“In Real Kids, Real Faith, author Karen-Marie Yust points out that God doesn’t wait until we are fully developed to initiate a relationship with us; through grace God gifts us with faith when we are born. . . . Faith starts to grow as it is activated through loving relationships with a parent(s) and significant others and through opportunities to experience God in prayer, in Bible stories, in music, at church, and in the world” (Home Grown by Karen DeBoer [Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2010], p. 40).
Children’s ministry leaders are faith activators. They form faith-nurturing relationships while providing space for children to experience God as they hear and respond to God’s story in ways that are specifically geared to their ages and developmental stages.
To nurture a resilient faith in kids, we need to pay close attention to how we tell God’s story, and that’s why you’ll find a whole section in this toolkit on the topic of Choosing Your Curriculum.
We also need to pay attention to how kids learn and develop. Below you’ll find information on the intellectual, social, and spiritual characteristics of children at different age levels, along with tips for leaders on how to tap into those characteristics in faith-nurturing ways. Share this information with the children’s ministry leaders in your congregation.