Scripture Union has launched a new online resource centre to act as a one-stop shop for busy children's and youth group leaders.

The LightLive service brings the Bible stories best loved by children to one place together with practical learning and support material, including quizzes and games.

One year in the making, the resource has been developed by Scripture Union in response to appeals from overloaded children's and youth workers for greater support.

Scripture Union's Publishing Director Terry Clutterham said: "In our frenetic society, leaders and their teams are busy people. We know they want material at their fingertips, and we want to equip them. Result? LightLive, an online solution."

Children's and youth group leaders will now be able to access a weekly syllabus of downloadable material from the LightLive programme, suitable for ages five to 14 and available completely free-of-charge.

LightLive is designed to be more than just downloadable resources, however. The service also allows leaders to manage their children's and youth groups online, assign team members to run particular sessions, keep in contact with their team, and track chosen session plans.

Leaders will be able to access Scripture Union's extensive database of resource material on almost every Bible story ever told and can customise their own syllabus with multi-media content, or follow the Bible-based Light syllabus provided by Scripture Union. Syllabuses can also be tailored according to age as well as draw from Scripture Union's all-age resources.

LightLive automatically calculates running times so that leaders no longer have to worry about preparing too many or too few activities.

The whole online package is supported through Scripture Union's regular Light training programme.

Clutterham added: "The beauty of LightLive is that it integrates seamlessly with our Light printed resources, and gives a much wider choice in the way you can deliver sessions.

"What's more, we're also giving leaders unprecedented access to Scripture Union's comprehensive database of children's and young people's Bible-based resources built up over many years."

Scripture Union has also developed the LightLive resources to boost church work with young people and children, which has declined in the past few decades, particularly in rural areas.

Between the end of the 1970s and 2000, attendance by young people under 15 on a Sunday halved from 1.4 million to around 700,000, and the figures continue to drop.

"We want to help reverse this trend," said Clutterham.

Scripture Union, which last year celebrated 60 years of producing children's and youth Bible-based learning material, sees LightLive as a particularly groundbreaking way to kick start children's or youth ministry within churches where there currently is none.

Being free-of-charge, Scripture Union hopes LightLive will eradicate the cost barrier to effective children's and youth ministry, although churches are invited to make regular donations.

"About half the churches in the UK don't work formally with children or young people, perhaps because they don't have expertise or lack finance," said Clutterham. "And around 20 per cent of churches working with children and young people don't use any formal resources. For the first time LightLive puts resources within their grasp - accessible and easily usable."

LightLive will be showcased at the national Christian Resources Exhibition, in Sandown Park conference centre, Surrey, from May 13 to 16, where there will be opportunities to try it out.

To register for LightLive, go to www.scriptureunion.org.uk/