CHILDREN’S SPIRITUALITY AND FAITH DEVELOPMENT
Children have an innate spirituality. Faith development is not linked to age in the same way as mental or emotional development. Both spirituality and faith development need to be nurtured to thrive.
Will our children have faith?
(John H Westerhoff, Church Publishing Inc)
2016 conference recommendation by Terry Williams & Alan Charter
2015 & 2014 conference recommendation by Alex Taylor
Originally written in 1976, revised in 2000 and again in 2012, this classic critique of Christian education includes Westerhoff’s overview and perspective on the state Christian education over the past forty years. According to Westerhoff, instead of guiding faith formation within the family, the church, and the school, we relegate religious education to Sunday morning classes. There, children learn the facts about religion, but how will they learn or experience faith How can we nourish and nurture the faith of children, instead of only teaching the facts?
Ignite
(Heather Thompson, Powerpack)
2016, 2015 & 2014 conference recommendation by Heather Thompson
2013 conference recommendation by Nick Jackson
Tired of working your way through a manual and not really seeing God do anything with your children? Tired of looking for curriculum that has a “spark” about it that will “ignite” your children? Make your curriculum work for you. Apply the principles in this book and see what God does. A book that will help leaders, in any situation and with any curriculum, to see their sessions ignited by the Spirit and, as a result, children set on fire by the Spirit of God to be “God Chasers” and “Nation Shakers”.
Sticky faith
(Kara E Powell & Chapman Clark, Zondervan)
2016 conference recommendation by Sarah Smart
2015 conference recommendation by Sharon Prior
2014 conference recommendation by Krish Kandiah and Carolyn Edwards & Alex Taylor
Written by authors known for the integrity of their research and the intensity of their passion for young people, Sticky Faith is geared to spark a movement that empowers adults to develop robust and long-term faith in kids of all ages.”
Children’s Spirituality
(Rebecca Nye,Church House Publishing)
2015 conference recommendation by Carolyn Edwards
2014 conference recommendation by Andrea Harrison, Martyn Payne and Joy Raynor
2013 conference recommendation by Mo Baldwin
2011 conference recommendation by Mary Hawes and Lianne Smith
Mixing theory with her own experience, Rebecca shows how churches or home can stimulate or stifle a child’s spiritual development. She offers ways to help children value and express their spirituality.
Sue says: Rebecca is an advocate for Godly Play and in this book she argues well for prioritizing giving children the space and opportunity to ‘wonder’ and develop their spirituality ahead of just applying educational theories to give knowledge.
Top tips on encouraging faith to grow
(Piers Lane and Ruth Hassall, Scripture Union)
2015 & 2014 conference recommendation by Alex Taylor
2012 conference recommendation by Margaret Lilley and Lianne Smith & Sarah Smart
Encouraging faith to grow is not just something that happens formally, at its most basic it arises as God’s people – adults, children and young people – relate to one another in the course of everyday living, in the home, in a church community or in the wider world. What does the Bible say about faith? How do the three key responses of playing, learning and exploring shape our understanding of faith development? This readable and practical guide is packed with wisdom and ideas that will inspire anyone wanting to develop the faith of children or young people.
Here comes heaven: a kid’s guide to supernatural power
(Bill Johnson and Mike Seth, Destiny Image)
2014 conference recommendation by Heather Thompson
A book for children that will help them understand that they can bring Heaven to earth by using the unique talents and gifts that God gave them. ‘As you discover who you really are through the love of Jesus, your greatest adventure will end in Heaven on earth! You are on a royal mission to find the keys to the Kingdom of God. Those keys – faith and prayer – will transform your heart, mind, and spirit by unlocking the riches of Heaven and shaking up your world!’
Joining children on the spiritual journey
(Catherine Stonehouse, Baker)
2012 conference recommendation by Judith Twani
Understanding how a child’s faith forms is crucial to knowing how adults can most significantly enhance the child’s spiritual development. With a biblical perspective as a starting point and recognition of the crucial role of both the family and the faith community, Stonehouse reviews important contributions from noted child development experts Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, and James Fowler. By carefully “setting the stage” through liturgy, sacred stories, and parables, Christian educators can help children meet with God.
Children finding faith
(Francis Bridger,Scripture Union)
2011 conference recommendation by Lianne Smith
Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand how children’s faith develops. Discover how to share the gospel effectively at every stage of childhood.
Perspectives on children’s spiritual formation
(Scottie May, Gregory C Carlson, Trisha Graves, Tim Ellis, Michael J Anthony (ed), Broadman and Holman)
2011 conference recommendation by Carolyn Edwards
Perspectives on Children’s Spiritual Formation presents in counterpoint form four views of children’s spiritual formation and four related methods of Christian Education. Views include the contemplative-reflective model (cultivating a quiet, worshipful spirit), instructional-analytic model (involving child evangelism and Bible memorization), pragmatic participatory model (focusing on high-energy activities, often seen in mega-churches), and the media-driven active-engagement model (using a video-based curriculum with limited teacher training).
Top tips on communicating God in non-book ways
(Kathryn Copsey and Jean Elliott, Scripture Union)
2011 conference recommendation by Margaret Lilley
Ancient stained glass windows, PowerPoint presentations, games, social networking, laughter, celebratory feasts – some non-book ways of meeting God are new for our time, some have been around for centuries. All of them ultimately lead to discovering the God we encounter in the Bible. This book encourages you to use every means available to introduce children and young people to God, emphasising again and again the vital place of relationship-building.
Top tips on helping a child respond to Christ
(Franklin, Hutchinson and Willoughby, Scripture Union)
2011 conference recommendation by Lianne Smith
Good practice, loads of ideas and Bible principles for community and church-based children’s and youth workers.
Also available:
Top tips on explaining the cross
Top tips on explaining the trinity to young people
Activating children
(Nick Jackson, 2016 conference) An introduction to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, how to help children identify their ministries and be released into them. Including plenty of practical examples.
Delegate rating 9/10
The Holy Spirit in children’s ministry
DEEPER FOR LEADERS
(Heather Thompson, 2016 conference)
Already seeing the Holy Spirit move in your kids work? Want to go deeper? Facing some issues? Come and discover the God of the ‘more’.
Delegate rating 9/10
Hands On ways of making the Holy Spirit accessible to children
(Nick & Chris Jackson, 2016 conference)
Delegate rating 9/10
The Holy Spirit, the helper
BASICS
(Rebi Crocker & Pete Oakley, 2016 conference)
Who is the Holy Spirit? Why do we need Him? What does He want to do? How can we teach children about the Holy Spirit?
Delegate rating 8/10
Get the message
(Elaine Webster, 2016 conference)
Helping children to hear from God.
Delegate rating 8/10
Defending the dragonfly:
nurturing boys’ spirituality
(Carolyn Edwards, 2015 conference)
If boys’ spirituality can be likened to a dragonfly: ethereal,capricious, muscular and slightly alien, what can we do to protect, nurture and celebrate that spirituality?
Delegate rating 9/10
Helping children encounter God
(Heather Thompson, 2015 conference)
Are you creating a culture in your children’s ministry in which children can have powerful encounters with God? What would this look like and how practically can it be done?
Delegate rating 9/10
Top Tips on encouraging faith to grow
(Alex Taylor, 2015 conference)
How can we encourage the faith development of the children in our care? Spend some time exploring the principles and discussing some practical steps to take in your work.
Delegate rating 9/10
Unwinding wrong views of God
(Rachel Turner, 2015 conference)
How can we remove the inexplicable barriers that children often have when thinking about really connecting with God heart-to-heart? A practical and honest exploration of how children view God.
Delegate rating 9/10
Encouraging faith in children
(Alex Taylor, 2014 conference)
How can we encourage the faith development of the children in our care? Spend some time exploring the principles and discussing some practical steps to take in your work.
Delegate rating 9/10
10 HANDS ON ways to enhance children’s spirituality through play
(Carolyn Edwards, 2014 conference)
FREE 10 ideas PDFDelegate rating 8/10
Helping young people and families grow in hearing God’s voice
(Andy Kennedy, 2014 conference)
Children are called to be God-connected. Help children establish a free, easy, and joyful two-way relationship with their Father, chatting with him and consistently and accurately catching his voice in return.
Delegate rating 8/10