For parents

About the app

“Witnesses of Christmas” tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ as Luke and Matthew wrote it. Children listen to the people who were there: Zechariah, Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, a wise man, and even King Herod. Beside them is the Word of God (an audiobook in the King James Version and the World English Bible) and the film “The Christmas Story.”

The games (“Ginger” and “Quiz”) are made for fun. Ginger is not in the Bible. The quiz questions, and the story about Jesus at the end, are real.

• Age: 4–12. Little ones do best listening with an adult.
• Safe: no ads, no sign-up, no outside links, and no data collection. The camera is used only for AR, and the video is never sent anywhere.
• Offline: the home page has a button, “Download for offline use.”
• Installs like an app: “Add to Home Screen” (iPhone) or “Install” (Android).

How to look together with the magazine

1. Open the magazine page with the round medallion.
2. Open the app, choose a witness, and choose “In the magazine.” Point the camera at the circle so the whole of it is visible.
3. If the figure does not appear: turn on a light, don’t cover the circle with your hand, and hold the phone about a hand’s width away. Glare on glossy paper confuses the camera.
4. You can simply watch on the screen: choose “On the phone.”

A Christmas evening: a 30-minute idea

1. Read together the Gospel of Luke, 2:1–20 (or listen in “The Word of God”).
2. Listen to two or three witnesses: Mary, the shepherd, and the wise man, for example.
3. Talk: the questions below.
4. Make a star out of paper and hang it over the child’s bed.
5. Pray together (the prayer is at the bottom).

What to talk about after the story

Open the witness the child liked, and ask one or two questions. There is no need for “right” answers: let the child say it in their own words.

A child’s Christmas prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to earth at Christmas. Thank you for loving me and for saving me. Help me to love you and other people. Amen.

A child can repeat it after you, or say it in their own words.

If something doesn’t work

• The camera won’t turn on: open the site with “https://” and allow the camera in the browser settings.
• The witness “drifts” on the table: on an iPhone the “on the table” mode has no real tracking. In the magazine (on the medallion) the figure stands still.
• No sound: check silent mode and the volume. Sound turns on after the first tap of “Let’s go!”.
• The page looks strange: close the tab and open it again: the app will update.