ANNOUNCED Weekly | Parent+, HelloBaby, & Updates That Serve Your Strategy

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In this week’s conversation, we covered:

• Parent+: a white-labeled parent app for your church
• HelloBaby: turning the nursery into ministry
• Kingdom Quest VBS 2026
• Why we’re standardizing NIrV
• Service Builder updates and how it powers Parent+

New Parent App Experience: Parent+

We know you’ve felt this sinking moment before: Parents greet their kids for pickup and you overhear them ask, “What did you learn today?” and their kid shrugs and says, “I don’t know.” You get their Sundays, but parents get their entire week. So our team started dreaming: What could it look like to serve parents beyond take-home handouts (that may or may not end up on floor of the car)?

Introducing Parent+.

“But wait, isn’t that what Parent Cue is?”

Yes and no. Parent+ is built on all the great ways Parent Cue has served parents, but with feedback and learnings from churches on how it could be better, and world-class technology to make it even more impactful and personalized. Most importantly, Parent+ is:

• White-labeled for your church

This means that instead of sending parents to a generic Amazing Life app, the app is named after your church (e.g., if you attend Bridge Church → the app is called Bridge Parents). It’s your logo, your colors, your app—not ours.

• The content mirrors what kids see on the weekend

There’s a recap of what kids learned each week, bottom lines and memory verses, questions to spark meaningful discussion, Bible story videos, and devotionals that tie directly into the weekend content.

• Customizable to your strategy

You can add your own reflection questions, write your own parent blogs (or pull from a curated blog library), add your Kids/Students ministry calendar and registration links, send push notifications (ex: “Ask your kids this question tonight” or “Don’t forget, Mom’s Group is this Thursday!”)

In our beta tests, churches are seeing around 76% engagement from parents using the app throughout the week. That means more conversations, more connection, and more discipleship happening between Sundays.

Bottom line: This isn’t “tech for tech’s sake.” It’s a way to make it easier for busy parents to stay connected to what their kids are learning, and to feel like your church is walking with them all week long.

Want to learn more or explore the Parent app for your church? Visit JoinAmazing.com/ParentPlus or reach out to your Customer Success partner.

HelloBaby: More Than Childcare

From the moment a baby is placed in your care, you’re doing far more than “watching the nursery,” you’re shaping the first chapter of their faith story.

But it doesn’t always feel that way. The nursery can seem like background support while “real ministry” happens elsewhere. That’s where HelloBaby comes in.

Babies may not understand every word, but they do experience the love, presence, and peace that surround them. HelloBaby helps you turn your nursery into more than childcare—a soft, sacred space where the youngest hearts begin to connect church (and the people of God) with comfort and joy.

For the first year of a baby’s life, HelloBaby centers on one core truth: Jesus loves you.
That message is repeated through songs, visuals, prayers, and gentle routines.

What HelloBaby looks like in your nursery

Churches in our early testing are:

• Sitting babies in semi-circles or Bumbo-style seats for “circle time”
• Handing out maracas and tambourines for baby worship moments
• Using simple picture books to tell Bible truths
• Playing a bubble song that pairs bubbles with lyrics about God’s deep and wide love (It’s as adorable and magical as it sounds.)

HelloBaby is designed to help leaders and volunteers see the nursery as ministry, not just childcare.

Timeline & Next Steps

HelloBaby is set to launch in January 2026 with all Amazing+ subscriptions. We’re currently building a beta group of churches to test, give feedback, and help shape the final experience.

Interested in being part of the beta or learning more? Learn more about HelloBaby and connect with your Customer Success Manager.

Kingdom Quest VBS 2026: Following Jesus Through the Eyes of Peter

VBS is one of the biggest on-ramps for kids and families into your church. In 2026, Kingdom Quest invites them into an epic journey through worlds unknown as they discover what it means to live in the Kingdom of God, guided by the real-life faith story of Simon Peter.

The big idea

Jesus spent a lot of time talking about the Kingdom of God. In Kingdom Quest, kids don’t just hear about it, they experience it as they learn:

• What the Kingdom of God is and why it’s good news
• How Jesus invites us into His Kingdom
• What it looks like to live as part of that Kingdom in their real, everyday lives

Each day, kids walk through a different moment from Peter’s journey as he follows Jesus, stumbles, learns, and grows into a bold Kingdom leader.

A cinematic adventure kids will love

The story framework uses a portal-style adventure that feels like stepping inside their favorite games and movies:

• Kids get “pulled” into a new dimension and must find port keys to get home
• They battle darkness and follow the light, mirroring the spiritual journey we see in Peter’s story

Throughout the week, they travel through different game-inspired worlds:

• A space/sci-fi environment (with Among Us–style vibes)
• A jungle-run world reminiscent of Temple Run
• A castle/kingdom setting that brings the “Kingdom” theme to life visually

Each environment is intentionally tied back to the daily Bible story and theme, so the fun and the truth are always connected. As kids journey with Peter and follow the light of Jesus, they’re invited to see themselves as Kingdom followers too—right now, right where they are.

A theme song that tells the story

The VBS theme song Roll With You just released on Spotify and Apple Music! The lyrics echo Peter’s journey: learning to follow Jesus, trust Him, and live in His Kingdom. Churches are already sending in dance videos and motions, and there are lyric and motion videos included to make it easy to bring to your environment.

Ready to start planning Kingdom Quest? Visit AmazingVBS.com for details, samples, and resources. And yes—there will be a Black Friday sale, so keep an eye out!

Bible Translation: Why NIrV

We’ve heard your questions around Bible translations—especially NIrV vs. NIV—and how that impacts what kids see in large group, small group, and printed materials.

What’s changing

Going forward, Amazing curriculum will primarily use NIrV (New International Reader’s Version) in Bible stories, memory verses, and Scripture references across all age levels.

Why NIrV?

• It’s written around a third-grade reading level, making Scripture more accessible to kids.
• It allows us to communicate complex theological ideas in clear, phase-appropriate language.
• It keeps things consistent across all curricula so that kids, leaders, and parents are seeing the same words and verses.

We’re not anti-NIV (or any other translation). We love the variety of ways Scripture is faithfully translated. But, for clarity and consistency, we’re standardizing NIrV in our core materials.

What this means for your church

If your church prefers to use a different translation in live teaching:

• You can easily swap verses using the blank slides included in your media packages.
• You can still build your own slides in tools like ProPresenter or APlay Pro with the translation your church uses.

If you’re purchasing Bibles for kids and families:

• We’ll continue to recommend NIrV as a great option that aligns with what kids see in our curriculum.

If you have questions or want to discuss translation decisions further, your Customer Success partner would love to connect.

Service Builder: Smarter Planning That Gives You Time Back

If you’ve logged into APlay lately, you may have noticed two buttons: APlay and Service Builder. Service Builder is the central place where your planning, scripts, media, and parent tools all connect.

Inside Service Builder, you can:

Adjust teaching scripts, instructions, and worship elements, toggle activities on and off, and add your own notes or custom sections.

• Manage activity pages and handouts

Compile and download activity pages, and build a script that matches your unique environment.

As you build your service, your shopping list updates in real time. (No more manual counting across multiple PDFs!)

Build your service and media components in one place so nothing gets missed

Upgrades in progress

You’ve been honest with your feedback, and our engineers are actively responding. Some of the improvements in the works include more flexible ways to combine multiple PDFs into one export, export just what you need (scripts only, activities only, etc.), and smarter page breaks and formatting in exported PDFs

The pace is fast on purpose: leaders are already logging in and saying, “I just started using this and it’s already changed again, in a good way.”

How it connects with Parent+

If you’re using Amazing+ with the Parent+ app, Service Builder is becoming the hub:

• As you build a service in Service Builder, it also builds the Parent+ app content.
• You can still customize what parents see, but everything starts from one plan, one system.

The heart behind all of this: to save you time on logistics so you can spend more time pastoring, discipling, and leading people.

If you haven’t tried it yet, take some time this week to log into Service Builder and build out an upcoming service. Experiment, export, and see how it fits your current workflow.

Don’t Miss: A New Podcast!

Finally, if you haven’t tuned in yet, the Amazing Kids Ministry Podcast has officially launched.

The first episode features Jim Wideman, walking through the history of kids ministry and what we’ve learned over the past 30 years. The next episode features Lecrae, talking about how we communicate the gospel and why the words we choose matter.

If you haven’t listened or watched yet, you can Find the podcast on Youtube. Be sure to share episodes with your team as training and encouragement.

We’re in This With You

Every update this week—Parent app, HelloBaby, Kingdom Quest VBS, translation clarity, and Service Builder—comes back to one thing: serving you as you serve kids, students, and families.

As we continue building tools, apps, and curriculum, we promise to keep asking:
Does this actually make ministry simpler, stronger, and more sustainable for you?

Because when your systems are lighter and your tools work with you, you’re freed up to do what only you can do: Love kids. Equip parents. Lead your team. Point people to Jesus.

If any of these updates sparked questions or ideas for your ministry, reach out to your Customer Success Manager; we’d love to help you think it through. We’re honored to partner with you.