Passing on Faith

cross-3080144__340I grew up going to Sunday School and Youth Group at the local church of wherever we were living at the time (my family moved a lot due to my fathers’s work).  I became a Christian on a regional youth group camp when I was 13.  I was fortunate to have youth group leaders, peers and others who’ve mentored me on my faith journey, then and now.

I’ve been interested in passing on faith to children since before my children were born.  I took annual leave from my job in childcare to attend a children’s ministry conference, several years before my children were born.  When my children were toddlers I attended a conference titled “The Child in Our Hands”.  It was about how churches and families could work together to nurture the children in their care to grow in faith.

Since that conference I have done much research and reading on how faith is passed on & also attended many more similar conferences.   I’ve been an advocate in my local church to see all ages included in worship and all of the church activities.   When a previous Children’s & Families Pastor moved on, I was offered to fill the role.  Over the 7 years employed by my local church, the role changed and my title became Faith Formation Pastor.  A big part of my role was bringing the generations together and resourcing households of all types & stages with faith materials & activities.

Through the updated role I was not only working with families that had children and teenagers but all households.  I particularly found that grandparents were interested in how they could pass on their faith to their grandchildren and they often chose to order resources we were sharing.

A few years ago my paid position at our local church finished up.  I’m still very passionate about helping churches become more intergenerational and helping churches resource families for faith growth.  I’m thinking that this blog may be one way that I can do that.  I’ve also recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Children and Families Ministry.

Recently I’ve added a shop component to this website, with faith based resources that families, grandparents & small groups can use.