Stories & Reflections

When Sammy’s parents told him that their family would be traveling from Ohio to Dallas for a three-day Ethiopian Orthodox summer camp, he had little interest in going. They had encouraged him to attend church and participate in Sunday school for years, and while he usually complied, he did so more out of obligation than enthusiasm. Summer was supposed to offer a break, and he hoped to spend it another way. His parents brought him anyway. When the family arrived, Sammy encount

One of the regular guests at Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith International (PCAFI) denominational gatherings stands nearly seven feet tall, sporting orange skin, a blue nose, and size 23 shoes. “Little Timmy,” as he is affectionately known, serves as a mascot for PCAFI’s L.E.T. Children’s Initiative, a program funded through Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative. Since his introduction to more than 4,000 attendees at the G

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” -Rev. Fred Rogers Before founding Storymakers, Melina Isa Luna spent much of her career in behavioral health. “What I found when I was trying to connect with kids or clients was that I was able to make connections through art and collaborative play to develop throughlines, and know more about what was happening in their l

For the past three years, grantees in the Strengthening Ministry with Children Coordination Program have seen Joel Schoon-Tannis capture key themes from the event on canvas. Joel sees his part in the conference as fulfilling a dual mission: to hold space by listening to what both God and neighbor are saying throughout the gathering, and to represent space by painting what he hears. Over the course of the conference, the canvases he sets up in the main gathering area take on t

When Dr. Nelson Cowan was asked to write a book about engaging children in church worship services, he initially declined. “I think you’ve got the wrong person. I have no formal background in children’s ministry, and I was never a youth pastor.” But when he heard that the publisher wanted him to focus on pastors and congregational leaders, he agreed. That was an audience to whom he could speak. Dr. Cowan, a PhD in Liturgical Studies (Boston University) and former United Meth