Love of Children

The Love of Children Program

In the Spring of 2023, Justice and Local Church Ministries was awarded a $1.25m grant from the Lilly Endowment through its Nurturing Children Through Worship & Prayer Initiative. This four-year program will allow the denomination to engage in a thorough research program to assess the state of Children’s Ministry in the United Church of Christ and then take that information and create a dynamic program to strengthen our local congregations in the work of faith formation and children.

This work began in 2023 and culminated with a report written by Magnetize. In this report there are several key considerations for topics facing our children that can be offered as webinars and courses. We will be partnering with several organizations including the Network of Wider Church Youth Ministries, the Association of United Church Educators, and Ministry Incubators to provide resources, written and video curricula, and trainings over the next several years.

In addition, we will be launching an application later this year for interested congregations to have two individuals from their local church be a part of a yearlong cohort that will go through learnings and site visits together to grow their children’s ministry into vibrant, faith-filled places for children, birth through the age of twelve.

The Love of Children program is being directed by Reverend Trayce Potter.