In 2008, Tammy Berkman began looking for a quick and easy way to teach the whole storyline of the Bible to her granddaughter’s second grade class. When she couldn’t find one, she wrote it herself. Much to her surprise, teachers from all grade levels in schools, churches, adult organizations, parents and grandparents, started requesting copies of her quick and easy curriculum.
She continued teaching her curriculum in her small classroom until five years later, when her daughter, Beth Ann Berkman, invited her to help teach 300 children at Soweto Academy in Kibera Slum in Nairobi, Kenya. For the first time, Beth Ann and Tammy discovered this quick and easy curriculum enabled them to teach the whole storyline of the Bible in only 5-2 hour sessions. (one week). Each child labeled all 66 books of the Bible and proudly received a Certificate of Completion at the end of the course.
The following school year, Tammy accepted an invitation to teach the whole storyline of the Bible to “Power Lunch,” a church outreach to business women that meets once a month. Even though the lessons were in a workbook format designed for students, the women said they welcomed the teaching because they had never learned the Bible before.
In the summer of 2017, Beth Ann again invited Tammy to join her to teach and train a team of 30 missionaries from Go Near Ministries from Little Rock Arkansas. This time, they would teach 500 children the whole storyline of the Bible in Methare Slum in Nairobi and the Maasai School at Kajiado in the Rift Valley. The Methare group was taught in
5 -2 hour sessions, and the Maasai group was taught in 2-5 hour sessions.
In 2018, Tammy accepted an invitation to teach her curriculum at a Christian School in Gracias, Honduras. Once again, students received a Certificate of Completion with a gold seal of excellence in only 5-2 hour sessions.
Teach the Whole Bible has been taught in homeschools, Christian Schools, and Sunday Schools. It has been taught at breakfast tables, at summer Bible Camp, and even over the phone. Her 18 year old granddaughter completed the course in record time, only 2 hours.
To determine where to teach, Tammy relies on prayer, asking God to direct her to His assignments through invitations to teach. She relies on donors and workbook sales to fund her teaching and to commission translations of her curriculum into other languages.
Tammy believes equipping kids with the whole storyline of the Bible lays the best foundation for understanding the Bible and is the best gift we can leave with children in underprivileged countries.
