Welcome to Our Site

We want to communicate with you in all kinds of ways and so our postings will be many and varied! We do offer a weekly children's sermon and monthly Time Together devotional on a regular basis. You can find those through the archives as well as the Children's Sermons and Resources Tabs. We hope you will leave your comments and contribute to the networking of this site!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Christmas Week Devotions--FREE PRINTABLE!

Fresh and HOT off the presses we have ready for you to print, copy and handout to whomever you so desire is a Christmas Devotion written for the final 5 days before Christmas (December 20-24). This is a devotion that homes and families of all shapes and sizes will find to be worth their time in spending a few minutes together each day of this week of Christmas. The link will take you to our googlesite where you can download the full document. Or use it online starting December 15th by looking at each day. Here is an overview:


Faith+Open--a ritual of lighting a candle, picking an ornament off your tree for your time together, and singing or listening to a Christmas song that fits the scripture for the day
Faith+Share--scripture and discussion prompts plus optional activities
Faith+Prayer--a prayer together
Faith+Blessing--a time to bless one another as the devotional time ends. 


We encourage you to use this in your home and share with others. For all you wonderful youth directors, children's ministers and pastors we encourage you to have this available for your congregations and visitors throughout Advent. 


We love feedback so let us know if you used it and what you thought!
Link to devotions and/or supplemental pages


+Blessings to you all this Advent and Christmas, 
Leta & Brigette

Monday, November 22, 2010

Journal: Lifelong Faith

This journal made our shortlist of resources that are current, informative, and worth spending time on.  John Roberto is a Catholic educator who has created an excellent journal that is full of research and specifics focused on faith formation throughout the lifetime. He gathers information in several different categories: adolescence, parenting, cross-generational, children's ministry, family ministry, ecumenical ministry and several more. I also had the opportunity to meet John Roberto had a gathering at the Rocky Mountain Synod and was deeply inspired and impressed by his information and imagination. 
Special GIVE AWAY! John Roberto will send a free journal to several people! Just leave a comment and see if you win!! 


What is great about this journal: The information is so current that it is like you are reading about people whom you know and see everyday! The viewpoint is one of not only promoting ministry that is working well in particular settings but in looking to the future of how spirituality is shaping and forming the next generation and ways in which we must engage in the world. John Roberto has 40 years of experience (which MIGHT make him sound like 'one of those old white guys', but he totally gets it! He is totally in today and tomorrow!) which shines through in a positive way by the people he has contributing to this journal and in his own words that are not so much a message of 'do more' but 'go deep'. He does the legwork, is creative and forward thinking, and he has the research to back in him up-whew! 
What is a challenge about the journal: This is an academic journal, which is great for some and can be a turn off for others. Some of the articles are so detailed that it can be hard to get through them. However, you can also pick and choose what you are most interested in focusing on and save the others for another time. 
I recommend this journal for....
* solid, current information
* inspirational stories of ministry that is out of the box
* information that is truly cross+generational and pertains to all walks of life
* colleagues to read and discuss together
* for using key articles with pastoral/staff teams, ministry teams, councils, etc.
* strong academic, theological, and ministry application reading that is not a whole book!
This journal has a website that is an excellent resource itself. At www.lifelongfaith.com you can investigate the site and get the current newsletter downloaded as a pdf. Additionally if you create a free account you have access to several articles for free. You also have the option to subscribe to the printed journal for $36 for one year or $64 for two. My recommendation is to join the site for free and read a couple of the articles to see what tickles your fancy. Here are a list of my favorite articles by category so you can pick which area you are most interested in and then just read that article. Then you can decide if you are interested in the subscription. All the articles listed below can be found for free in the website after you join.

Children's Ministry--
Being a Child, Becoming a Christian by Karen Marie Yust: While the title leaves something to be desired (I do not like implying that children are not already Christians and that somehow it's something you attain instead of way of life) it is a good article on how experience and open questions are key to faith formation in children. She focuses in on worship and education as a way to offer spiritual tools for life and she goes through each age category (infants/toddlers, preschoolers, lower & upper elementary) with care and precision.
Best Practices in Children's Faith Formation by John Roberto and Katie Pfiffner: The authors lay out 6 key practices and include worship, education, and intergenerational experience as components at the heart of children's ministry. This is an excellent article for those working with children including children's ministry teams and pastoral staff who need more information on our youngest.
Youth Ministry--
Best Practices in Adolescent Faith Formation by John Roberto: A thorough and well done review of faith practices with adolescence that are meaningful, inviting, and deepening. Features 7 key practices with detailed analysis and examples including contemplative youth ministry practices and experience rich youth ministry. A must read for those working with teens!
Worship and the Formation of Christian Identity in Youth by Fred P. Edie: A professor from Duke university writes about the hows and whys of integrating youth into worship planning, experience, and leadership. Excellent article that could also be used in educating a pastoral team or worship planning team.
Family/Parent Ministry--
Parents Share by Marilyn Sharpe Excellent and succinct article on a parenting support group that has been going for 30 years. Founder and author Marilyn Sharpe  shares the story and how tos of her experience. Must read if you are looking to start or help someone start a parent group.
Faith Formation for Every Adult in Your Church--It's Possible Today! by John Roberto: Another article by John himself detailing best practices and principles of developing adult education. Remember, faith is a LIFELONG journey and so can be our education and experiences together!

There are so many more! Happy Reading! Don't forget to comment!
+Leta

Friday, November 5, 2010

Faith Formation Journeys Begins

Welcome! We are excited to be developing this blog resource for you! This promises to be more than a blog with some terrific insights from our brains--it is born out of a love for passing on faith, sharing ministry, and networking with as many fabulous, creative, inspiring people as we can. This site is born out of a desire to bring together ministry resources for parents, individuals, youth directors, children's ministers, pastors, anyone who is teaching, aspiring, or just wants to jump on board a faith formation journey!

Many times over the past few years I have heard friends and colleagues say, 'yes I know I should read that/know that/go to that but I just don't know which things are best or which ones to pick because I cannot do it all.' Of course you cannot do it all and you don't need to. But figuring out what might meet your needs is half the battle. This site will provide curriculum, journal, and book reviews, information on events, great links, current research and articles, inspiring stories, consulting resources, and more. The goal is to provide you with a ministry resource that is is quick, to the point, and something you can look at with your morning cup of coffee or anytime of day. 


We hope that you will check in frequently and share your comments and your ideas about what you would like to see or know about. You are also welcome to email us with your own ideas, reviews, and inspirations! Share this blog with friends! Bookmark it! And make it a daily or weekly stop as your first source for resource!
Leave a comment telling us either how we can get you linked in and/or what book or other resource you would like to know more about! Comment by November 30 and you will be entered in a drawing to win Norma Cook Everist's book The Church As Learning Community.


+Leta & Brigette