Students deepen their understanding of Jesus Christ, the fullness of God’s Revelation, as they encounter him in the living Body of Christ, the Catholic Church.

Jesus and the Church: One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic supports Course IV of the USCCB curriculum and is the first high school textbook released by Ave Maria Press in its new Encountering Jesus series. As they engage with the content of this text, students will recognize Christ present and active in their lives through the visible and vibrant mission of Church, defined by her four characteristics—one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

While Jesus and the Church places the foundations of the Church in their historical and scriptural context, the textbook goes further by guiding students to recognize the sacred nature of the Church and engaging them to more actively participate in the living Body of Christ and serve as witnesses to the sacred Gospel in the world today.

Simply put, the goal of the book—as in the Encountering Jesus series as a whole—is to change the lives of students by making real-life connections between what they are learning about the Church and how they encounter Jesus in the contemporary world.

Developed in collaboration with experts in theology, catechesis, and pedagogy, Jesus and the Church includes a number of new features as part of an innovative design, including: 

• Chapter Focus Questions:  Each chapter’s main idea is posed as a question to the student to provide a broader context in which new ideas can be integrated and understood.
• Infographics: A wide variety of visual and interactive designs throughout the text help students understand theological concepts in ways they will remember.
• Currents Events: Each chapter opens with a story from the contemporary world that teens can relate to their own lives. 
• Educational Photos: Images throughout the text have been carefully chosen not only to illustrate the chapter but for teachers and students to use as educational tools.
• Note-Taking Graphic Organizers: Designed to help students organize, summarize, and sequence the text, various types of organizers were customized for every section of the book.
• Section Assessments: Each section includes pedagogically designed assessment questions with labels that show how the questions serve a variety of different learning styles.
• Online Resources: As always, teachers can access a wide variety of online resources at the Ave Maria Press website, including videos, PowerPoints, handouts, crossword puzzles, reading guides, and tests.

Download the Jesus and the Church Scope and Sequence. 

(© 2015) The Subcommittee on the Catechism, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has found that this catechetical high school text is in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and fulfills the requirements of Core Course IV of the Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework for the Development of Catechetical Materials for Young People of High School Age.