Growing Faith Across Generations Practical resources and support to help children participate, belong, and flourish in the life of the church.
Connecting Children in Worship and Prayer
Resources forCohort Churches
I created this hub to support churches participating in Connecting Children in Worship and Prayer — a Lilly Endowment-funded initiative of the South Carolina United Methodist Conference.
About this page. Connecting Children in Worship and Prayer is a ministry initiative of the South Carolina United Methodist Conference, funded by the Lilly Endowment. I host this resource page through Coaching Pathway, LLC to support communication, access, and resource sharing with participating churches. It is related to my ministry and facilitation work and is distinct from the private coaching services offered elsewhere on this site.
Where Children Are Known, Valued, and Invited to Participate
Connecting Children in Worship and Prayer invites churches to explore how children are welcomed, included, formed, and connected through the worshiping life of the congregation—moving beyond simply creating programs and toward cultivating communities of belonging.
Through cohort learning, practical experimentation, and shared reflection, we imagine fresh ways for children to engage in worship, prayer, belonging, and congregational life. This resource space is here to walk with cohort churches as they take faithful next steps.
A Simple, Growing Resource Hub
I will update materials throughout the cohort experience as new resources, session materials, and tools are added. The main resource areas are:
- Cohort Resources
- Families and Prayer
- Book Study Resources
- Workshops and Webinars
- Forms and Links
- Newsletter
Find What Your Church Needs
Cohort Resources
Session materials, handouts, assignments, recordings, and tools for participating cohort churches.
Families and Prayer
Simple prayer practices, family faith resources, and ideas for nurturing prayer at home and in community.
Book Study Resources
Discussion guides, leader helps, reflection questions, and materials for book-based small group learning.
Workshops and Webinars
Upcoming events, recordings, slides, handouts, and follow-up resources from learning sessions.
Forms and Links
Important links for surveys, reports, registrations, feedback, and shared documents.
Newsletter
Current updates, archived newsletters, reminders, and timely notes for churches and ministry leaders.
One Page Now, Room to Grow Later
For now, these links jump to sections on this page. As any section grows, it can become its own page later without changing the overall structure.
Cohort Resources
Use this section for cohort session materials, meeting links, recordings, handouts, assignments, and next steps for participating churches.
- Session slides and handouts.
- Meeting links and recordings.
- Cohort assignments and next steps.
Families and Prayer
Use this section for simple prayer practices, family faith formation ideas, take-home resources, and tools that help households pray together.
- Prayer practices for children and families.
- At-home faith formation ideas.
- Resources for intergenerational prayer.
Book Study Resources
Use this section for reading schedules, discussion guides, leader notes, reflection questions, and handouts for book-based small group learning.
- Book study guides.
- Discussion questions.
- Leader resources and handouts.
Workshops and Webinars
Use this section for upcoming learning opportunities, registration links, webinar recordings, slides, and follow-up materials.
- Upcoming workshops and webinars.
- Registration links.
- Recordings, slides, and handouts.
Forms and Links
Use this section for surveys, reporting forms, registrations, feedback forms, shared folders, and other important links.
- Surveys and reporting forms.
- Registration and feedback links.
- Shared folders and important documents.
Your First Stop for Resources and Updates
If your church is part of the cohort, you may want to bookmark this page and return to it before and after each gathering. As you use these materials, I invite you to pay attention to what you are noticing in your congregation. Where are children already participating? Where are there opportunities to invite deeper belonging?
Guiding questions for churches
- How are children currently welcomed and included in worship?
- Where do children have meaningful opportunities to participate?
- What do children teach us about prayer, wonder, belonging, and faith?
- What assumptions do adults hold about children in worship?
- What small experiment could help us take one faithful next step?
- How might worship form all generations together?
This Page Will Continue to Grow as Materials Are Added
If you are part of a cohort church and cannot find the resource you need, please reach out. I would be glad to help you find the right materials.