What is Nurturing Faith Collective?
The Nurturing Faith Collective is committed to fostering a strong partnership between the church and the home in child discipleship. Our mission is to empower Ministry Leaders, Parents, and Faith Influencers in both English and Spanish-speaking contexts with the knowledge and tools they need to nurture children’s discipleship. We leverage the expertise of Bethel Seminary Master of Arts in Children's, Youth, and Family Ministry graduates (MACYFM) and Entre Niños team members to provide high-quality resources and training that are rooted in biblical principles and best practices.
Here is a look at what you will find in the Writings for NFC.
Bethel Seminary graduates Katie Bliss and Danika Moubayed will be curating the written work of other MACYFM alumni in an effort to share more ways to empower faith influencers and ministry leaders through the writings.
Our content is broken down into three types for you to read: Posts, Playbook, and Ponderings. A “Post” is a shorter written article that will provide inspiration and insight into a relevant discussion. When looking for more practical steps or activities to engage in, readers can find themselves looking at the “Playbook” writings. Lastly, “Ponderings” will be longer-form written work, focusing on understanding a more in-depth conversation. Each published writing will showcase important topics such as prayer, spiritual disciplines, modeling faith, teaching biblical understanding, devotionals, and so much more.
The other initiatives contributing to the Nurturing Faith Collective all strive toward the same goal of fostering a strong partnership between the church and the home. If you love to listen to ways that local church leaders are partnering with the church, check out the podcast. If you are interested in resources or coaching, you can find more information on their respective pages on the website.
We can’t wait to see how God works through the Nurturing Faith Collective. Stay tuned for more content coming your way that encourages, equips, and empowers the faith influencers in the lives of children. You can subscribe to our content here.
The Nurturing Faith Collective is committed to fostering a strong partnership between the church and the home in child discipleship. Our mission is to empower Ministry Leaders, Parents, and Faith Influencers in both English and Spanish-speaking contexts with the knowledge and tools they need to nurture children’s discipleship. We leverage the expertise of Bethel Seminary Master of Arts in Children's, Youth, and Family Ministry graduates (MACYFM) and Entre Niños team members to provide high-quality resources and training that are rooted in biblical principles and best practices.
Here is a look at what you will find in the Writings for NFC.
Bethel Seminary graduates Katie Bliss and Danika Moubayed will be curating the written work of other MACYFM alumni in an effort to share more ways to empower faith influencers and ministry leaders through the writings.
Our content is broken down into three types for you to read: Posts, Playbook, and Ponderings. A “Post” is a shorter written article that will provide inspiration and insight into a relevant discussion. When looking for more practical steps or activities to engage in, readers can find themselves looking at the “Playbook” writings. Lastly, “Ponderings” will be longer-form written work, focusing on understanding a more in-depth conversation. Each published writing will showcase important topics such as prayer, spiritual disciplines, modeling faith, teaching biblical understanding, devotionals, and so much more.
The other initiatives contributing to the Nurturing Faith Collective all strive toward the same goal of fostering a strong partnership between the church and the home. If you love to listen to ways that local church leaders are partnering with the church, check out the podcast. If you are interested in resources or coaching, you can find more information on their respective pages on the website.
We can’t wait to see how God works through the Nurturing Faith Collective. Stay tuned for more content coming your way that encourages, equips, and empowers the faith influencers in the lives of children. You can subscribe to our content here.
From Chaos to Calm: Fresh Ideas for Pre-Service Kid Energy
Children roaming the church building without adult supervision can be a big problem. How does this happen? In a lot of churches, volunteers need to be at the church early - like an hour to an hour and a half before the service starts. These volunteers may be pastors’ kids, staff kids, worship team members’ kids, parking lot and greeter team kids. And sometimes there are just parents who are arriving really early, perhaps eager for fellowship, a little breakfast, coffee, and maybe a break.
What are some solutions to the problem of unsupervised children on your church property? There are single parents or dual career parents who really want to serve or are already serving, and do not have anyone to watch their children before the services. How can we help these parents be able to serve? How can we help our fellow staff members who need their volunteers to be there early to practice/set up? Click the link below to read ideas shared by Dr. Trisha Peach.
Children roaming the church building without adult supervision can be a big problem. How does this happen? In a lot of churches, volunteers need to be at the church early - like an hour to an hour and a half before the service starts. These volunteers may be pastors’ kids, staff kids, worship team members’ kids, parking lot and greeter team kids. And sometimes there are just parents who are arriving really early, perhaps eager for fellowship, a little breakfast, coffee, and maybe a break.
What are some solutions to the problem of unsupervised children on your church property? There are single parents or dual career parents who really want to serve or are already serving, and do not have anyone to watch their children before the services. How can we help these parents be able to serve? How can we help our fellow staff members who need their volunteers to be there early to practice/set up? Click the link below to read ideas shared by Dr. Trisha Peach.
Building a Family Discipleship Plan
The task of raising little ones is daunting. From the moment a parent leaves the hospital, to the moment a toddler takes their first steps to the walk to kindergarten. From the first steps to the driver's seat, and to those steps across a stage for a diploma, and all the moments in between, parenting can be a challenge. Parents can feel alone and isolated, there is no handbook on how to parent. Parenting, in general, is difficult, but what if you are a parent trying to raise a life-long disciple of Jesus? It’s a whole new challenge. As ministry leaders, how do we partner with parents to walk this path to raising devoted disciples of Jesus?
In this writing, Erica Stricklen, Children’s Pastor at Seymour Heights Christian Church and Bethel Seminary graduate, explores what it looks like to create a family discipleship plan for family ministry. This plan ties into the family life cycle and allows us to reach parents at some of the most vulnerable parenting moments. We invite you to download this writing to read more.
The task of raising little ones is daunting. From the moment a parent leaves the hospital, to the moment a toddler takes their first steps to the walk to kindergarten. From the first steps to the driver's seat, and to those steps across a stage for a diploma, and all the moments in between, parenting can be a challenge. Parents can feel alone and isolated, there is no handbook on how to parent. Parenting, in general, is difficult, but what if you are a parent trying to raise a life-long disciple of Jesus? It’s a whole new challenge. As ministry leaders, how do we partner with parents to walk this path to raising devoted disciples of Jesus?
In this writing, Erica Stricklen, Children’s Pastor at Seymour Heights Christian Church and Bethel Seminary graduate, explores what it looks like to create a family discipleship plan for family ministry. This plan ties into the family life cycle and allows us to reach parents at some of the most vulnerable parenting moments. We invite you to download this writing to read more.
The Sandwich Without
A few days ago, my son asked for his usual breakfast sandwich—English muffin, ham, egg, and cheese. We were out of a few things, so we worked with what we had: toast, bacon, egg, and cheese. It turned out delicious. He ate every bite, thanked me more than once, and went on with his morning.
Later, I overheard him describing it to my husband.
“I had an English muffin without the English muffin… and ham without the ham… and it was supposed to be the regular kind of cheese, but it was a new kind.”
I just stood there thinking… that sandwich you loved became a rundown of everything it wasn’t.
And then I realized — I do that too.
In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul writes, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things” (Philippians 4:8, NIV). Paul isn’t ignoring the hard stuff. He’s just reminding us not to live there.
It’s so easy to narrate our lives by what’s missing. Church was meaningful, but the music wasn’t my favorite. Dinner was sweet, but someone argued on the way there. My child showed kindness, but they still forgot their homework. How often do we experience something good and yet still define it by what it lacked?
And the truth is, our kids are listening. They are learning how to interpret their days by the way we interpret ours. If our conversations at home focus on what went wrong, they will learn to scan for lack. If our reflections on church and faith highlight what felt off, they’ll learn to critique before they learn to celebrate.
But what if we helped them name what was good first? What if, after church, we asked, “What was one thing you loved?” What if at dinner we said, “Tell me something that made you smile today?” Faith is often formed in the retelling, in the quiet way we frame ordinary moments.
So today, when someone asks how your day is going, start with one good thing. Let that be the lens, not the afterthought.
Because sometimes it isn’t lacking — sometimes it’s just toast, bacon, egg, and cheese.
And it’s good.
Submitted by Layci Clifford, Children's Ministry Leader in Northern Virginia and a graduate of Bethel Seminary with a Master of Arts in Children’s, Youth, and Family Ministry.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Creating Expectation
Have you ever been excited about a family vacation and wanted your kids to be just as excited, so you kept on talking about what was to come to create excitement and expectation? Or have you ever watched your kids get super excited about Christmas or the snow that is coming? It doesn’t take much to help kids catch your excitement.
One easy way my husband and I helped create expectation in our children’s lives was by asking them some simple questions each night at dinner. We wanted to know what was going on in their lives, especially once they started school, so we would first ask two questions. What was the best part of your day? What was the worst part of your day? We could then fill in the gaps and help them handle and process any challenges in their path. The third question was the most important as it created expectation. Where did you see God today?
We wanted our kids to actively look for God in their day. We knew through our own experience that it was easy to go about our day-to-day lives and not pay attention to God’s movement. He is there. He is working. He is moving. Are we looking? There are so many distractions and just details in our lives that it is easy to lose focus and not look. We found it was a blessing to all of us when we shared our God sightings. We were reminded of God’s faithfulness and His great, big plan.
Give it a try today. Set the expectation that God is on the move and all you need to do is look for Him.
Submitted by Katie Bliss, Children’s Pastor at Hope Church in Oakdale, MN.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.