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How our faith grows
Hand in Hand Conference
How did attending the “Hand in Hand” Conference inspire and equip one Children’s and Families Worker? What could it mean for you, next year?
“This February, Jonny Bell – Children’s and Families Worker at St George’s Church, Swallowbeck – attended a children’s ministry conference and shares his reflections and learning from the weekend.
The Hand in Hand Conference took place in Birmingham from 6th – 8th February – over 700 children’s and families ministry leaders gathered to worship and network together over the weekend.
Keynote sessions were mixed with over 50 seminars covering themes such as school work, intergenerational ministry, supporting children with SEN (special educational needs) and research exploring children’s faith and spirituality. The conference has a strong focus on resourcing, equipping and investing in the mission to reach children and families attracting a diverse range of organisations offering all kinds of help and support.
Some of the key points from seminars I attended included:
- Children’s faith is shown to last when it grows and develops within a multi generational community
- Developing faith at home – Supporting parents and the wider family is key to helping children’s faith thrive and flourish beyond church events with some resources shared by https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/
- We need to value other forms of church that take place outside of Sunday worship: Messy Church, Toddler Groups, After School Clubs…etc
- Children want to be involved in the process of exploring faith. We need to move to a pattern of doing ministry ‘with’ children instead of doing ministry ‘to’ children.
- As church we need to look at providing safe and creative spaces to welcome children and families into where they can feel like they ‘belong’ and are allowed to be curious to ask questions.
- Relationships across the generations are key, where mutual learning can take place and where we can create a sense of awe and wonder around faith in today’s society.
The conference will be taking place next year from 5th – 7th February and I would encourage all those working with children and families to think about attending and be inspired to minister to this generation.”