Our Executive Director, Dr. Mimi Larson, has spent much of her career researching, writing, and speaking about the faith formation of very young children. This collection of resources was hand-picked by Dr. Larson as a supplement to her presentation at the 2025 Children’s Pastor’s Conference: Understanding the. Young Child in the Church. Whether you catch her presentation or not, we’re confident these resources will help you consider and make room for a young child’s developing life with God in your ministry context.
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Faith Development Poster Pack
We love how this pack of 10 posters highlights important stages of faith development for children from birth through five years old. Put these up in your nursery or other early childhood environments to encourage workers and parents to make the most of faith formation opportunities with young children.
Story, Formation, and Culture
There are two chapters that we especially love in this book because they were written by our executive director. Both these chapters focus on the spiritual formation of very young children and preschoolers. If you’re looking for a foundational understanding of the faith experiences of young children this is an excellent place to start!
Bridging Theory and Practice in Children’s Spirituality
This excellent volume, edited by Mimi Larson and Bob Keeley is a wealth of knowledge concerning the application of rich, foundational faith formation to practical ministry. Dr. Larson’s chapter is especially helpful for considering how to create a playful environment for young children to explore and practice their faith.
Joel Schoon-Tanis Artwork
Everyone on our team is a big fan of Joel Schoon Tanis, and the way his artwork elevates the childlike perspective invites us to practice becoming like children as we consider scripture.
Spiritual Characteristics of Children and Teens
This brief guide to the spiritual characteristics of children and teens is available digitally or in printed format from Thrive, the faith formation ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. This resource is an excellent tool for helping volunteers, parents, and staff members get a glimpse of the spiritual characteristics of various age groups from preschool to high school.
Want more ideas for forming faith with young children?
- Check out how one church included a space for kids to play right in the front of the sanctuary.
- Explore a Play Church.
- Check out our Interactive Prayer Toolkit.
- Watch Dr. Larson’s interview about forming faith with young children.
- Hear from real children’s ministry leaders who spent a year focusing on Sacred Play in their children’s ministries.