The Robertsons of A&E’s Duck Dynasty are expanding their outreach into churches with Faith Commander: Living Five Values From the Parables of Jesus, a new curriculum to be published by Zondervan. Korie Robertson and her mother, Chrys Howard, created the five-week experience for all ages.
Releasing in May, the curriculum focuses on five themes found in the parables of Jesus: faith, forgiveness, obedience, prayer and kindness. The program creates a churchwide experience for children to adult.
“With the Faith Commander curriculum, we took some commonly found themes that the show Duck Dynasty actually teaches,” says Korie Robertson, wife of Duck Commander’s CEO Willie Robertson. “We use these, not in a preaching sort of way, but really the kind of way that shows how we live our lives and the way our family works. This faith is behind who we are as a family and what keeps us together and strong.”
“We chose the parables of Jesus because sometimes they are not always studied like they should be,” says Howard. “God put those in the Bible for us to learn from. Willie, Phil, Alan and, well, all the guys are great storytellers. In Faith Commander, they explain the parables as stories to bring people closer to God. We really believe that this is going to benefit the entire church family—kids, adults and teens. It’s something families can all study together just like they watch the TV show together.”
Each resource includes a book and DVD with accompanying Robertson family stories. The adult curriculum features Phil, Alan, Willie, Jase, Jep and Si, while the teen curriculum hosts John Luke, Sadie, Will, Reed and Cole Robertson. The five-week children’s curriculum is only available on DVD-ROM and also includes “Willie’s Redneck Rodeo,” a five-day bonus Vacation Bible School program. In addition, Faith Commander provides pastors with free sermons and other promotional resources.
“The Robertsons’ authentic faith and love for Jesus was evident throughout our time working with them,” says John Raymond, vice president and publisher for trade curriculum at HarperCollins Christian Publishing. “We had the privilege of visiting the Robertson family in West Monroe, La., while filming Faith Commander. Their entertaining and inspirational storytelling brings the curriculum’s five key themes to life.”
The adult and teen studies will go on sale May 6, with the churchwide curriculum kit being available for purchase May 20.
