What is the Growing Faith Adventure? 
Growing Faith seeks to bring together the three spheres of church, school, and household – in how we think and in what we do.
The resources listed below reflect the child-focused ministry through these three spheres.
Read On for resources to use in church
Click Here for resources to use in schools
Click Here for resources to use at home
Keeping our Children and Young People safe.
Please ensure that the appropriate safeguarding training modules are completed BEFORE working with, or enabling others to work with, children and/or vulnerable people.
Safeguarding Training Modules - Diocese of Peterborough
Click here to learn about current Church of England safeguarding guidelines and governance.
See also, our S.A.F.E.R parish toolkit document, offering practical guidance for your own church teams, in addition to, and not instead of the recommended safeguarding training modules.
Downloadable Resources:
Safeguarding Praise Party Ideas
New Guidelines for Children’s and Youth Ministry in Personal Homes
The Church of England’s 30k Project has produced some easy and accessible guidance for those who minister to children, young people and their families (CYPF). Where events like Bible studies, pizza nights and Christmas quizzes can’t take place on church premises, these guidelines will help those in CYPF ministry to navigate the necessary safeguarding considerations of hosting the event in a personal home, and ensure that all events are well planned and safe for all. Take a look at the guidelines here
Working safely with children and young people
Church of England guidance for volunteers working with young people.
Physical Security in Youth Work Settings
Following the tragic events in Southport and elsewhere, the National Youth Agency (NYA) has issued new guidance on physical security whilst running youth work. Click here to read more.
Communion before Confirmation
As many as 36% of parishes in the Peterborough Diocese now welcome children to Communion before confirmation, more than twice the national average! This means that, with a good programme of preparation and with the permission of the Bishop, admitted children can participate fully in the Eucharist. The Children and Youth team have a number of resources to help parishes encourage children in their faith journey. Some of these are outlined below:
The new Parish Handbook is designed to help parishes consider the history, theology and practical details for admitting children to communion before confirmation.
This resource can be used for PCCs and other meetings.
A short video, ‘One Bread, One Body', was produced by the children and young people of the Living Brook Benefice in Northampton, outlining their reasons for wanting to be admitted. A copy of this video is included in the PowerPoint but can also be accessed here.
Click here for a copy of the Baptism Handbook.
Resources to use for work with under-fives and their families
Example of a registration form for children at a toddler group
Setting up a toddler group - A template to help teams to successfully plan this venture together.
Care for Family website - Playtime provides support and advice for anyone interested in engaging with young families in a toddler group setting.
Talking Toddlers research report - Includes revealing statistics relating to people coming to faith before the age of 18.
Toddler Booklet - Helpful to share with your PCC/Vision team about why running a Toddler group is a no-brainer
Online Resources
We have selected some on line resources which will help you in your work with children and young people in church.
Engage Worship - lots of creative ideas that you can adapt
Messy Church - ideas for messy church activities
Rend Collective's brilliant kids album (that adults love too) -you can also visit their Facebook page here
The Lily Jo Project | Your Online Mental Health Resource
YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMinds
The Youthscape Podcast | Youthscape
Resources to download;
Building a sustainable team (Chad Chadwick)
Reading the Bible, telling stories
Techniques for telling stories well (4 P’s)
Godly Play
Godly Play is an imaginative approach that supports, nourishes and guides spiritual growth in children and adults. Through it participants can enter into parables, sacred stories and liturgy in order to discover God,themselves, one another and the world around us.
We have a selection of Godly Play resources to borrow. Find out what we have available here.
Grandparents
Grandparents can play a pivotal part in the faith formation of their grandchildren. The joy of grandchildren cannot be understated, and it is one of those relationships in which unconditional love is exchanged. Christian grandparents have a crucial role to play in passing on faith from one generation to the next.
Have you considered a Grandparents bookclub? We recommend The Sixty Minute Grandparent by Rob Parsons, which could be a great starting point for a group discussion.