Praise for The Advent Investigator
Katie Faris, author of, "God is Still Good"Â and "Loving My Children." - "During Advent, we love to read together as a family. This year, we read The Advent Investigator by Jamye Doerfler, and it was a good fit given the age span of our children, ages 6 to 17. Biblically sound, chapters are interesting but not overwhelming, and each focuses on a single aspect of the Christmas story, helping us consider it from various angles. My husband and I frequently found ourselves saying, 'I learned something,' and we recommend this devotional as engaging for the whole family."
Christina Fox, author of, "Tell God How You Feel" and "God Hears Your Heart." - "Jamye Doerfler's new Advent devotional for middle schoolers is a creative way for them to engage with the story of Advent. Using investigative questions of who? what? when? where? and why? students will study the incarnation and develop a greater knowledgeof who their Savior is and why He came. This Advent season, get The Advent Investigator for your child and rejoice together that Christ has come!"
Dr. Susan Dreves, Education Professor, Grove City College - "The Advent Investigator takes a refreshingly new approach to the stories behind the Advent season. Organized by topical questions, Doerfler’s writing style is engaging, accessible, and relatable to pre-teens and early teens without oversimplifying the deeper meaning of Christ’s birth. Designed to be read alone or with others, this book is the ideal resource for families and teachers seeking to encourage rich reflection and foster meaningful discussion of important spiritual truths that will impact one’s faith well beyond the Advent season."
Is there more to the story of Christmas than what we see in tabletop Nativity sets or drive-through reenactments?
The Advent Investigator challenges pre-teens, young teens and families to look behind the scenes and dig into the facts and events that led to Jesus’s birth using the who, what, where, when, why, and how of investigative reporting. Students (and adults!) will be led to “connect the dots” of history, prophecy, and the Incarnation as they study and then apply what they’ve learned to their own lives.
Each of the twenty lessons and four bonus lessons contain rich, impactful application points, grounded in solid theology but written in language young believers can grasp. Discussion questions and guided prayer prompts create opportunities for families to work through the content together. The concluding devotional reviews the findings and invites readers to investigate their own relationship with Christ.
The Advent Investigator is designed for students to work on their own and discuss with their families but may also be used in small groups or in a classroom. Additional resources for homeschoolers and Christian educators are available on my Resources page.
Note: the print version of this book is published by Committee for Discipleship Ministries (CDM), of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).