Dear colleagues in ministry,
I met recently with a children’s ministry volunteer at my church who was wondering whether God might be calling him to become more involved. I thought he would want to begin the conversation by exploring training opportunities. Instead, he posed a series of questions:
- What is the purpose of our Sunday morning program with kids?
- How do other parts of our life together, like worship, contribute to children’s formation?
- How do we help families and other adults support children?
This month, the diocese is rolling out a series of opportunities to wonder, learn and connect around questions just like these:
- Free webinars in January, February and March (Register now)
- Free formation lunches in February about discipleship (Register now)
- A 10-month discernment process that will allow participating churches to apply for grants of up to $7,500 to experiment in intergenerational worship (Details coming in February)
- An overnight retreat for formation leaders October 2-3 (Details coming this summer)
These activities are at the heart of the Let the Children Come intergenerational worship project, which aims to accompany congregations as they develop integrated strategies to make disciples who know Jesus and don’t just know about Jesus.
Such strategies have clear goals; practices for listening to children and their families; connections between worship and programs; and experiments with intergenerational worship that encourage children not only to be present but to fully participate.
These activities will spark your imagination, connect you with colleagues around the diocese, and equip and empower you for the joyful and challenging ministry of making disciples.
Join us!
With hope,
Kelly Ryan
Missioner for Discipleship
