Introduction
What if God sat in on children’s church?
We’re guessing you’re here because you know that there’s a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to ministry with children. If you desire to make space in your church for children to meet with God, if you care about helping the adults in your church to see and value children as fellow disciples of Jesus, and if you are wrestling with how these values translate into ministry programs and practice that are life-giving and sustainable, you’ve come to the right place!
In this toolkit, you’ll find resources that are hand-picked to encourage and guide you as you consider three central questions:
- What does it mean to have a high view of children?
- How can churches honor the spiritual lives of children?
- How can I be more intentional in Children’s Ministry?
Care For Ministry Leaders
Opportunities to engage with a community of passionate experts
Growing in community sparks excitement and lightens the load. The tools and resources in this section offer you programs and events where you can build up your skills alongside others who share your heart for children’s ministry.
Take the first step!
Finding a community can be overwhelming. What first step can you take toward expanding your network of support?
Leadership Development
Children’s ministry can be lonely work, but you don’t have to do it alone! Connecting to people and resources that can nourish and encourage you will have a big impact on your personal and professional development and on your ministry. Read about five ways you can invest in yourself as a ministry leader.
Children’s & Family Ministry Certificate
Deepen your ministry with children and families by enrolling in our Children’s & Family Ministries Certificate. A sampling of courses will help you gain confidence and competence in key areas related to family ministries.
Ministry Cohorts (Coming Fall 2024!)
Collaboration and innovation are at the heart of our Cohorts. These 4, 6, or 12 month programs offer you the opportunity to learn from the CFC team alongside a group of ministry leaders like you.
More information is coming soon!
The Transforming Center
It can be challenging to nourish your own soul in the midst of ministry. The Transforming Center offers resources to ministry leaders as they seek God. Check their website for retreats, online resources, and more.
Churched But Unchanged
This webinar for ministry leaders discusses transformational discipleship. Find encouragement in your own walk with Jesus and inspiration to make room for the Holy Spirit to work in the life of the children and volunteers in your church.
Ministry Reads Flowchart
Itching to gather a group of your volunteers and read a book together? Let CFC help you pick your next ministry read.
Ministry Inspiration
Real-life projects to spark your creativity
Children’s ministry leaders like you are creating impactful projects and events all over the world. We’ve collected a few of these ideas to inspire you as you plan and dream for your own ministry work.
Let's dream!
What would these ideas look like in your context?
CFC’s Pinterest Board
Over on Pinterest, we’re curating inspiring ideas to help kick-start your creativity. Bookmark our Ministry Inspiration Pinterest board and stay up-to-date with the things we’re loving from all over the internet.
Ministry Story: The Prayground
Read what happened when Zion Presbyterian Church in PEI, Canada set aside a dedicated space for children in the sanctuary. We’ll also invite you to imagine what radical hospitality to children could look like at your church and give you the best tips we heard from ministry leaders who have Praygrounds in their sanctuaries.
Glossary
Prayground: A dedicated children's space within the sanctuary.
Five Ways to Help Children Experience Belonging
We can tell someone they belong, but belonging is something we experience. Here are five ways real churches are helping children to experience belonging.
Ultimate Guide to Children’s Spirituality
This article will give you a background on children’s spirituality and connect you to learn more from people who are asking the same kinds of questions as you.
Following Jesus with Young Children
Children are capable of a vibrant, rich life with God. Hear from Dr. Mimi Larson, Executive Director of Center for Faith & Children as she shares an overview of spiritual life of children.
Ministry Resources
Tools you can trust to share with families
It takes time to develop a library of age-appropriate, theologically sound resources. Thankfully, these creators and organizations have been on case. These downloadable tools and resources can be implemented within your ministry or shared with families as an answer to common questions like “Where do we start with discipling children?”
Pop Quiz!
Who do you know who might benefit from a tool like those below?
Children’s Spirituality Summit
Has your experience of ministry with children led you to ask a lot of questions? Are you looking to connect with people who are curious about the faith formation of children and who are trying to pay attention to and make room for what God is doing among children? At the Children’s Spirituality Summit, you will have the chance to connect with scholars and practitioners who are doing the work of ministry with children and who are invested in maintaining a curious posture towards children. In 2024, CFC is hosting the Children’s Spirituality Summit. We’d love to see you there!
Children’s Pastors Conference
Are you looking to be energized and reinvigorated in your work as a children’s ministry leader? Do you need to get away from the rush and business of week-in and week-out ministry and engage with great teaching, a high-energy group of people who think children’s ministry is a blast? Do you want a reason to travel to Florida in January? You might like to check out The Children’s Pastors Conference, a large event hosted at Disney Resort every year. Our Executive Director, Dr. Mimi Larson, frequently presents workshops at CPC. We hope to see you there!
Intergenerate
The church is one of the few spaces left in American society that serves an intergenerational group of people. But while worshiping and sharing life across generations is a counter-cultural experience in our society, it ought to be the norm among the people of God. At Intergenerate, ministry practitioners and scholars come together to learn from each other about what works in intergenerational ministry.
Curriculum Evaluation Tool
The perfect curriculum doesn’t exist, but we can help you find one that is a great fit for your ministry context! Our curriculum evaluation tool will help you consider your ministry values, goals, and philosophy so that you can decide what to prioritize when looking for a curriculum. You can use this tool independently or with a curriculum planning team. Save a copy of this document in your Google Drive to customize it to fit your ministry.
Thrive: Cultivating Spiritually Vibrant Homes
This downloadable guide is for you and the parents you care about. Based on recent research into what factors contribute to vibrant, lasting faith, this guide will help you prioritize environments and experiences within your ministry that help create conditions for faith to flourish among the families you serve. This take-home workbook can be shared with parents to help them reflect on, celebrate, and cultivate an environment of faith formation in their homes.
Child in Our Midst Podcast
The Child in Our Midst is a podcast designed to celebrate, explore, and reflect on the rich spiritual lives of children for Christian parents and ministry leaders. While we think you’ll love hearing the insights children share about their own lives with God and the conversations with experts in the field of Children’s Spirituality, we wanted you to have a quick, easy-to-access resource that you could pass along to the parent who is feeling discouraged, the volunteer who needs a pick-me-up, or the colleague who just doesn’t get why you love children so much! We know you do a lot for so many people. This one’s for you.
Research
Resources to expand your knowledge and focus on your passion
Study can draw us closer to the subject of our focus. It teaches us what kinds of questions need asking and helps us draw connections to our own contexts. The sources in this section invite us to ask new questions, re-evaluate old assumptions, and engage with scholars who share our goal of nurturing children’s spiritual lives.
Let's list!
What questions do you have about faith formation or what it means to belong? After engaging with one of the resources below, have your questions changed at all?
A Conversation with Pastors About Faith Formation
At CFC, we ask a lot of questions. This summer, Dr. Larson led a team of PhD students in interviewing twenty-five pastors across the US and Canada about children’s faith formation. Here’s what we learned!
Conference Books
The Children’s Spirituality Summit publishes books for each of its conferences on a theme. They’re an excellent way to remain current in research, troubleshoot ministry challenges, and be encouraged as you minister with children.
Academic Journals
If you have a puzzling ministry question and are looking for research to inform your ministry with children, we suggest you try searching these journals. What will you learn?
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Glossary
Prayground: A dedicated children's space within the sanctuary.