05235
May 3, 2005

More than ‘kid-friendly’

Author says churches must help children develop spiritual lives

by Toya Richards Hill

LOUISVILLE — In the grown-up world of organized religion, churches must find ways to embrace children and help them develop full spiritual lives: That was the message of the author of a new book devoted to just that.

     One of the hardest things for churches to do is "to make room for children"

     “We need to think about how we invite children to share their lives,” she said. Churches must “encourage engagement.”

    Yust, who teaches Christian education and spiritual formation at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, was the featured speaker at a one-day seminar at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary on April 29. There, she talked about the concepts in her book with about 80 

practical ways for the church and parents to help kids develop spiritual lives.

     The event was sponsored by the seminary’s Center for Congregations and Family Ministries and was part of a “Families and Faith” book series funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

     The other volumes in the series are The Power of God at Home: Nurturing Our Children in Love and Grace, by J. Bradley Wigger, director of the Center for Congregations and Family Ministries; Seasons of a Family’s Life: Cultivating the Contemplative Spirit at Home, by Wendy M. Wright; Let the Children Come: Reimagining Childhood from a Christian Perspective, by Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore; and Sacred Stories of Ordinary Families: Living the Faith in Daily Life, by Diana R. Garland.

     Yust, the mother of three children and an ordained minister in both the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), talked about how faith is nurtured in children, and offered real, practical advice for parents and churches.

     Relating kids’ daily life experiences to covenant history, celebrating that history in family rituals and special holiday observations, letting children tell that history in their own words, and encouraging them to be history-makers themselves through their actions — all help nurture children’s faith, Yust said.

     “Children at younger and younger ages are dropping out” of church because they have so many other activities vying for their time, she said, and many parents simply want church to be a safe place where their children can be exposed to “good kids.”

     The key to the church’s response, Yust said, is to be “welcoming” and incorporate kids into the intergenerational life of the church. “It’s inclusion,” she said.

     One person who attended the seminar, Duane Carlisle, who is involved in children’s programming at Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, said the biggest challenge for his church is “making spiritual instruction something that can hold their (the kids’) interest.”

     “All the competition in time” is difficult, he said, adding that he works with 30 to 40 children of varying ages.

     Yust also distributed an extensive bibliography of books for adults, families and preschool and elementary children. That especially hit home with Ann  Pifer, associate director of religious education at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church in Louisville.

     “I intend to put that (bibliography) in my church bulletin” for parents, she said.

     Children aren’t just the future of the church, she said — “They are” the church.