“Finally, be strong in The Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the Belt of Truth buckled around your waist, with the Breastplate of Righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. In addition to all this, take up the Shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is The Word of God.”
~Ephesians 6:10-17
There is wisdom in being prepared for battle – having the proper protection and weapons in good working order, having no doubt who you’re fighting for and why you’re fighting; being familiar with the lay of the land and the tactics of your enemy. Reconnaissance is defined as an exploratory military survey of enemy territory. It has its origins in the Old French word, reconoistre – meaning to recognize. This is where we get the shortened word recon.
A successful recon mission gives us strategic intelligence that can be compiled and used against the enemy. As Christians, our enemy is the devil; and God’s Word enlightens us to his ways and deeds. The Bible is our own Strategic Intelligence Manual from The Creator of the Universe. It is God’s revealing of The Truth to us.
Recon is a high school Bible Curriculum, developed by Bill Perry. It is specifically designed for grades 11 – 12 as they prep for college, but can be adapted to include 10th graders; those already attending college and adults. Its purpose is to help us, as parents and teachers, to spiritually equip our children/students to be victorious in battle – “the internal battle for integrity, Godliness, humility and obedience [Micah 6:8, Romans 7:15]; and the external struggle for The Gospel to be heard and believed among the nations [Ephesians 4:15, John 14:6];” to help them bridge the gap between and transition from high school to college and beyond without wavering in their faith. Military images, graphics and terminology are used to help maintain the seriousness, focus and discipline necessary to successfully complete the mandate of Jesus Christ.
This Bible Curriculum “is different because (1) college preparation is the whole framework for this curriculum and (2) it is reinforced with a national web-based network.” It is “college ministry before college.” I think the potential is extreme! My husband has led me and our children, ages 22, 20, 18, 16, and 14, through this course for the past several weeks. Using the oversize, coil-bound 300-plus page Recon Teacher’s Manual and the Recon Spiritual Training Manual for Students Workbook, we are working our way through 72 intense spiritual lessons of Recon Boot Camp. The military lingo has bogged us down on occasion, but the more we’re trained to recognize the real warfare as described in Ephesians 6 the more we desire to be like-minded and fully prepared. To maintain optimum focus it is recommended that four lessons, and no less than two lessons, be covered weekly. We’ve been able to maintain three days a week even around full and varied schedules.
Generally, in our homeschool I’m the teacher. As I browsed the Recon website though, I hoped my husband would consider teaching the curriculum and let me view it from the student’s perspective. He chose to, but it is stretching him out of his area of comfort; because he doesn’t feel he’s a natural teacher. He’s not used to following a Teacher’s Manual, but it and the general set-up has been easy enough for him to follow. He’s growing and so are we as we sit under his leadership. Recon is written for the Christian school venue, a church-based youth group, or homeschool use and it offers the flexibility that is needed for any of these.
The idea is not only to train this generation for the future, but to give them a way to connect and support one another through the battle. Mentors and students form small cell groups that continue teaching, training, growth, encouragement; and outreach. Connections can be made through the website.
The Recon Teacher’s Manual is $21.95, the Recon Student Workbook is $12.99, but the benefits of this curriculum may be priceless. Bill Perry says, “It is our prayer that Recon will be a powerful tool in the hands of God to multiply the number of those that will appear around His throne at the end of time as described in Revelation 5:9-10.”
Please, take a few minutes to follow the links I’ve provided throughout this post and browse the website. My Crew mates have written reviews of this curriculum as well and you can read them when you click the banner below.
Do not be discouraged! The Battle Belongs to The Lord and He will be victorious!
Blessings,
Penny
Disclaimer* I received a copy of this curriculum in exchange for my honest review as a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew. I receive no other compensation for my reviews on this blog. The opinions expressed are my own.
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