Everything You Need for an Interactive Series on Faith Practices (Part 1)

Whether you’re

• preparing a sermon 
• planning a worship service 
• designing a midweek gathering 
• organizing activities for an intergenerational small group
• shaping a summer series
• or seeking an all ages alternative to vacation Bible school

the following resources from the Faith Practices Project have got you covered. 

The list below gives you at-a-glance access to everything you need to start planning opportunities for your church community to engage the practices of listening, celebrating, prayer, wonder, remembering and service. Check it out now and bookmark it for later! (And return again on April 10, 2023 to access Part 2 of this series which will feature the faith practices of sabbath, justice and mercy, hospitality, engaging scripture, gratitude, and generosity.)   

Build-Your-Own  Worship Service (or Series) Plans 

Explore the Sermon Supports, Music Suggestions, Intergenerational Ideas, Worship Ideas and Take-it-Home Resources in these Build-Your-Own Worship Service (or Series) plans and then  pick and choose the options that work best for your context.

• Build-Your-Own Worship Service (or Series) on Listening
• Build-Your-Own Worship Service (or Series) on Celebrating
• Build-Your-Own Worship Service (or Series) on Prayer
• Build-Your-Own Worship Service (or Series) on Wonder
• Build-Your-Own Worship Service (or Series) on Remembering
• Build-Your-Own Worship Service (or Series) on Service

Individual Worship Service Plans

Wondering how to put a whole service together? This series of worship service plans pull the pieces together to create a single worship service. Use them as they are or as inspiration while creating your own.  

• A Worship Service on the Practice of Listening
• A Worship Service on the Faith Practice of Celebrating
• A Worship Service on the Faith Practice of Prayer
• A Worship Service on the Faith Practice of Wonder
• A Worship Service on the Faith Practice of Remembering
• Worship Service(s) on the Faith Practice of Service

Ideas for Intergenerational Gatherings

Shaping an informal gathering for all ages? You’ll find a multitude of ideas on these pages which are organized into the categories of Gather, Grow, and Go. 

• Intergenerational Activities on the Faith Practice of Listening
• Intergenerational Activities on the Faith Practice of Celebrating
• Intergenerational Activities on the Faith Practice of Prayer
• Intergenerational Activities on the Faith Practice of Wonder
• Intergenerational Activities on the Faith Practice of Remembering
• Intergenerational Activities on the Faith Practice of Service

Resources for At Home

While all of the above ideas include a variety of resources for encouraging and equipping people to continue the practices at home, we especially want to draw your attention to these:  

• Faith Practices: Holy Habits that Help Us Love God and Our Neighbor, Listen to the Spirit, and Become More Like Jesus. This booklet is a great starting place for people who want to become more aware of God's voice in their everyday life. And bulk pricing makes it possible for churches to provide copies for all! 
• Dwell at Home. Open the link and scroll down to the list of '5 Ways' resources on faith practices. Each resource is downloadable, free, and a wonderful at-home resource for families with children.
• Check out Season Two of the Open to Wonder podcast for episodes which explore: Celebrating (with April Fiet), Wonder (with Lib Caldwell), Prayer (with Jill Weber), Listening (with Summer Mohrlang) and Service (with Colin Watson). Each thirty minute episode is ideal for sharing with your congregation as one more way to engage with the faith practices. Subscribe here today so you won’t miss a single episode! 

It was such a joy for Katie Ritsema-Roelofs and I to curate these resources for you on behalf of Worship Ministries and Faith Formation Ministries. We’d love to hear how you use them and also learn about the other ways in which you’re exploring faith practices with your congregation. Let us know at [email protected] or [email protected]! 

PS: We hosted a webinar as a way to introduce this series of ideas. You can view the recording here: Design an Interactive Series on the Faith Practices.