Christian Formation Archives

PC(USA) faith formation leaders discuss recruiting and resourcing volunteers

Posted October 19th, 2023

When Kat Green first arrived at her current call as director of Children’s Ministry at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severna Park, Maryland, recruiting volunteers was her first priority.

Registration now open for the 2024 annual event of the Association of Partners in Christian Education

Posted October 12th, 2023

“Come, all who are thirsty” to the Association for Partners in Christian Education’s 2024 annual gathering, to be held in St. Louis from Jan. 24-27 or via the Annual Event Online.

Family faith formation leaders in the PC(USA) gather around the table

Posted October 6th, 2023

Last week, 22 people gathered at Stony Point Center for a Faith Formation at Home Symposium sponsored by the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Christian Formation. Over three days, participants met to share their contexts and wisdom, to learn about new initiatives and resources, and to listen to presentations on formation with Generations Z and Alpha.

The PC(USA)’s Christian Formation Collective sees the forest for the trees

Posted October 5th, 2023

“What does it look like for us to network?” the Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia, the designated strategic director of NEXT Church and vice moderator of the 221st General Assembly (2014), recently asked a room full of leaders representing five independent nonprofits that support Christian educators, youth workers, older adult ministry, college campus ministry, and camps and conference centers.

Free books available to equip faith formation in PC(USA) readers at home

Posted August 21st, 2023

“A psalm is a song that we sing to God,” writes Carey Wallace, author of “Psalms of Wonder: Poems from the Book of Songs,” a new illustrated book published by Flyaway Books. “Today, the psalms are known in almost every language that humans speak, but something happened as these songs moved around the world: They lost their music.”

The PMA’s Office of Christian Formation awarded $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to equip and support faith formation in households

Posted July 12th, 2023

The Office of Christian Formation of the Presbyterian Mission Agency has received a grant of $1.25 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to come alongside parents, caregivers, churches and worshiping communities to provide skills, opportunities for connection and relationship building, and the resources needed to enhance and prioritize sharing faith in households.

Office of Christian Formation webinars offer resources and camaraderie for church educators

Posted June 9th, 2023

The Office of Christian Formation’s webinar on Thursday designed to explore some at-home resources that families can use this summer also included time for Christian educators to share their challenges and triumphs as churches and worshiping communities emerge from the pandemic.

Gay Mothershed, Vice-Moderator of the 208th General Assembly, dies at age 85

Posted May 18th, 2023

Gay Dawn Mothershed, Vice-Moderator of the 208th General Assembly (1996), died peacefully in her home in Black Mountain, North Carolina on May 13.

The PC(USA)’s UKirk Collegiate Ministries director says in an era of isolation, campus ministry is more important than ever

Posted May 4th, 2023

Asked Wednesday about the work that’s making her come alive, the Rev. Gini Norris-Lane, executive director of UKirk Campus Ministries in the Presbyterian Mission Agency, said it’s that “there are college students on campuses around the country that are craving community.”

‘Love your neighbor’ like Mister Rogers did

Posted April 14th, 2023

“Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person,” the Rev. Fred Rogers, known to millions as Mister Rogers, once mused while reminding his audience as he often did that there are many ways to say, “I love you,” from greeting someone to feeding a hungry neighbor or cleaning up common spaces.