Resources for Ministry with Children & Families
"Since the beginning of Christianity, and long before Sunday schools were established, children were nurtured in their faith formation. They came to know God and learned to be ministers of the Gospel, even as children. This model of Christian nurture reflects the ancient approach to child rearing in which a whole community took upon the task of initiating children into its customs, beliefs and way of life."
(from "Implementing a Children's Charter for the Church")
For the last 200 years the predominant model of children's ministries has been the Sunday school. Its original purpose was to provide a setting for literacy and then to use that opportunity to help children know about the Bible. If you were to invite members of your own congregation to share their best childhood experiences of church, you would probably hear dozens of memories of beloved Bible stories and the teachers who told them.
Sunday school is a wonderful way to develop and nurture faithful children. But it is not the only way.
Let the following pages help you decide how you and your congregation are going to do ministry with children and families...