memory

Memory Madness

Watch a video about Memory Madness!

Can you imagine a five-year-old that can quote 60 verses word-for-word without hardly any help? Have you ever seen a grandmother, her son, and her grandson all memorizing Scripture together? Can you envision kids having frequent spiritual conversations with their parents about verses that they are memorizing together? By having your children learn passages of the Bible you can help equip them to be well prepared for many different situations.Memorization is useful in fighting temptation, guarding doctrine, learning about God, and learning what God wants. Although it may seem like a difficult process at first, you’ll find that some of the tips below will make the process much easier for your kids.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. NIV

2 Timothy 3:16,17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. NIV

Memory Madness is a program designed to help provide both kids and adults with an arsenal of Scripture designed to equip, instruct, and encourage. By faithfully and repeatedly learning just a few verses, over time we can build an incredible foundation of truth for both our kids and ourselves. Our goal is to have kids learn verses and learn them really well so that they’ll stick with them for life.

Here's a brief overview of how this simple program works:

Pick up a set of 10 verses to learn (each set of 10 is called a "Mission")
Memorize one new verse each week for 10 weeks.
Get quizzed each week to earn points and a sticker.
Say a bonus verse for extra points.
After 10 weeks trade in points for Mad Smash bucks to use in the toy store (kids only).
Quote all 10 verses at once to "Mad Smash" and double your points!
Get cool stuff at the toy store (kids only)
Mad Smash 10, 20, 30 etc... verses for a certificate.
Mad Smash 50 verses for a cool t-shirt!
Mad Smash 100 verses for a cool sweatshirt!

More repetition leads to better memorization
It is more intensive than most Sunday school programs
It incorporates child, parent and church involvement
It is far less time and resource intensive than many other good church memory programs
It is a comprehensive program designed to build a framework from which people will form beliefs.

We believe this is a program that can do wonders in teaching your children about the things of God! We understand that you, as a parent, might at times choose to not have your kids participate for some reason; that’s fine, we just want to make this ministry available to any of you that want to participate. To really be successful, most kids will need some encouragement from their parents, so we want to make sure you understand the vision of what we are trying to accomplish, and we hope you are excited to use this tool to help teach and train your kids.

As we said above, our goal is to have kids learn verses and learn them really well so that they’ll stick with them for life. To accomplish this goal we’re trying to make the learning process fun. Kids get points for memorization. Points get traded in for cool Madness Bucks, which are used to buy prizes after ten weeks of memorization in the “Memory Madness Toy Store.” They get verse cards and memory verse bookmarks (which might be easier to use when reviewing verses). It might take more to get you or I to memorize, but kids really seem to enjoy this!

What would you give to have your child know ten gospel verses, twenty verses on basic Christianity, ten verses on kid-related issues, and ten verses on God’s top instructions? That’s exactly what’s coming down the pike. What if he/she knew all 50 of those verses at once? You’d probably give a lot to have that happen! All you need to do is to believe in your child’s God-given ability to memorize, and encourage your child to review his or her verses daily. Sure it will take a little coaxing, but not much, and it will be well worth the effort.

Memory Madness

Why you should be involved in Memory Madness
1)It is good for you to learn Scripture. I could expand on that in great length, but hopefully you already know that. It helps you fight temptation, understand God, direct your life, guard your doctrine, etc… It is good for you.

2)It tells your child that you value the Word greatly. It communicates to your child that you believe in learning Scripture enough that you’re willing to do it yourself.

3)Your involvement will help your kids be involved. Many kids have already learned 50 verses. It’s not hard the way we do it, but it does take some parental involvement to encourage the kids to practice. That helps them be successful and really have fun. Dad, they need you to value it and prioritize this in your family. They want you involved.

4)Oftentimes men are not sure how to lead their families spiritually. They know they should, but they don’t know how. This is an opportunity to lead out. Someone else has already thought through a program, picked verses, made work sheets, and set up a system of motivation. All you need to do is sign up and encourage your kids to sign up.

Memory Madness