Family Faith Formation Resources | Spiritual Development

This article is part of the Family Faith Formation Toolkit - a collection of resources for equipping ministry leaders, parents, and caregivers with family faith practices and resources, brought to you by Faith Formation Ministries.

In the following links you’ll find creative resources and practices for spiritual development to use both in community and at home. These ideas can be seamlessly woven into existing church programs and into family life.

Spiritual Development: In Community

• Lifelong Faith has put together a downloadable selection of articles on topics that include Best Practices in Children’s Faith Formation, Nurturing the Spiritual Formation of Children, and Being a Child, Becoming a Christian. Access them at Journal Collection: Children’s Faith Formation.

• Faith Formation Ministries has developed two very accessible resources to give ministry leaders, parents, grandparents, and caregivers insight into the spiritual development of children: Spiritual Characteristics of Children and Teens and Children and Communion. For a full description of each, see the At Home section below.

Spiritual Development: At Home

• Spiritual Characteristics of Children and Teens explores how children and teens of different ages experience God and grow in faith. It’s a wonderful tool for parents, ministry leaders, teachers, pastors, and others who want to help children and teens come to know and love God.  Download and distribute it for free, or order printed copies for a small fee from FaithAliveResources.org.

• Children and Communion is a two-page resource that summarizes how children’s understanding of the Lord’s Supper develops. It’s an excellent resource for parents, pastors, elders, and others in the church. Download it for free, or purchase printed copies for a small fee at FaithAliveResources.org.

• The classic book Making a Home for Faith: Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Your Children shows families how to articulate their faith. The latest edition includes a chapter that takes into account the challenges faced by blended families.

• The Home Grown Handbook for Christian Parenting: 111 Real Life Questions and Answers by Karen Deboer is an accessible book for parents no matter where they are on their faith journey and includes answers to questions such as “When does faith start to grow?” and “Is it OK for my child to experience doubt?”  

• In her post Ten Things I Want to Tell Parents, Rev. Rebecca Kirkpatrick, author of 100 Things Every Child Should Know Before Confirmation, describes the things every parent should know as they seek to nurture the faith of their children.

QUESTIONS?

If you’re part of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and you have questions about how to equip ministry leaders, parents, and caregivers with family faith practices and resources, one of Faith Formation Ministries’ Regional Catalyzers would love to talk with you about ideas and strategies.