YDisciple needed a new way to speak to their audience.

They wanted teenagers to learn about Christian morality without feeling “preached at.” They also needed something that would engage an audience that had been oversaturated with video content during quarantine.

YDisciple was excited about the work we did for their parent company NET. They asked us to pitch what it could look like for this new series on Morality. We pitched two key elements:

1. Learners Rather than Teachers: Every great story starts with a learner. When sharing merely facts our brains automatically have a cognitive resistance. If you look at brain science: Most of your brain is dedicated to future concerns, and therefore distracted and put off by new information. But when you hear a story of someone going on an adventure and learning something, brain scans show that the brain stops in a similar way as a life-and-death situation. This power of storytelling can be harnessed by switching the perspective from the teacher to the learner.

2. Speak into the Need for Healing: A whole generation of teens has gone through a time of real collective brokenness. No matter their journey they have witnessed a need for healing in themselves and/or those around them. We saw the real desire for healing to be the doorway into a deeper understanding of morality.

Working with YDisciple’s team, we came up with the idea of taking teenagers on a journey alongside two young people who have questions, just like them.

Instead of writing a curriculum and then making content, YDisciple connected us with Tanner and Marina, who allowed us to follow them on a spiritual journey. and then the curriculum was crafted around their experiences. This approach let the story flow from real people rather than simply digitizing a pre-made lesson plan. Want to see see more of the series? Message us!