movie Overview Page 5

Breakdown of Content Page 6Major Themes of the Movie

Tips for Leveraging the Movie in Your Ministry Page 8

Tips for Helping Parents Leverage the Movie at Home Page 10

About KidzMatter Page 12

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To the LeaderWelcome and thank you for your interest in utilizing this movie in your ministry. It’s inevitable — at some point in your ministry young children will ask you about heaven. Where is it? What does it look like? Who’s there? They often ask with wonder and fear. So what do you say? How can you show them that they don’t need to be afraid?

That’s where this movie discussion guide can help. Heaven is for Real is Todd Burpo’s story of young Colton’s scary illness that resulted in emergency surgery. During surgery, Colton slipped out of this world and into heaven. In the months after the surgery, he began to verbalize what he witnessed. The New York Times best-selling book chronicles some of the conversations Todd and Sonja had with Colton and what they learned. Todd couples each conversation with biblical support to show the reality of Colton’s journey to heaven.

Kids are going to ask questions about heaven. The Bible is the best go-to source for answering their questions, but this movie discussion guide can accompany the truths found in the Bible. Use the tools here to put something practical and tangible in front of kids’ eyes to assure them that both God and heaven are for real and that they can know Jesus as their savior.

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Movie OverviewBased on the #1 New York Times best-selling book of the same name, Heaven is for Real is an adaptation of the true story about a father from small-town Nebraska who struggled to find the courage to share his son’s dramatic experience.

Todd Burpo and his wife, Sonja, are shaken enough as it is when their son nearly dies during surgery for a ruptured appendix. But when four-year-old Colton begins to share details and accounts of his journey to heaven during that surgery, they are challenged to find the purpose and meaning of this near tragedy. Colton knows details about events that happened before his birth and sees people who have been gone for a long time. He says he has met his sister, whom his mom miscarried before he was conceived. He recalls how he has met his great-grandfather, Pop, who died 30 years before he was born.

Todd struggles with the decision of whether to share Colton’s experience and if so, how much and what specifically should be made public. Colton is a changed boy and people take notice.

The Burpo family is bewildered, intrigued, scared, and affirmed through the eyes of this young boy who has seen so much.

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Breakdown of Content Major Themes of the Movie• Godandheavenarereal.We live in a world where many

people say they believe in God; however, their idea of God is very different from the reality of Almighty God. God and heaven can be fuzzy and difficult to grasp for adults, let alone children. Kids, especially young ones, have a hard time understanding the idea of a physical God and literal heaven.

• Miracleshappentoday. Colton lived, even when the doctors and nurses said he should have died. Dr. O’Holleran had great skill, but he was directed by a much higher power. Kids need to know that miracles don’t always happen when we pray, but they do still happen and God still does big things.

• Livingwiththehopeofheavenandalsolivinginthepresentisadelicatebalance. Christians naturally long for heaven, when they will be released from the woes of this world. But as Chris Christian’s song, “Too Heavenly Minded” from the 1980s says, “If we are too heavenly minded, we’ll be no earthly good ... we’ve got to keep our eyes on heaven and our feet on the ground.” In the movie, Sonja seems to struggle with the intense focus on heaven. She feels the need to live in the present. Christians rightly hope for and look forward to heaven but need to live in the present to share the love of Christ. This theme fits more with parents and leaders than kids — they’re not typically dealing with this mindset yet.

• WecanbelievethatallthingsarepossiblewithGod.Being a Christian requires faith in a God who can’t be seen, whose Son did something that happened 2,000 years ago. Todd struggled to believe what Colton told him. It didn’t seem possible that

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his son could have seen Pop or the sister who was never born. But just as Christians rely on faith in the unseen when trusting Christ as Savior, Todd needed faith to trust that his son had been in heaven and what he saw was real. Many times parents and teachers disregard what kids say because it might be too far-fetched or not important. Colton’s story reminds parents to listen to kids. While things children say might sometimes be made up, there may be truth in the story adults need to hear.

• Dowhatyouknowisright. There are some situations in life when adults and kids alike lack courage to do something. What if others don’t believe? What if others tease you or become angry or turn up their noses? It was a struggle for Todd to decide if sharing Colton’s experience was positive or detrimental. At times it seemed to be positive because Colton provided encouragement to others even at his young age. At times it felt like a detriment. Kids need to be reminded to do what they know is right. Sometimes the Bible is clear and direct about right and wrong. Other times, it’s not as clear. In those unclear times, kids and adults need to rely on God and His Word when making decisions.

• Jesusloveschildren. Colton repeatedly told his parents that Jesus loves children. This was impressed heavily on his little heart. Kids need to be reminded continually that Jesus loves them — really, truly, desperately loves them.

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Tips for Leveraging the Movie in Your MinistryDepending on their age, the topic of heaven can be delicate and scary for kids. Use these ideas to talk about heaven with the kids in your ministry or to help leaders and parents in your church talk with kids about heaven.

• Cordinatechurch-widelessonsaboutheaven. Working with your senior/lead pastor, schedule a series of multiple weeks (or even just one week) where the sermon topic in the worship service coincides with what the kids are learning, so parents and kids are learning about heaven the same day and parents become equipped with truth to answer the inevitable questions about heaven.

• LooktotheBiblefordescriptionsofwhatheavenlookslike. Read Revelation 4 and 21 and talk about what heaven looks like. What are you most excited to see?

• Teachage-appropriatelessonsaboutheaven.Using the Bible as your only source, share facts about heaven. Sometimes children are fearful of something because they don’t have the facts and don’t know what to expect. Granted, there are a lot of unknowns about heaven, so no one will ever be completely prepared. But as a leader and teacher, you can share what you do know to be true.

• TaketwotothreeweekstofocusonJesus’loveforkids. The topic of love should be a conversation year-round, not just Valentine’s Day. Children should know that Jesus loves them so much that He has gone to prepare a place for them in heaven where they can someday be with Him forever.

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• PreachtheGospel.Trusting Christ as Savior is how a person can have assurance of heaven. In addition to dedicating time to teaching kids what heaven looks like, facts about heaven, and that Jesus loves them, the Gospel is a key follow-up. As kids become excited about heaven and learn that God loves them, they will want to go to heaven. And the Gospel doesn’t have to be presented in a big, flashy way. Props are helpful, yes, but when it comes to teaching this life-altering truth, keep it simple for kids.

• PlananoutingforparentstoseetheHeaven is for Realmovie. Offer child care at your church so needing to find a sitter won’t deter parents from going. Plan for a Saturday matinee or afternoon showing. As parents come back to pick up their kids, have materials and tips to hand out so parents can feel confident talking with their kids about heaven. (See the next section for resources to recommend to parents.)

• UseyourSundayschoolhourtoinviteparentstoaone-timeseminarorclassonheavenandhowtodiscussthetopicwiththeirkids.

• Usetopicalteachingresourcesforparentsandkids. There are resources and curriculum available on various websites such as Group. There are Sunday school lessons based on the book (even DVD-based lessons) that will help you discuss this topic with the kids in your ministry.

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Tips for Helping Parents Leverage the Movie at HomeAs a children’s pastor or leader, you probably have more confidence talking about heaven than the average Christian parent. Parents may be caught off guard by their kid’s questions about heaven. Provide parents with these tips and helps so they can lovingly nurture and teach their kids at home regarding this topic.

• Trytoansweryourchild’squestions.Sometimes the biggest source of fear for kids is the unknown. Parents can ease the minds of their kids by answering their questions. A good resource is an article found at the Eternal Perspective Ministries website entitled “Teaching Children About Heaven: Answering Your Child’s Questions.”

• Sharebiblicalfactsaboutheaven.Parents can use a family devotional on the topic of heaven to help introduce and expound on truths from the Bible.

• Invitekidstoexploretheideaofheaven.The Bible tells us that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us in heaven — a house with many rooms. While we can’t know for sure what this house will look like, it’s fun to imagine. As a family, invite each member to draw what they think their house in heaven will look like. As kids are drawing, remind them that their home in heaven will be greater than anything they can imagine. This activity will help children understand that heaven is a real place and Jesus is preparing for them to live there someday.

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• The Bible tells us that we will have crowns in heaven — crowns that will last forever (1 Corinthians 9:25, 2 Timothy 4:8). As a family project, have everyone create and decorate a crown. While doing so, the discussion can revolve around God’s perfect heaven and how He is perfect, righteous. He makes us righteous when we trust Him as Savior. We’ll never be truly perfect in this world, but the death and resurrection of Christ that paid the price for our sins makes it possible for us to enter heaven when we accept it as a gift.

• Reassurekidsthatheavenisasafeplace. The topic of heaven can be scary for kids because they might be afraid they won’t know their parents or siblings and will be surrounded by strangers. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says that Christians will not know less in heaven than they know now on earth. Use this verse as an encouragement to kids — they don’t need to fear being alone or getting lost on the way there.

• PurchasetheHeaven is for Real for Kidspicturebook. Featuring Scripture on each spread, this book includes a letter to parents with tips on discussing heaven with their children. Visit the Heaven is for Real website for additional resources, including the board book for younger children Heaven is for Real for Little Ones, a Heaven is for Real for Kids app, and coloring pages.

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About KidzMatterKidzMatter partners with those who minister to kids and families in the church to make an eternal impact in the lives of those kids and families. We’re here to help you. We don’t care if you have been in the ministry for 50 years or 5 minutes. We have the tools and the know-how to help you reach kids and families. We’re all in this together.

At KidzMatter, we keep the Gospel at the center of what we do; we are friendly and professional; we don’t produce anything we wouldn’t use ourselves; we are encouraging; and we are responsible with the resources God has given us.

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