An Environment that Nurtures Faith
A question I am often asked by ministers and church leaders is, “How do we help our children cultivate a lifelong embedded faith?” And while I believe we all would agree—and research shows—that the primary influence comes through intentional, formational experiences within the family, the impact of the past two and a half years means the answer is no longer that simple. Quite simply, our families are in a much different place now than they were in February 2020.
Many of our families are struggling, and as a result, their capacity for those impactful, spiritually-formative moments is diminished as well.[1] Therefore, the question that churches are asking really is coming from a place not of supplanting the family’s role in spiritual formation but acting as a true support. What I hear them asking, in actuality, is “How do we create an environment, a faith community, a children’s ministry that can help children, parents, grandparents, and caregivers as they continue to reorient themselves spiritually within their homes?”
My answer to their question usually starts with a question of my own: “What is your theology of children?” More often than not, their response begins with a long pause followed by the answer that it is not something they have actually considered. And having served in ministry for almost two decades myself, I am moved by the willingness people demonstrate in trying to answer the question so vulnerably and transparently. It is not an easy answer to give, but it is a critical one because it gives us a starting point.
When church leaders imagine ministering to their congregations, there is a natural default toward viewing ministry through the lens of the adult members. Even churches that articulate a more multi-generational desire for ministry unintentionally create a hierarchy in the elements that shape their ministry decisions; as a result, practices are either maintained or put in place that can be counter-intuitive for the spiritual formation of children. One such example would be the heavy emphasis on church through an age-and-stage model of ministry, where children are divided into groups based on age or schooling level. And so, churches must start from a place of examination, asking themselves, “What is our theology of children?”
To answer this well, there are four foundational pieces that one must understand about children with respect to spiritual formation.
Children are born inherently spiritual.[2] Yes, that spirituality needs to be nurtured, but it is there. It is present from birth, and it is a vibrant part of who they are. It also means that children are fully capable of experiencing God in meaningful ways from a very early age, and so one must be careful not to approach children with a mindset or mechanisms that negate their spiritual capability because doing so diminishes the potential for encounters with God that foster spiritual formation.
Children are active theologians—just in smaller bodies.[3] Children are not passive consumers of God. They actively take in and generate theological meaning in the most ordinary and extraordinary moments. As we journey alongside children, not only should we seek to guide them, but we should fully welcome their ability to form us spiritually, too.
Children and adults alike benefit from intentional intergenerational experiences.[4] When we bring the generations together to engage in reciprocal and mutual opportunities for faith formation, we strengthen everyone’s faith, and we embody the value that each person brings to the kingdom of God. But, and this is important to note, I am speaking of intentional engagement where meaningful interaction takes places across generational lines. Simply placing children in proximity to people of other ages, while beneficial from a modeling standpoint, isn’t the same thing as intergenerationality, and it does not draw children into the community in the same way.
Children must feel like they belong.[5] Children are an integral part of the church family and have been for the entirety of Christian history. We see it throughout Scripture, and we seek to live it out in our churches today. However, I want to respectfully challenge us to consider whether our churches are demonstrating true belonging or mere presence. One of the most anchoring points in the development of spiritual formation is feeling a sense of belonging, yet churches often confuse presence with belonging. Presence doesn’t require much of us, while belonging speaks to the wholeness of value, welcome, embrace, mutuality, and reciprocity—each of which are vital to experiencing belonging.
As churches seek to support the development of a lifelong embedded faith, it will undoubtedly be a journey that requires perseverance and a willingness to challenge practices. And it starts with reflecting inwardly and honestly answering: 1) What does it mean to be a spiritually formative environment for the whole of the church? 2) What is our theology of children? And 3) Are we living out the answers to these questions? Through these answers, not only will we impact the here-and-present-now church but future generations as well.
[1] Children are not demonstrating the same level of resilience as before the pandemic. Likewise, adults are experiencing greater tendencies toward mental health challenges. In addition to these present concerns, it is believed that the psychological and social effects of the pandemic will continue to emerge for many years to come. See S. Meherali, N. Punjani, S. Louie-Poon, et al, “Mental Health of Children and Adolescents Amidst COVID-19 and Past Pandemics: A Rapid Systematic Review,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (2021); E. Murphy, C. Svob, M. Van Dijk, et al, “The Effects of the Pandemic on Mental Health in Persons with and without a Psychiatric History,” Psychological Medicine, 53, no. 6 (2023).
[2] Rebecca Nye, Children’s Spirituality: What It Is and Why It Matters (London: Church House Publishing, 2009).
[3] David M. Csinos, Little Theologians: Children, Culture, and the Making of Theological Meaning (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020).
[4] Holly Catterton Allen, Christine Lawton, and Cory L. Seibel, Intergenerational Christian Formation: Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry, Community, and Worship, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2023).
[5] Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998).
